Twenty-seven year old John Cantor, the son of a psychiatrist and a teacher, has devoted the past six years to trying to complete one of the toughest solo expeditions on earth.
The Brooks Range is not for the faint-hearted. Spanning northern Alaska the mountains are a mecca for trekkers and kayakers. Many attempt the 1600 kilometre trip but only a handful succeed and some have died in the attempt.
Accessible only during summer, the traverse demands fitness and sophisticated survival skills. Bears, drowning, climbing accidents, a lack of food and extreme weather are just some of the dangers.
John Cantor's first three attempts ended in catastrophic failure but much to the horror of friends and family he wouldn't surrender.
Join Australian Story as John prepares for his final journey and charts his progress in a video blog. Will he succeed at last, or disappear into the wilderness?
I think the program provides an interesting case study of transitioning to lightweight gear to achieve an objective, in this case traversing the Brooks Range. In his first attempt his pack was a pretty traditional looking thing which when fully packed came in at a scary 39kg.
Later in the program you see him with 'The Ultimate Hiker's Gear Guide' written by Andrew Skurka and a dyneema pack that looks to me like something from the MLD range, likely an Exodus or Ark. He also seems to be using a silynlon pyramid, despite not knowing how to pitch the *&%$#! thing (see around 18:30). Apparently these gear changes came about after speaking with the latest person to traverse the Brooks solo, none other than Andrew Skurka
The program is up on iview and is worth the watch in my mind: http://www.abc.net.au/iview/#/view/1005933
It is worth noting that I do not think of him as a hiking role model in any way. Lots of silly decisions. Discuss?
PS: I also find it interesting that his 'kayak' looks to me like a packraft, oh well.
