Arctic roller

The Great Alaskan-Yukon Loop

Hiking legend Andrew Skurka is back on the adventure trail as he’s begun discussing plans for perhaps what could be his most enduring challenge yet.

In a 4,500 mile trek, tentatively called ‘The Great Alaskan-Yukon Loop' (GAYL), Skurka will spend seven months backpacking, packrafting, and skiing through the through the North American wilderness, around the border of Alaska and Canada’s Yukon Territory.

Skurka is no stranger to pushing the limits, having near enough defined long-distance hiking in the past decade. In 2004 he completed a 7,700+ mile trek across North America before a grand loop of the western US in 2005 that covered 6,875 miles.

While a mere 4,500 miles may seem a walk in the park to a man like Skurka, the GAYL looks to be something else. Not an official trail or route, it has never even been attempted, completed or perhaps even conceived.

Beginning in March, it will be what Skurka has called a ‘race against winter’, as he tries to complete the challenge before the notoriously harsh Alaskan freeze. But perhaps the toughest hurdle comes with the route: it only crosses 10 roads throughout its entire length.

“On intense long-distance hikes I run a considerable caloric deficit,” explained Skurka. “I simply can't carry enough food to avoid losing weight. Normally I'm able to offset enough of this weight loss in trail towns to avoid a decrease in physical performance. But on the GAYL I won't have as many opportunities to binge, and I wonder how many consecutive 10-day stretches between resupply points I can withstand before my body starts to fail me.”

For Skurka, the measure of success is mere completion but as he outlines his intentions he’s still looking for some funding and even a new name for the expedition – apparently 'GAYL' just isn’t catchy enough...

Find out more about Andrew's trip here: http://www.andrewskurka.com/AK10/index.php