Australian Story - Alaska And Me

[Mountain Rocket]

Here is the exert from the Australian Story website:

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.

[Vern]

I saw the add for this and it caught my attention...I'll have to watch it. I always wonder how people have the time to pursue these epics so many times over. A bit jealous maybe

[doogs]

It looked nice open walking, the isolation would be the most difficult thing. I think he would be insane to go back in the snowy months.

[andrewa]

Robert, there's only one time it would be good to mistake a packraft for a kayak....apparently Penith whitewater centre won't let packrafts in - only kayaks.

The Brooks range, and the rest of Alaska looks amazing - I regularly check on Roman Dial and Luc Mehls adventures over there - perfect place for packrafting.

A

[Dale]

Wow. Great adventure. That guy's got a tonne of tenacity !

I had to wander whether he had trained with a pack, at that weight for the first attempt(s) ? Given he was resupplying every seven days, what exactly added up to 39kg ? Would love to see the early gear list.

He also seems to be using a silynlon pyramid, despite not knowing how to pitch the *&%$#! thing (see around 18:30).

I'd say it's an MLD Duomid as this is what Skurka used for his Alaskan adventures.

PS: I also find it interesting that his 'kayak' looks to me like a packraft, oh well.

That's because it's an inflatable kayak - looks like an NRS model. That would be the logical choice as including a hard shell in an airdrop might not go too well

As AndrewA says a packraft is right at home in Alaska which is the 'birthplace' of packrafting.

[Mark F]

I have commented elsewhere on these fora but I think it bears repeating. I think he was lucky to complete the trip even the 3rd time. While he was fit enough and it took 2 failed attempts to get his gear right, I feel he never got his head around the solo expedition thing. While I don't know his full background, it does seem all his activities were with others so he is likely to never had enough solo experience in the bush to get him through the trip psychologically; especially if he had hit a serious problem. Just doing a NOLS course is not sufficient for this sort of solo expedition. It requires extensive, long distance solo trips in milder conditions and some group trips in extreme conditions to build up the necessary experience and mental toughness.

[dplanet]

Love seeing the friendly bear. It was so cute.

[stepbystep]

I found the show quite annoying didn't really answer any important questions and attempted to turn it into 'a journey of self discovery' seems the guy read a book and got a crazy idea.... Nice looking country though!
Australian Story has gone downhill big time in the last cpl of years IMHO.

[Mountain Rocket]

You get a much better picture of his walk and the preparation for it from his two videos on his website: http://www.johncantor.com.au/johncantor ... /Home.html

But yes Australian Story rarely seems to address the areas of interest for me in their stories, but I suspect I am in the minority so I am not super worried.

[Explorer_Sam]

As soon as I heard that the introduction was going to be by James Castrission, I decided that I simply had to see it. It was a very inspirational story for me and it's even more encouragement for me to follow my dreams.

[andrewbish]

Here's another survivalist show, this one from National Geographic, called Ultimate Survival Alaska. I'm sharing this episode as it's filmed in a part of the Brooks Range and gives a bit of insight into the back country out that way. Plus, who doesn't love it when Americans whoop it up?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEWX2-mSBo0