by Carol Crooker, Erin McKittrick, and Bretwood Higman | 2007-06-05 03:00:00-06
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Erin
Hig
On June 9, 2007, we will hand our keys to the landlord, shoulder our backpacks, step off our Seattle front porch, and head for the mountains. Our plan is to walk, packraft and ski four thousand miles from the heart of urban Seattle to the first Aleutian Island. We estimate the journey will take nine months, finishing in March 2008.
"Podcast: Journey on the Wild Coast, Part 1," by Carol Crooker, Erin McKittrick, and Bretwood Higman. BackpackingLight.com (ISSN 1537-0364).
http://backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/podcast_060507_higman_journey_on_the_wild_coast_part_1.html, 2007-06-05 03:00:00-06.
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Forum Index » Editor's Roundtable » EXPEDITION: Journey on the Wild Coast (Erin McKittrick and Bretwood Higman)
(kenknight) - MLife
Locale: SE Michigan
It's been a while since I've been able to add photos to this page. I've just added 48 more that take you up through the start of November.
** Ken **
Edited by kenknight on 12/18/2007 22:22:34 MST.
(bjamesd) - F
Locale: South Coast of BC
What's up with Erin and Hig's new MLD shelter?
It's made of Silnylon and looks amazing. But what happened to their original cuben shelter? Was it a case of
-not enough ventilation?
-simple wear and tear?
-an accident with the original?
-just an upgrade?
Also, how many days/miles did they get out of their first shelter?
Does anyone know?
(mountainlaureldesigns) - F - M
Locale: USA
They now have the MLD Silnylon Mid.
They have done a lot of product testing for me. They are awesome.
(Never was a Cuben version that they used.)
First Spinntex Mid:
An EARLY proto way before I put them on the website for sale...They used it about 90 nights. A zipper failure was starting- The zipper was a tiny one and with all the sand, etc. everyday it was starting to wear at the bottom and so I sent them a second Spinntex Mid before it totally failed. If you have been following them closely- you know they don't exactly baby their gear either!
Second Spinntex Mid:
They used it for about 30-40 days in some of the the worst of the storms they have seen. It had lots of small improvements over the Proto, mainly a bit taller and a much better vent plus a beefier zipper.
It was way cold and Hig tripped (or something like that) and one of the secondary tieouts point guylines got super yanked and caused a fabric rip. (I now use even beefier reinforcement patchs at the secondary tieouts too. I also suggest folks use a short loops of bungee on side panel and secondary tieouts . -It's really light Spinaker after all...) I think they were gonna sew it back up but I offered to send a Silnylon version for the rest of the trip into the harshest and more remote part of the trek.
Third Mid: The one pictured. I was out of Spinntex at the time and sent the Silnylon version. So far after about 35-45 days I've not heard of any issues. I also thought they might like a bit of Yellow in the Mid! With all the pics of the snow, I think the silnylon is better for when you have to dig it out everyday for day after day. -In that one pic the snow is freaking deep.
Edited by mountainlaureldesigns on 03/18/2008 15:16:23 MDT.
(pappekak) - F
Locale: Tralfamadore
Playing Erin and Hig's March 18, 2008 (Illamna, AK) podcast in Fox Fire 2.0.0.13.
The undocumented feature? Scroll down to a point where the Audio Updates is no longer shown. And... the broadcast stops. Same behavior when I switch windows.
Annoying :{
(jcolten) - M
Locale: MN
It had lots of small improvements over the Proto, mainly a bit taller
Ron, care to elaborate on reason to be taller? headroom? better snow shedding? Something else?
(mountainlaureldesigns) - F - M
Locale: USA
I just thought the first one a was wee bit too squat. A little taller yeilds better interior room (critical for three four people) for the same floor plan and sheds snow/rain/hail/marmots better.
Of course too tall could be problem with wind. I think I hit a good in between balance.
(Steve_Evans) - MLife
Locale: Canada
I haven't had a chance to get through everything, but this:
"A pizza fell out of the sky for us "
...made me laugh
(kenknight) - MLife
Locale: SE Michigan
It has been a while since erin and Hig have had an audio update posted. That is in part because I was away backing in Scotland (taking part in The Great Outdoor Challenge, 2008 - some of you may already have known that) and because we had a technical snag that has now been resolved. Suffice it to say they'll have plenty to talk about in future updates.
(skots) - F
It appears that the epic trek to the Aleutians has ended. Congratulations and infinite reverence to the driven, visionary couple. I don't think Mary and Joseph could have pulled this one off. And they're with child? Hm...
(skots) - F
Welcome back, Erin,
Thanks for your regular expedition updates. I found great pleasure in your written accounts, photographs, and in the end, the trip's safe conclusion.
What do you all find exciting these wilderness less days?
(mckittre) - MLife
Locale: Seldovia, Alaska
For anyone in the Seattle area, Hig and I will be giving a slideshow presentation on our Journey on the Wild Coast expedition.
Wednesday October 8, 7PM
Mountaineers Building, 300 3rd Ave W
Seattle, WA
download pdf flier
For anyone in Anchorage or on the Kenai Peninsula, visit the Events page for info on our talks there in late October.
I know it's short notice, but please spread the word to anyone interested!
-Erin
(Umnak)
Locale: Southeast Alaska
Resurrecting this thread to pass on the announcement of Erin and Hig’s film from their trip being aired at the Anchorage Film Festival in December.
This link connects with the short preview
http://anchorage.bside.com/2010/films/journeyonthewildcoast_gregchaney_anchorage2010
They haven’t sat still since finishing their trip in 2008. Erin’s book came out last year and they visited us here in Juneau on the book tour. I last saw them in Kotzebue this past August as they were starting a month-long walk along the northwest arctic coast with their 18 month old son. Oh, Erin was five months pregnant. Tough and wonderful people.