Backpacker Magazine – October 2011

Survival: Learn Patience in Alaska

Don't let low points get you down.

by: Andrew Skurka

Tags:
• Skills
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• Threats
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After 23,000 miles of long-distance hiking, mostly in the Lower 48, I was confident in my ability to pull off big treks. My planning was meticulous, my gear and food prep dialed, and my mental fortitude was proven. Or so I thought. Then I embarked on a 4,700-mile route through Alaska and Yukon’s wildest backcountry. I wish I’d known that there, nature is in the driver’s seat, always. At one of my lowest points, I got stuck in a snowstorm at the bottom of two avalanche-prone passes. Stopping and waiting drove me crazy—this wasn’t going according to plan. I contemplated backtracking or calling in a bush plane. Eventually, I made it, but it was on Alaska’s schedule, not mine.

Choose Your Partner Wisely
Erik Weihenmayer, Blind climber, Everest summiter, and competitor on ABC’s Expedition Impossible

Cross a River Safely
Tracy Ross, BACKPACKER contributing editor

Don't Always Trust A Topo
Jim Gorman, BACKPACKER contributing editor



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