Six years ago, clad in duct tape and a few tattered fragments of raingear, my husband Hig and I paddled leaking Sevylor rafts through a maze of nets and fishing boats to land in the remote village of Chignik. We were desperately thin, despite having subsisted for the past week on jars of Betty Crocker frosting. We had been trekking along the Alaska Peninsula, through a remote wilderness of tundra and volcanoes, for two months and over eight hundred miles. Outside of the few towns we passed through, we'd seen zero people and eighty-five grizzly bears. But I was happier than I ever had been. And what was originally planned to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience would eventually become a way of life.
Since then we've walked and rafted over three thousand miles in the Alaskan wilderness, traveling through thickets of alder and devil's club, down roiling rivers and past angry bears to some of the most amazing places I've ever seen.
On June 9, 2007, we will hand our keys to the landlord, shoulder our backpacks, step off our Seattle front porch, and head for the mountains. Our plan is to walk, packraft and ski four thousand miles from the heart of urban Seattle to the first Aleutian Island. We estimate the journey will take nine months, finishing in March 2008.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Introduction
- Environmental mission
- Salmon
- Forests
- Resource Extraction
- Global Climate Change
- Logistics
- Route
- Cities, suburbs, and the Cascade Mountains - June 2007
- Vancouver Island Coast - July 2007
- Great Bear Rainforest - July-August 2007
- Tongass National Forest - October 2007
- Gulf of Alaska - November 2007
- Prince William Sound to Cook Inlet - December 2007
- Bristol Bay Uplands - January 2008
- Alaska Peninsula - February 2008
- Unimak Island - March 2008
- Conclusion
# WORDS: 4240
# PHOTOS: 20
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Discussion
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I just thought the first one a was wee bit too squat. A little taller yeilds better interior room (critical for three four people) for the same floor plan and sheds snow/rain/hail/marmots better.
Of course too tall could be problem with wind. I think I hit a good in between balance.
I haven't had a chance to get through everything, but this:
"A pizza fell out of the sky for us "
…made me laugh
It has been a while since erin and Hig have had an audio update posted. That is in part because I was away backing in Scotland (taking part in The Great Outdoor Challenge, 2008 – some of you may already have known that) and because we had a technical snag that has now been resolved. Suffice it to say they'll have plenty to talk about in future updates.
It appears that the epic trek to the Aleutians has ended. Congratulations and infinite reverence to the driven, visionary couple. I don't think Mary and Joseph could have pulled this one off. And they're with child? Hm…
Welcome back, Erin,
Thanks for your regular expedition updates. I found great pleasure in your written accounts, photographs, and in the end, the trip's safe conclusion.
What do you all find exciting these wilderness less days?
For anyone in the Seattle area, Hig and I will be giving a slideshow presentation on our Journey on the Wild Coast expedition.
Wednesday October 8, 7PM
Mountaineers Building, 300 3rd Ave W
Seattle, WA
download pdf flier
For anyone in Anchorage or on the Kenai Peninsula, visit the Events page for info on our talks there in late October.
I know it’s short notice, but please spread the word to anyone interested!
-Erin
Resurrecting this thread to pass on the announcement of Erin and Hig’s film from their trip being aired at the Anchorage Film Festival in December.
This link connects with the short preview
http://anchorage.bside.com/2010/films/journeyonthewildcoast_gregchaney_anchorage2010
They haven’t sat still since finishing their trip in 2008. Erin’s book came out last year and they visited us here in Juneau on the book tour. I last saw them in Kotzebue this past August as they were starting a month-long walk along the northwest arctic coast with their 18 month old son. Oh, Erin was five months pregnant. Tough and wonderful people.
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