STORY BY KAREN BOSSICK

PHOTO BY PADDY MCILVOY

Sit back in your armchair and take a solo paddling and fishing trip through the Tongass National Forest in southeast Alaska on Wednesday.

Paddy McIlvoy, owner of Backwoods Mountain Sports and an avid fisherman and pack rafter, will present “Tongass and Togiak—Adventures in the Old Growth” at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7, in the Bailey Studio of The Argyros in Ketchum.

The Tongass National Forest is the Untied States’ largest national forest, its 16.7 million acres larger than 10 U.S. states. The Togiak National Wildlife Refuge, which borders Bristol Bay to the south, sports a rare two-mile long geologic feature formed when lava erupts under a glacier. It also features all five species of Pacific salmon, rainbow trout, Arctic grayling, Dolly Varden and Arctic char.

The free presentation is being hosted by the Hemingway Chapter of Trout Unlimited and is open to the public.

McIlvoy made a 16-day solo paddling and steelhead fishing journey through the Tongass National Forest and a 35-day self-supported traverse of the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge. He will share stories about the wild fisheries in those places, the intact habitats and the importance of landscapes that still function as complete system.

“His perspective offers a powerful reminder of why protecting cold, clean water and connected rivers matters—for fish, for people, and for the future,” said Trout Unlimited member Ed Northen.