Four Thousand Miles Later

At this time two years ago, Erin McKittrick and Bretwood Higman were hiking through a squall on Alaska’s Lost Coast, with rain pouring down in sheets and wind whipping sand and sea foam into the air. Between bursts, the sun shined on the ocean, backlighting the boulders strewn across the beach.  

In October 2007, this sort of bad weather mixed with beautiful scenery was to be expected, as Erin and “Hig” had already walked and rafted to this point from Puget Sound. And, their journey was far from over, as their ultimate aim was to reach the Bering Sea. That’s four thousand miles along the Pacific and every single mile was muscle-powered, as they traveled by foot, packraft, and skis.

A Long Trek Home, recently published by the Mountaineers Books, recounts this journey and provides a firsthand look at the environmental issues they encountered while on their trek.

Tonight, Erin and Hig will be presenting this story at The Mountaineers Building at Magnuson Park in Seattle. On Thursday, they’ll be speaking at the Seattle REI and, on Friday, they’ll be at Bellingham Village Books. After more stops in Seattle next week, they’ll head down for a few stops in Portland. You can find a full list of appearances here. It’s a great tale -- don’t miss it!

In addition to reading excerpts from the book, their presentation features a slideshow of beautifully crafted images and video clips, including one of an encounter with a grizzly bear. Their unique assortment of hand-crafted trekking gear will also be on hand for folks to check out.

You can learn more about Erin and Hig’s ambitious and adventurous projects at http://www.groundtruthtrekking.org and in the January/February issue of Washington Trails.