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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.…

Deadlines: Open application period closing today + next Tuesday

By Andrew Skurka / December 27, 2022 /
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If you’d like to join a 2023 guided trip and if you’ve not yet applied, for some trips this post is effectively a last call. The open application period ends: All applications received by the deadlines will be considered equally. All applications received after the deadlines will be eligible for remaining spots on a first-come…

How’d we do? 262 testimonials about the 2022 guided trips

By Andrew Skurka / December 9, 2022 /
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Since 2014 I’ve asked our clients to complete a post-trip survey to gather feedback about our guides, locations, meals, and curriculum, plus their overall satisfaction. Reviewing the results is a time commitment — this year the document is 247 pages, plus a few more pages of tables with quantitative data! But it’s entirely worthwhile, as…

Ask us anything: Sign up for “office hours” (free)

By Andrew Skurka / December 7, 2022 /
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Next week we are hosting free “office hours,” starting Wednesday, December 14 and concluding on Friday, December 16. Schedule a chat to discuss anything related to backpacking: If you’re a guided trip alumnus, you can schedule a session to just relive great times, too. Each one-on-one session is 15 minutes, enough to go deep on…

First look: Our 2023 trip schedule

By Andrew Skurka / December 2, 2022 /
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The first iteration of our 2023 trip schedule is now live. View it below, or open the full sheet in a new tab for easier viewing. In this first iteration, I’ve settled on trip locations, trip dates, and trip types. And I’ve estimated the number of groups in each session, based on historical demand and…

I’m hiring: Assistant Program Director

By Andrew Skurka / November 11, 2022 /
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The 2023 guiding season is almost underway: a trip schedule will be released later this month, and the application period will open in mid-December. To help me run the program next year, I plan to hire an Assistant Director. This is a full-time and year-round position, and I hope that the candidate steps up as…

Boston 2022: Setting high expectations

By Andrew Skurka / April 4, 2022 /
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The 2022 Boston Marathon is just two weeks away, and the most difficult and most revealing workouts of the training cycle are now behind me. So where am I at, and what am I expecting on race day? Goals I think it’s useful to include some degree of flexibility when setting goal times for a…

5 thoughtful tips for home shopping

By Andrew Skurka / March 24, 2022 /
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Earlier this week Amanda and I went under contract for a 1962 ranch in Boulder, less than a mile away from our current home. We’re excited about its potential and also intimidated by the work ahead — it’s like a time capsule, complete with its original intercom system, whole house vacuum, mid-mod hallway sconces, and…

Reader Q: Female bidet advice

By Andrew Skurka / March 22, 2022 /
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A reader, AnnaJoy G, recently wrote me: I’m a ciswoman and looking for bidet advice for folks with vaginas. Conventional bidet methods seem to involve dirty water trickling down the butt and towards the vulva, the perfect recipe for a UTI. Online advice columns presume the hiker is a cisman and seem oblivious to the…