The dream: an unguided canoe trip down Alaska’s Kipchuk and Aniak rivers to some of the best salmon fishing in the world. The reality: A white-knuckled survival story, a near drowning, and some of the best salmon fishing in the world By T. Edward Nickens The idea that there are two Alaskas came to me in a cold wave as my canoe was swept into the toppled trees and I was thrown overboard.