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From the Bering Sea to (Almost) the Alaska Range

By Andrew Skurka / April 7, 2010 /

Takotna, Alaska April 7 , Day 25 From Unalakleet I followed the historic Kaltag portage route, an 80-mile connector between the the Bering Sea and the Alaskan interior. I was greatly looking forward to heading inland—the bitter temps and winds combined with a shortage of naturally sheltered areas had really worn on me. The landscape…

A Guide to Canadian Topographical Maps

By Andrew Skurka / April 2, 2010 /

When I am planning a trip in the United States for which a pre-produced mapset is unavailable, I usually make my own with National Geographic TOPO! software. In TOPO! I can pan seamlessly across USGS topographical map images, like how I can pan across a Google Map; I can markup the maps with symbols, text…

Is Alaskan Village Life Sustainable?

By Andrew Skurka / April 1, 2010 /

Ruby, Alaska To travel between Kotzebue and the Alaska Range, I’m using snowmachine trails, which are hands-down the most practical way to get around terrain that is either swampy and buggy or covered in snow and ice. The snowmachine trails “connect the dots” of bush villages in rural Alaska. These villages are not connected to…

Becoming a Lean, Mean Adventuring Machine

By Andrew Skurka / April 1, 2010 /

Ruby, AK I’m almost three weeks into this trip, and today I feel much more hardened than I did when I landed pre-dawn in Kotzebue 500 miles ago. The process of morphing from just an aspiring adventurer into a lean, mean adventuring machine has three components: physical, mechanical, and mental. Physical The body must become…

280 Miles Along Alaska’s Wild West Coast

By Andrew Skurka / March 24, 2010 /

Unalakleet, AK Tomorrow morning I head inland via a historic portage route between the Bering Sea (the Unalakleet side) and the Yukon River (at the village of Kaltag). This is a transitional point in the route—moving from the coast to the interior—and a good opportunity for me to wrap up the last 280 miles. My…

Just 4,600 Miles to Go: How to Stay Motivated

By Andrew Skurka / March 20, 2010 /

Koyuk, AK A few hours out of Buckland things felt like they were really coming together. It was calm, sunny, and in the high-10’s—ideal Nordic skiing temps. My kick-and-glide rhythm felt expert-like compared to when I skied out of Kotzebue 100 miles earlier. For the first time on this trip, my mind began to drift,…

Secrets to Surviving the Bitter Cold

By Andrew Skurka / March 18, 2010 /

Buckland, AK It was -25° F when I started this trip on Sunday. It warmed up some, to -15°, but it was offset (and then some) by the 10 MPH crosswind from the west. Monday wasn’t much better — it was -20° F in the morning and -10 deg F mid-day. The weather finally broke…

What’s in My Pack?

By Andrew Skurka / March 13, 2010 /

Kotzebue, AK The contents of my pack are almost entirely need based. During this trip, my legitimate needs will include staying hydrated and nourished, keeping my body temperature regulated, and traveling efficiently and safely over the land–snow-covered tundra, glacier-fed rivers, and dense alder forests. I can think of only one item, my camera, which can…

Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim

By Andrew Skurka / March 25, 2009 /

In February and March 2009 I hiked from Arches National Park to the Grand Canyon, which I traversed from east to west. The trip was 800 miles long and took about 4.5 weeks. I finished a day earlier than I anticipated, on Tuesday March 17th, and could think of few better things to do with…

Leadville 100 in photos

By Andrew Skurka / August 20, 2008 /

Special thanks to Rob O’Dea Photography for letting me include a few of his images on this page. Pulling into Twin Lakes on the inbound leg (mile 60). It’s uncommon to see ultra-runners carrying trekking poles, which, frankly, bewilders me — trekking poles are invaluable during the climbs, especially steep ones: they allowed me to…