Duti River

Contributed by Daniel Helm
What It's Like
The Duti offers challenging whitewater in a spectacular remote wilderness setting.
Class
IV+, depending on the level
Scouting / Portaging
Everything can be portaged with varying levels of difficulty.
Time
3 days on the Duti and another 3-6 days on the Skeena depending on your choice of takeout.
When to Go
August / September. The first descent crew went in July at higher water. The first 2 days were full-on continuous class IV at this level and the lower canyons were very serious. Later in the year (August / Sept) the upper sections are a bit bonier but the main canyon becomes more manageable.
The Duti River forms the northern most extent of the Skeena drainage system and could arguably be considered the headwaters of the Skeena due to its length being similar to that of the Skeena itself above the confluence. Very little ground separates the headwaters of the Duti from the headwaters of both the Stikine and the Finlay Rivers. Situated between Tatlatui and Spatsizi Wilderness Parks, the Duti River has to be one of the most beautiful areas in all of BC. Combining this setting and wilderness experience with engaging and exciting whitewater, the Duti River should be on your bucket list. 

Access the put-in by flying into South Duti Lake and being dropped off at an outfitter’s cabin. Alpine Lakes Air out of Telkwa has a Cessna Caravan that can fit 6 people plus kayaks and gear. Consider postponing your first day on the water to hike up the ridges toward Duti Peak and admire the height of land your find yourself on, which is the headwaters of several BC major rivers: the Stikine (via Chapea Creek) to the north, the Peace (via the Firesteel and Finlay Rivers and Kitchener Lake) to the southeast, and of course the Skeena via the beaver swamps and marshes to the south which will be your first day of paddling. Fun side-note – old maps show South Duti Lake flowing north into the Stikine. Luckily it flows south into the Skeena.

The Duti River itself takes 3 days of paddling to reach the Skeena. These days are best broken up by camping somewhere near or before Gil Creek on night 1 (~26-32km from the lake), and at the confluence of Tzahny Creek on night 2. 

The first ~20 km of the Duti are a shallow stream, meandering through beaver dams and shallow ponds. Enjoy the stunning mountain scenery. When the river leaves the open marshland and enters the forest the gradient picks up and the first major drop (named Hahn’s Haul after a member of the first descent team) is encountered ~4km later. Best portaged or scouted on river left. Several km of low volume bedrock rapids and ledge drops follow, before reaching Camp 1 somewhere at or above Gil Creek. 

The river volume picks up on Day 2 with several significant tributaries including Gil Creek and Malloch Creek. The nature of the river stays the same, with continuous boogie water broken up by the odd ledge drop or canyon section that are worth scouting. Save some energy for the mandatory portage at the end of this day around Tzanhy Falls, a serious cascading rapid starting with a large waterfall followed by a chaotic sieve rapid and another waterfall that lands on rocks. Portage on river right, and lower boats back down to the river below the falls. Camp immediately downstream at the confluence with Tzanhy Creek. 

Day 3 has plenty of action, but starts off benign with an easy 13km float. It picks up at Clamshell Falls, a runnable but hairy waterfall that can be portaged on river left through the forest, or river right by lowering boats down a small cliff. 4km later is another major feature, where the river splits into several channels over a series of ledges. The real excitement of the day begins 3 km later with Duti Falls: a 5m tall falls with a clean lead in. It leads directly into the boxed in, 1km long Duti canyon. At low flow the rapids in the canyon can be scouted at river level, but portaging or escape back out to the canyon rim would be very difficult and require some sort of rock climbing. At higher flow the canyon would be a very serious place to be. The entire canyon and falls have been portaged on river left through beaver swamps before lowering boats back down to the river. 

After the canyon some enjoyable boogie follows before arriving at the Skeena River where you will pass under an old creosote rail bridge. Camp here before continuing on down the Skeena to Hazleton (5 or 6 days) or to the Damsumlo Bridge (3 days) for an earlier take out. After the Duti most of your stresses will be over, but there are a few large rapids on the Skeena that one should be ready for, including some III+/IV- (level dependent) such as “Cut You a New Arsehole,” a long compression rapid below the Sustut, “Ham’s Slam” a riverwide ledge below Odwyer canyon, and “Brian’s Hole” above the Damsumlo bridge.

Check this video out from a trip that went in over the last week of August, 2023: https://youtu.be/f1yJ430w8xU?feature=shared

Looking down at the headwaters of the Duti from the ridges above


Stunning vistas and shallow streams on Day 1
Hahn's Haul - Day 1
One of many ledge drops on Day 2
Day 2 boogie. At higher water sections like this become continuous Class IV. At lower water, the challenge is finding the rightchannel.
Entry to the Tzahny Falls Rapid
Bouldery/sieve portion of Tzahny Falls, which ends in another falls. Portage in the forest on river right.
Clamshell Falls - Day 3
The second significant drop on Day 3
Duti Falls
Duti Canyon
Duti Canyon
Low water Ham's Slam on the Skeena

Low water Brian's Hole on the Skeena