Alaska-Yukon Expedition
Earlier this winter I was awestruck by the enormous avalanche near Valdez, Alaska, that covered the highway with 40 feet of debris and blocked up the Lowe River, creating a lake upstream. I saw another similar story yesterday, courtesy of the Yale’s environment360 blog. Recent images from a NASA Landsat satellite showed a landslide in…
Earlier this week I received an email from Bruce Matthews, Executive Director of the North Country Trail Association, asking a small favor to place an encouraging phone call to Luke Jordan (a.k.a. “Strider”), who is currently attempting a thru-hike of the NCT. Luke started his trip on March 27 at the NCT’s western terminus, Lake…
In the June 2012 issue of Geographical, the official magazine of the Royal Geographical Society (IBG), I wrote about the gear I used on my Alaska-Yukon Expedition. But the article is not a colorless evaluation — the model for this “Essential Gear” series is to embed a discussion about gear within a story narrative, which makes…
Warning: This video contains profanity. Hope you can understand why. Of all the stories that came from my Alaska-Yukon Expedition, scaring the shit out of a grizzly bear is certainly one of the most memorable. The accompanying video footage is also a guaranteed crowd-pleaser during my “Circling Alaska & Yukon” slideshows. Speaking of, my Spring speaking and book…
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…
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…