Trip Reports

Adventures

Assorted tales of treks, trudges, and accidental epics in the wild.

Tokositna to Talkeetna (7/13/2019) - 68.5-mile packraft trip down the Tokositna, Chulitna and Susistna Rivers, from the Peters Hills to Talkeetna Some weekends are just weekends, and others are a week of adventure ratcheted down to a couple days. In July 2019, Brett Woelber, Tim … Read More

Portage Glacier Calving (3/6/2019) - Report and analysis of a March 2019 calving event at Portage Glacier There are many metaphors for the sound of a glacier calving: A rifle going off. Trains colliding. The crash and roll of thunder. None of these descriptions fully … Read More

Cantata Boots and Boats (9/8/2018) - 20.3-mile hike and packraft loop around Cantata Peak, in Alaska’s Chugach State Park The September 2018 heatwave was so intense that Alaskans started referring to it as a new season: Second Summer. High-temperature records across the state were shattered, and … Read More

Blackbird Traverse (8/24/2018) - 25.3-mile variation on the Bomber Traverse backpacking route, in the Talkeetna Mountains of Alaska In early August I found myself at the Snowbird Glacier Hut, poring over the Bomber Traverse Map with three Canadian women who had just made it … Read More

The Bad Kash Traverse (6/30/2018) - 36.6-mile attempt to run the Kashwitna River, in the Talkeetna Mountains Some trip reports are inspiring. Some are informative. Others are warnings. On the last day of June, 2018, Brett Woelber, Dre Benitez and I set out to float the … Read More

Tents in Valhalla: Bikepacking Knik Glacier (3/31/2018) - Spring fatbiking and camping trip at Knik Glacier In March 2017, the stars and snows aligned to create a legendary day of Alaska fattire biking. Word had gotten out that you could ride from Hunter Creek across the Knik River … Read More

Backpacking Haleakala Crater (12/31/2017) - Three-day backpacking loop in Maui’s Haleakalā National Park Every day before sunrise on Maui, a motorcade of rental cars creep up to the 10,023-foot summit of Haleakalā and throngs of bleary-eyed tourists spill out to shiver through the sunrise. It … Read More

The Birds and the Bombers Traverse (8/17/2017) - A variation on the Bomber Traverse route through the Talkeetna Mountains Another August rolls around, which means it’s time for blueberry picking, avoiding the State Fair, and heading out on the Bomber Traverse. The snow on the glaciers is usually … Read More

McHugh Peak Incident 232 (12/23/2016) - Winter camping on the west summit of McHugh Peak I’m always bummed when adventure buddies leave Alaska, but there is a silver lining. Homesickness builds up until it’s almost explosive, and as soon as wayward friends return stateside they’re often … Read More

Cirque de Bird (9/27/2016) - Late fall mini-epic through Chugach State Park A few things I’m thankful for: clean running water, wool socks, and friends who don’t blink when you ask them if they can get up at 5am to go hiking. With the snow … Read More