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More damaged bridges in the High Sierra

By Andrew Skurka / May 22, 2023 /
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Two more reports of damaged bridges in the High Sierra have emerged. I suspect we may be looking at a few more before the water levels drop in July or August. I’ve updated my High Sierra Creek Hazards resource with these updates already. One is over the Middle Fork of the San Joaquin near Red’s…

Detouring: San Joaquin River bridge alternates

By Andrew Skurka / May 18, 2023 /
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During a flight tour in April, the National Park Service discovered that a critical bridge over the South Fork of the San Joaquin had been damaged. For photos, refer to the PCTA website. This bridge is in the northwestern corner of Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park, just south of the boundary with Sierra National Forest, and…

One spot available: 7-day trip in Alaska’s Brooks Range

By Andrew Skurka / May 16, 2023 /
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Due to a recent cancellation, a spot has become available in the Alaska 1B group. This trip has been full since January, when we first accepted applications. Trip details: If you need to check your schedule, base your plans on these details: The group will meet in Fairbanks, fly to Bettles on a regional flight,…

PSA | Hazardous High Sierra creeks: List, map & alternates

By Andrew Skurka / March 20, 2023 /
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Update (May 18, 2023): Refer to this post for detouring around the damaged bridge over the South Fork of the San Joaquin. Update (May 22, 2023): More bridges are down. Plan accordingly. Every spring, creeks in the High Sierra rage with snowmelt. For one to two months, they are a grave danger, especially after snowy…

Help wanted: Prepping breakfast & dinner rations

By Andrew Skurka / March 16, 2023 /
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To readers who live in or near Boulder, Colo: I need help in preparing breakfasts and dinners for our upcoming guided trips. Would you be interested in making some extra cash? For the 2023 season I’ll need several thousand meals. The work is easy but detail-oriented: you’ll need to proportionally mix the bulk ingredients, then…

Meet Katie Gerber, new Co-Director

By Andrew Skurka / February 27, 2023 /
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I’m delighted to publicly announce that Katie Gerber has been hired as Co-Director and my first full-time employee. To start, she’ll be helping me run the guided trip program; as time and interest permits, I hope that her role will expand. Katie has been involved in the program since 2020, as a guide and online…

Escalante Canyons: Join us for a 5- or 7-day trip

By Andrew Skurka / February 21, 2023 /
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In just eight weeks our 2023 guided trip season gets underway in southern Utah! We’re running 12 trips, and I have a few spots still available that I’d like to fill. For current availability refer to the online schedule; as of today, these spots are on: In all cases, it’s 2-3 vacancies per trip. So…

Now open: Wilderness First Aid in Escalante, UT, April 22

By Andrew Skurka / February 21, 2023 /
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In partnership with the University of New Mexico International Mountain Medicine Center and Department of Emergency Medicine, I am offering a Wilderness First Aid (WFA) course in southern Utah in April. t’s primarily an add-on for guided trip clients, but I have a few extra spots that I’m making available to the public. Go here…

Podcast interviews: Suggested entertainment

By Andrew Skurka / January 20, 2023 /
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In recent months I’ve been a guest on several podcasts. You may have already heard or watched them. If not, and if you’re looking for some backpacking-themed content, these programs may be of interest. Inside Sports Nutrition Listen here Eight years ago Dina Griffin conducted my metabolic efficiency test, and decades ago Bob Seebohar was…

Today’s deadline: End of open application

By Andrew Skurka / January 3, 2023 /
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If you’d like to join us on a trip in 2023 but have been procrastinating on the application, today is your last best opportunity for many trips. During the open application period, which ends today for the second half of our schedule — California, Washington, and West Virginia — all applications received are considered equally.…