Yesterday Andrew and I hosted the second of this week’s Ask Us Anything. Our special guest was Brian Robinson, one of Andrew’s original guides who was the first person to complete the Calendar Year Triple Crown, in 2001 and the seventh Barkley Marathon finisher and former course record holder, and who completed the John Muir Trail in 4 days and 7 hours
Our last Ask Us Anything will be held tonight/Thursday with Mikaela Osler.
In this conversation, we cover:
- Brian’s status as one of the first people in the country to solve the Rubik’s Cube and his Rubik’s PR
- Why Brian didn’t brush his teeth for a year and what happened as a result
- How Brian ended up with 150 pounds of free Snickers bars in his closet
- The recommended start date and trail order for the CYTC
- Brian’s motivation for the CYTC at age 40 and how long it took him to prepare
- The differences in doing the CYTC in 2001 vs now
- How Brian became the very first hiking influencer
- Differences in preparation and gear for our Alaska trips versus other locations
- Bears in the Brooks Range and safety in larger groups versus as an individual
- How to transition from being an on-trail hiker to an off-trail hiker
- The highlights of the Ventana Wilderness
- The teaching techniques we use the field and the origin of our leaning-intensive guided trips
- How to plan a route just by looking at the map