Trip, race & hunt reports
I’m writing from Yakutat, an isolated 600-person community that marks the mental halfway point of this trip’s “Lost Coast” section. The Lost Coast is a ~400-mile-long strip of temperate rainforest squeezed widthwise by the Gulf of Alaska and the Chugach Range, and bookended lengthwise by the Copper River Delta (east of Cordova) and Icy Straits…
Cordova, Alaska Two weeks ago I shipped my skis home and picked up my packraft, which I will carry until the very end of this expedition in October. Most people have never heard of packraft, which Wikipedia defines as “small, portable inflatable boat designed for use in all bodies of water, including technical whitewater and…
Follow adventurer Andrew Skurka as he skis, hikes, and rafts 4,720 miles through eight national parks, two major mountain ranges, and some of North America’s wildest rivers in Alaska and the Yukon from March to October. Read his blog updates here. The Alaskan wilderness has brought me to tears twice on this trip, both times…
Cordova, Alaska Alaska-Yukon Expedition: Packrafting Adventures with Roman Dial (Video) Yesterday I reached the Gulf of Alaska (Pacific Ocean) after a five-day paddle of the Copper River and some of its tributaries. National Geographic photographer Michael Brown and his “photo assistant” (also uber Alaskan wilderness adventurer) Roman Dial joined me for the float and for…
In talking recently with my parents and friends I gather that not everyone is familiar with the lingo I’ve been using to describe the current springtime conditions. I’ll attempt to define a few of the most important terms now. “Variable conditions” In the winter and summer, conditions are relatively predictable. Winter: cold temps, dry snow,…
Delta Junction, Alaska In an earlier post, “Becoming a Lean, Mean Adventuring Machine,” I identified a “go big or go home” moment as part of the hardening process. I finally had that moment, a few weeks ago in the western Alaska Range (as predicted), and I’ll share it now. The western Alaska Range between Roan…
What’s been the most intense moment of the trip?—Matt Shaw I had a few tense moments last week after a spring snowstorm dumped almost three feet of snow up high just before I was about to ski over two steep passes. Both passes had unavoidable avalanche slopes (i.e. I had to cross slopes that are…
Delta Junction, Alaska I enjoy solo wilderness travel. I also enjoy group wilderness travel. There are pros and cons to each, but certain trips are best done solo, while others are best done by two or more individuals. In the case of this expedition, the reason I’m doing it solo basically comes down to the…
Spring has arrived in Alaska, at least by local standards. It may have been zero degrees this morning, but at least the days are getting really long, the weather is warmer and more stable, and the snow and ice are melting in the mid-day sun. This means the roads are getting muddy and the trails…
Nikolai, Alaska April 11, 2010 I think about this expedition in three major legs: Kotzebue to Nikolai (mile 757), Nikolai to Dawson (mile 3,091), and Dawson to Kotzebue (mile 4,720). Leg one is now over. It’s been characterized by flagged snowmachine trails, frequent resupplies (two per week), few days without seeing another person (just three…
