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Old Man's Hike

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DGBAMA

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I would like to do a month in Alaska, summertime, be dropped off with only what I could carry in a well stocked backpack.
 

deluxestogie

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Parts of Alaska are as remote as any place on earth. You'd really need to know your stuff.

A USGS study of the lower 48 states about 15 years ago found that there was no place--no place--that was farther than 25 miles (as the crow flies) from a road of some sort (including Forest Service roads).

That is not the case in Alaska. Quite a few folks that go trekking just vanish up there: starved, drowned, frozen, killed and eaten, fall into a crevasse. It's where you can be certain that the universe is not friendly. There are even spots in Alaska where you can't even tweet.

I would probably have jumped at the opportunity in my late 30s--a time in my life when I still wanted to see everywhere in the world. Since then, I've been to enough places that I wish I hadn't been, that I pick and choose my destinations with more circumspection these days.

My take on how much food you can realistically carry is 10 days worth in a reasonable pack. If you happen to be a brilliant planner, you might be able to eek by on 1 pound of food a day, for 10 days, but that requires some pretty poor choices for long-term nutrition. If your cooking fuel is collected dead wood (no longer permitted in many Federal and State managed areas), then the 30 days might be within reach. Otherwise, cooking fuel alone is ~4-5 pounds. With uncertain water sources, you would need to carry 6 liters of water (~12 pounds), which is really only about 2 days worth. And we haven't even started with gear.

That's not to suggest that a 30 day trek can't be done. NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School), in Wyoming, routinely does them across the globe.

http://www.nols.edu/courses/find/byskill/backpacking.shtml

But they have some of the best wilderness instructors in the world. (You're less likely to die.)

Bob
 

DGBAMA

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I get you Bob, not necessarily easy and a GPS based locator beacon would be part of the equipment bag, hopefully never to be used. The natural resources available during summer/growning season there are unbelievable. Spent an entire summer camping there once.

A fishing pole, .22 rifle, a larger caliber pistol in case of large animal threat, and a few tools capable of building a shelter (saw or axe). Maybe a quantity of water purification tablets, and of course a reliable fire starter. Anything over and above that could be considered "convenience items".

Not really a trek, like traveling constantly. More getting away from the world and living on what mother nature has to offer. Taking a break in a way that the younger generation and even most my age will never understand.

A month without hearing a phone ring..........priceless.
 

skychaser

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A fishing pole, .22 rifle, a larger caliber pistol in case of large animal threat, and a few tools capable of building a shelter (saw or axe). Maybe a quantity of water purification tablets, and of course a reliable fire starter. Anything over and above that could be considered "convenience items".

You better bring mosquito netting and a lot of Cutters too. You won't last 48 hours without it this time of year. If the mosquitoes don't get you, the black flies and no-see-ems will. And I'd substitute that 22 for the biggest bore riffle you can pack. And make the pistol a 44 mag. The bears up there are nothing to take lightly. They seem to get pissier the further north you go too for some reason. And mamma mooses will stomp you into a stain on the ground if they think you are a threat to their calves those first couple months.

I lived up there for a time back in the 80's. No power, no running water, no phone, no tv. Couldn't even get a radio station until I strung 300 feet of electric fence wire through the woods on insulators for an antenna. lol Good times though. :)

I always wanted to spend a couple weeks hiking through the Gates of the Arctic in the Brooks range. Go for days and never see a trace another human had been there. Now that's for me. Too damn old for those kind of adventures now I'm afraid. But if I got the chance I'd probably go anyway. Hell, you only live once. And "kilt by a bear" looks really macho on your headstone. ;)
 

johnlee1933

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You might consider bagging the fishing pole and just carry braided line and hooks (less weight, less bulky). You might also consider 10 feet of snare wire. It could give you a meal in a pinch.
 

workhorse_01

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Sky, I'm not so sure about the macho headstone part. I watched that grizzly man follow those bears around saying stupid stuff like "I just love the bears they wont hurt me". About half way through the movie I kept watching so I could see a bear eat him! At the end of the movie when the bear did eat him they didn't even show it!! I don't know what was with that? They forced me to watch just for that. I thought stupid would have fit on his headstone pretty good, going around bears without a cannon. I do like the idea of a hike without people around for a few days though.
 
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