View Full Version : New Release: Alone Across Alaska
Hi Everyone,
Although this isn't directly about the AT of course, I thru-hiked the AT in 2001 and am a long-time member of Whiteblaze.
In 2006 I backpacked and paddled across Alaska, mostly following near the divide of the Brooks Range. After months of editing over 10 hours of raw footage (no camera man, just me) the first box of DVDs is now on the way. It's got mountains, bears, wilderness, wolves, rivers, caribou and much more.
Please visit my website for the stories, photos, video highlights and/or to order the new DVD (see my signature, below.) My site also has several pages of photos and advice related to my thru-hike of the AT.
Thanks folks!
Colter
Tipi Walter
11-30-2007, 12:38
Hey, I just checked out your site and bookmarked it for later study. I especially liked your extensive gear list. It all reminds me a bit of Fletcher's A Walk Thru Time, about some of his extensive trips in the southwest.
Once I start reading it I'll find out more, but about how many days did you go between food drops? How much weight did you need to carry and for how long without resupply?
I know some of my gear is heavy, a heavy tent and pack, but the longest I can go on a trip without resupply(no food cache)is about 17-18 days, and this includes the white gas/fuel I'm carrying.
Thanks for sharing this.
dessertrat
11-30-2007, 12:42
That looks like a very cool trip.
How were the bugs?
jersey joe
11-30-2007, 12:45
Definitely looks like a cool trip! One day I hope to be able to do something similar. The grizzly bear running at you in your video looks a bit scary though!
Tipi Walter, my pack weight varied between about 20 lbs, and 43 pounds at the heaviest. I was carrying more food than normal because it was going to be a long summer and there was no place to binge on pizza and ice cream and the like, which is so much fun on the AT. I could have gone farther between caches, but wanted to keep my pack at a reasonable weight so the trip would be more enjoyable. A buddy of mine has a Super Cub, so he was happy to drop off caches for me at the start of the trip so they'd be waiting when I got there. So I ended up hiking about 8 days or so between caches.
Once I hit the Noatak River weight wasn't an issue, so I had a cache large enough there (in bear proof drums, dropped off by a float plane with special permission from the Park Service) to take me the last month to the coast.
Desertrat, the bugs were intense at times, it was bug-free at others, and somewhere in between most of the time. I have a high tolerence for skeets and had some good repellant, so it wasn't too bad.
jersey joe, that was a fairly tense bear encounter, no doubt about it. Guess he hadn't seen enough people to know what I was!
dessertrat
11-30-2007, 12:58
Oh, also, a question: Is that a Shires Contrail tarptent? How well did it hold up for the whole trip? I am thinking of getting one.
Oh, also, a question: Is that a Shires Contrail tarptent? How well did it hold up for the whole trip? I am thinking of getting one.
It is a Virga. It was a great shelter, the best light shelter I've used. I had some minor criticisms of it, but it held up for the whole trip, although it was showing some wear by the end (zipper wearing out for example.) Check out what I said about it on my review page (http://www.bucktrack.com/Alaska_Backpacking_Gear_List_Review.html)
Tipi Walter
11-30-2007, 13:11
Tipi Walter, my pack weight varied between about 20 lbs, and 43 pounds at the heaviest. I was carrying more food than normal because it was going to be a long summer and there was no place to binge on pizza and ice cream and the like, which is so much fun on the AT. I could have gone farther between caches, but wanted to keep my pack at a reasonable weight so the trip would be more enjoyable. A buddy of mine has a Super Cub, so he was happy to drop off caches for me at the start of the trip so they'd be waiting when I got there. So I ended up hiking about 8 days or so between caches.
Once I hit the Noatak River weight wasn't an issue, so I had a cache large enough there (in bear proof drums, dropped off by a float plane with special permission from the Park Service) to take me the last month to the coast.
Desertrat, the bugs were intense at times, it was bug-free at others, and somewhere in between most of the time. I have a high tolerence for skeets and had some good repellant, so it wasn't too bad.
jersey joe, that was a fairly tense bear encounter, no doubt about it. Guess he hadn't seen enough people to know what I was!
Hey, thanks for the 8 day quote. My pack on long winter trips(15 days) approaches, heck sometimes exceeds, 75 pounds, and it's always about the dang food weight. Thanks again. BTW, did you have any problems with permits or fees?
jersey joe
11-30-2007, 15:12
colter,
I also noticed that there is no narration or music in the video clip on your site, save for you yelling at the charging grizzly. Is the full DVD the same way?
The only permit I was required to get was a "commercial filming" permit in ANWR, which to be frank I thought was very silly. I was a lone hiker, not Sean Penn and his huge professional filming crew!
There is very little music in the DVD. There is narration and on-the-scene explanations of what's going on, wind and water, wolves howling (several different days,) ravens, ptarmigan, etc. There's sound throughout the whole DVD, but most of it is natural sound.