In 2009, Harry, Megi, and Tom set out to run the Aniakchak River. But adventure turned epic and ended when their camp was destroyed by 80mph winds. They returned this year to try again. Would Alaska’s rugged wilderness allow passage?

On the rim of the volcano, looking down into the mist, we waited. The same wind that was chilling our sweat whipped the fog into eddies in the chasm below. And then, we saw it; a perfectly circular vent of sand-like ash hundreds of feet high.