Posts
Light is right and less is more, especially when you are backpacking. A lightweight pack is safer and more comfortable, and more FUN, than a heavy pack full of overbuilt and unnecessary stuff; and it makes the backcountry more accessible for anyone who does not want to (or cannot) carry a traditional pack, which should…
1. What would you do without your mother? — George Eichman III My mother is certainly an integral and critical part of my trips, though my father should get some credit, too. My mom’s most functional role is serving as my logistics coordinator: She ships me food, supplies, and fresh gear; acts as a messenger…
Boulder, Colorado This past weekend, just two weeks after finishing my trip, I moved back to the exceptional city of Boulder, Colorado. My life does not appear to have changed much since I left seven months ago: I’m living in the same house, hanging out with the same friends, and running the same trails; I…
Below are gear lists from many of my past trips. They do NOT necessarily represent what I would take today if I were to repeat the trip. In fact, it’s likely I’d make quite a few changes, especially in the case of gear lists from long ago (e.g. the Appalachian Trail in 2002), before I…
On Monday Andrew Skurka finished his epic Alaska-Yukon Expedition, covering 4,700+ miles and finishing a few weeks early, even! We’ll hear more from him later in the week. Until then, here are some of his initial thoughts on finishing. Check out our photo gallery with highlights from the expedition. Thoughts on food? After six months…
For the last 12 months, my life has revolved around a singular purpose: to complete the Alaska-Yukon Expedition. In the first six months I planned how to do it, which entailed intricate spreadsheets, goodie boxes from sponsors, and Sam’s Club shopping carts overflowing with food. And for the last six months (168 days, to be…
Anaktuvuk Pass, AK I grew up in a Masschusetts suburb where I found “wilderness” in abandoned gravel pits and marshy wetlands that had escaped development. Later trips to New Hampshire’s Presidential Range and Maine’s Mahoosuc Mountains made my childhood playgrounds seem tame, and through high school they set my standards for what constituted wilderness. But…
The section between Dawson City, YT, and Fort McPherson, NT, will be memorable for several things. It was the first of my huge pushes: 390 miles long with two weeks of food. This leg was also great training for the upcoming Brooks Range: conditions were cool and damp, my pack was heavy, the route was…
Dawson, Yukon Territory There’s a point in every trip when I start to sense the finish. On trips of less than a month, I usually sense it from the start–I know about how long the trip will take and I often have concrete plans post-trip. But on longer trips, the expedition becomes a lifestyle with…
Dawson, Yukon Territory Earlier tonight I pulled into the historic gold rush town of Dawson, which marks the end of my 450-mile float on the Yukon River (starting in Whitehorse) and the beginning of my final leg through the wilds of northern Yukon and northern Alaska back to Kotzebue. I had been somewhat dreading this…