Eric Ries coined the term “lean startup” in the context of entrepreneurship, but most folks think it’s about running a business with as little overhead as possible.

Nothing could be further from the truth, or more damaging to the entrepreneur that is assuming that zero overhead is the key to success.

It’s not in business, and it’s not in backpacking. We’ll get to trekking in a minute.

One of Eric’s great philosophies is that of doing rather than just planning.

At some point, you have to get to market with a product that doesn’t have to be perfect, because your customers may hate it anyways.

And, at some point, you have to take a walk.

The amount of time people spend spreadsheeting, buying gear, testing gear, returning gear, weighing gear, cutting tags off of gear, weighing gear again, finding the right stuff sacks for the gear, packing their gear, unpacking their gear, repacking their gear, and then repeating this whole process in preparation for a walk borders on insanity.

“But this is my thru-hike!”
“But I’m going to Alaska!”
“But I’m…”
“But I’m…”
“But I’m…”

Yeah, I know. Been there. I get it.

But at some point you have to be honest with yourself.

Maybe it’s a waste of time?

When I packed for a recent traverse across the Beartooths, I ordered a pack from Joe which arrived a few days before I left and thought, “huh, let’s give it a shot”. Then, without a spreadsheet, or plan, or a pack load test, or the right stuff sacks, I went through the shed and pulled out a bunch of gear I hadn’t used in a while, threw in a firestarting kit and a pot, and called it good.

Ten days later, after a snowy and wet August trek, I ended my hike remarkably happy.

Now, I have to admit – I wouldn’t take that exact kit again – I made notes and modifications and remembered the pain caused by some of the items – and made sure my next kit was much better optimized for the foul conditions of high mountains.

This is what Eric calls a “pivot”: act, assess, change, go. The pivot is the change-go piece.

Analytical backpackers might do better to spreadsheet less, walk more, and pivot.

Spreadsheeting is interesting, pivoting means you have some amount of intelligence, but trust me when I tell ya: walking is where it’s at.

Here’s my list of best pivots from 2011:

1. Closing the backpackinglight.com gear shop. This pivot left me facing our membership community again. What a joy! Working on new products for them behind the scenes has interjected new excitement into my daily work.
2. Working from a home office again. I love my view of the Bridger Mountains from my house, the smell of hot chili cooking in the slow cooker, the sound of Stephanie coaching the dog, and the scratching of Chase’s pencil as he does his homework.
3. Watching fewer fiction movies and more documentaries about social and environmental activism, humanitarian projects, etc. I like the feeling of being more connected to the planet.
4. Packing for all of my trips this year using a paper, rather than an electronic, gear list.
5. Sleeping in a tarp again, in the deep of winter.

What pivots have you made this year?

Everyone has different objectives when they visit a Wild Place.

Some go to escape, some go to return, some go to get exercise, some go to fish or photograph or climb or rest, and some go to play with gear.

I love playing with gear at home, in my backyard. I loathe having to mess with it when I’m in a Wild Place.

For me, visiting a Wild Place is about rest, recovery, detox, and the experience that is being delivered by the environment.

In almost every case, I don’t want my gear getting in the way.

When I am seeking an experience free from the clutter of fiddling with gear, I tend to lean towards gear that is simple to use, at the expense of adding a few ounces.

– Packs –

Carrying even 20 pounds of weight in a frameless pack gets old quick. My tolerance for bad pack design is extremely low, and while carrying heavier loads in frameless packs doesn’t hurt me, knowing that the pack is failing to function the way it’s supposed to is a nagging irritation. Maybe it’s my personality type (I’m a strong Myers-Briggs “J”), maybe it’s my engineering background, or maybe it’s a belief that most cottage packs seem rather carelessly designed.

Often, my trips involve carrying packrafting gear, fly fishing gear, photo/video gear, or climbing gear. As such, I prefer a more carefully designed pack that can distribute the load effectively while fitting properly, and maintaining the load mobility that I value in a frameless design.

However, there is something about carrying all that is required for survival and comfort in a tiny homemade sack slung over your shoulder like Huck Finn might have done. The simple benefits of this style are psychological, rather than practical, but still very real.

I've been working with a cottage manufacturer on a backpack that is exceptionally comfortable and adaptable across all load sizes and ranges. Here, I'm carrying it on an overnight trek in the White Cloud Peaks of Central Idaho this summer - a small load of less than 15 pounds. The same pack is used on my longer expeditions, like a glacier trek in the Canadian Rockies, where I carried nearly 40 pounds and a much bulkier volume of gear. The pack weighs about 2 lb, is designed to carry 45 lbs in comfort, has an internal frame, a rolltop closure, is made with a heavier version of Cuben Fiber, and has no external pockets built in. For more information about this pack, visit Hyperlite Mountain Gear and check out their "Porter" model.

There is no shortage of both homemade and commercially available solid fuel and alcohol stove systems that perform inefficiently, slowly, and with more complication than necessary.

These shortcomings are magnified in bad weather, especially wind.

When I want stove simplicity, I simply want a stove that works, boils fast, consumes miniscule amounts of fuel, and is simple to setup and put away, and can be used inattentively. I’m thus a huge fan of the Jetboil SOL Ti, which meets all of these criteria.

The Jetboil SOL Ti is the stove I've been wanting Jetboil to make since their introduction several years ago. The pot-stove-kit weighs 8.5 oz and I can enjoy hot meals and drinks every night and every morning for a week on a single 100g net weight canister. It boils 0.7 liters of water in 2-3 minutes in foul conditions while consuming less than 4g of fuel. Remarkable.

– Mess Kits –

Ultralighters (including me) can get pretty fanatical about making sure their gear serves multiple uses. One classic example is the magic little titanium mug that serves as a cook pot, eating bowl, and drinking mug. I’m not convinced, however, that this is necessarily the simplest system for a mess/cook kit. My idea of simple(r) is being able to cook a volume of water in my pot (enough for a meal and a drink) and then distribute that hot water into a cozy-wrapped bowl to dehydrate dry food, and a small mug for drinking. If I’m really trying to save weight, the mug is the first to go, because I know I can always drink out of my pot.

The following video shows one example of a simple cooking system that can be adapted to both group and solo travel.

I can’t recommend enough the need for an eating vessel with no less than 3 cups of capacity for expedition use. Most ultralighter’s skimp on the volume of their eating bowl, and the result is food being spilled, small meals, and failure to adequately rehydrate them.

– Simple Fishing –

The day I discovered tenkara gear and fishing was the day I knew that for me at least, fly fishing would be changed forever. I’ve never, ever had that experience so fast with any other piece of gear.

Eliminating the reel and fly line means eliminating all that is expensive, complicated, and unnecessary for backcountry fly fishing, and stripping both the gear, and experience down to its essential components and actions.

The tenkara rod's simplicity lies in the fact that no reel, or fly line is required. The simplicity of tenkara fishing is based on its elimination of line management, resulting in focusing on manipulating the only part of the entire system that matters - the fly alone.

There is no shelter that is faster, or easier, to setup than a pyramid tarp. It offers full perimeter protection in stormy conditions and a space-to-weight ratio that makes spreading out, drying, and organizing gear more pleasant than when cramped into a tiny tent.

I believe that the pyramid is the most versatile of all types of ultralight shelters.

That said, there is an element of psychological simplicity in using a small, and simple, tarp – an element of simplicity that should not be understated, or undervalued.

There is something about sleeping under an open tarp that is immensely satisfying. Maybe it’s the views. Maybe it’s the exposure. Maybe it’s the risk of knowing that if mother nature breaks loose, you could be in a bit of trouble.

Maybe it’s just knowing that you have replaced your multi-tens-(or hundreds)-of-thousands-of-dollars-home with something that weighs half a pound.

The tarp camper enjoys a sense of natural simplicity that may only be bested by sleeping in a bivy sack under the open sky.

And so, there is more than one type of simplicity. I classify the two major types as “practical simplicity” and “natural simplicity”.

Pracitical simplicity is that type of simplicity where I crave not having to fool around with anything, and where everything is just plain easy and effective. Practical simplicity is all about the gear.

Practical simplicity is embodied by my internal frame pack, my gas stove, my tenkara rod, and my pyramid tarp.

And then there is natural simplicity – that type of simplicity where the process brings you more in touch with the natural world, thus becoming less about the gear and more about the experience. Natural simplicity has a strong aesthetic component.

Natural simplicity is embodied by sleeping under a tarp (not the tarp itself), and cooking on a wood stove (not the stove itself), and the tenkara style of fishing (not the rod itself).

Wood fire and wood stove cooking is not always practically simple, especially in exceedingly wet or foul conditions. In addition, if you lack firebuilding skills, it can be time consuming. However, for the patient and skilled, the rewards in terms of natural simplicity are strong. The aroma of a wood fire, and the sizzling of foods cooking on it, are valuable sensory experiences in the backcountry because they are so opposite of the sensory experiences we have in the civilized world.

Gear that is practically simple that also allows for natural simplicity to be realized is extremely rare.

For example, the tenkara rod embodies both practical and natural simplicity in a way that no other piece of backcountry gear can accomplish, and that’s why I think it’s truly a “home run” piece of gear, and perhaps the most extraordinary advance in backcountry gear in the past decade.

My second place vote would be Devin Montgomery’s Backcountry Boiler – a wood burning stove that turns a pint of cold water into boiled madness in a few minutes using grass, or pine needles, or your trash as fuel.

Two wood stoves that offer both practical and natural simplicity are the Backcountry Boiler (left) and the Bushbuddy Ultra (right). The edge goes to the Boiler for its ability to integrate both pot and stove into a single unit, and for its greater efficiency (less waste heat), leading to faster boil times, and allowances for poor quality fuels.

1. Be light in weight;
2. Be efficient in performance;
3. Be easy to use;
4. Offer tactile benefits during use; and
5. Increase your connection to the natural environment.
6. Have a design that reflects aesthetic simplicity.

– A Call to the Cottage Industry –

Mass market manufacturers are incapable of designing and marketing gear that blends both practical and natural simplicity because the concept is too hard to educate people about. You simply cannot appreciate the value of it, until you (a) experience it; (b) practice it; and (c) refine it. Mass manufacturers don’t have the time. The sales season is only a few months long, after all – and with the need to make sure they are addressing the latest trends in colors and fabrics and features – who has time to educate consumers – or allow them to experience the benefits of simplicity?

And so, as usual, it seems like it’s up to the cottage industry.

That’s not a bad thing.

Except that few of them seem to be pursuing it.

Tenkara USA and Boilerwerks are hitting home runs, but are exceptions – companies that have extreme hyperfocus on what they are creating. The rest of the cottage industry seems to be limping along doing the same old things – that is – trying to be like mass manufacturers, or otherwise trying to compete on the basis of selling features rather than design or performance aesthetics.

Opportunity knocks.

– For Discussion –

1. What gear do you use that embodies your perception of simplicity?
2. Why don’t we see more “simple gear home runs” out of the cottage industry?
3. What simple gear do you want that doesn’t exist, that embodies both natural and practical attributes of simplicity?

– Ultralight Gear for the Ultralight Life –

I explore the concept of simplicity in more detail in my letter Ultralight Gear for the Ultralight Life, but don’t necessarily limit the applicability to backcountry gear, but expand the discussion to include gear, supplies, and processes that have the potential to impact your life as a whole on a daily basis.

I enjoy a lot of different things.

Scouting, entrepreneurship, fly fishing, making fires, packrafting, trekking, the wilderness, wildflowers, remote places, my truck, coffee, making my own gear – these are a few of them.

But two things that get me as excited as anything else are teaching and ultralight backpacking.

The motivation for me to develop Backpacking Light’s Wilderness Trekking School, and the online and field courses at Ryanjordan.com, was borne out of the fact that these reflect core passions of mine.

—

I’ve done lots of different things in my career, but I’ve been teaching for a long time.

Ultralight Backpacking Boot Camp will introduce you to the state of the art gear and technologies - and skills - that allow you to travel with a very light pack in comfort and safety.

When I was 17, I started working at Camp Parsons, where I taught pioneering skills, first aid, wilderness survival, and other Scout skills to younger scouts with a thirst for learning. I worked at CP until 1992 in various capacities, all of them involving some sort of teaching as a trekking and mountaineering guide, area director, and program director.

By the time I graduated with my M.S. at Wazzu, I had more teaching experience under my belt, from fundamentals of engineering to calculus to rock climbing to blackjack dealing. I loved it all, and was thrilled to see my students excel at what they were learning.

More time in the university system in Montana seeded my passion for teaching even more, giving me the opportunity to participate in the founding of both the Biofilm Institute, and Cytergy, two companies dedicated to developing online education for the medical science community. When I realized the potential to seed, and create community around information and education with the Internet, I founded Backpacking Light, and the rest is history I suppose.

—

My passion for education has not changed so much, even though who and how and what I’m teaching have evolved through the years.

Ultralight Backpacking Boot Camp is not about minimizing weight for the sake of minimizing weight - it's about exposing you to options from which you can choose from to define your own ultralight style. Here, I'm cooking stir fry in a titanium pan over a wood burning stove, which gives me the cheer of fire, and the satisfying taste of fresh foods.

1. You’ll have the opportunity to go through a lot of material. I think there are about 30 individual lessons in this course. The result of opening the floodgates during an intense training period will allow you to rethink how you look at ultralight backpacking, and perhaps most important, energize (motivate) you to take a big step towards growing your skills.
2. If you participate in the mentored or field course options, the benefits you get in #1 will be magnified. Through mentoring, we solve problems together in a private, one-on-one environment. Through a field course, we solve problems together in real time in real conditions with real people in a collaborative environment.
3. Courses like this always cause you to ask more questions, stretch your perception of what you are capable of, and challenge your existing preconceptions. These are three elements of personal growth that fuel real change.

What do I really get out of it?

You are helping me make a living at doing what I love to do. Of course, you’re helping anyone make a living wherever you spend your dollar, right? But have you wondered if you are fueling the passion of the kid who made your last hamburger at the drive in, or the clerk at the license & title desk at the courthouse, or some unknown shareholder of the bank to whom you pay your mortgage interest?

What I get out of this is a little bit different. I get the opportunity to serve you, and to know you. You give me an opportunity to make a commitment to your learning. I give you an opportunity to be teachable and to grow. My commitment to you is simple: let’s make this a win-win deal.

A happy participant from a May course, trekking in ultralight style across a high mountain pass. Who said ultralight backpacking has to wait until the snow melts? In the Ultralight Backpacking Boot Camp, you'll be exposed to a wide variety of lightweight skills and gear that will allow you to trek year round.

This course session is going to be an exceptional one if you go through either the mentoring option, or the field course option, with me.

The reason that the timing for a mentored option is going to be unique right now is that I’ve been exploring a number of new new skills and styles in the past few years and continuing into this summer, and I’m very eager to share with you what I’m learning.

The reason that the timing for a field course option is going to be unique right now is that I’ll be taking you into one of the most beautiful, and awe-inspiring locations in the world: high on a massive alpine plateau dotted with trout-filled lakes, jutted with dramatic granite peaks, and lined with soft-on-the-feet tundra. By the time we break out of the treeline, you’ll know that these types of vistas, and the opportunity to trek through such a beautiful location, just doesn’t come around very often.

In particular, I’m really excited to share with you what I’m learning about the Canadian Rockies, where I’ll be trekking in July in ultralight style, but with a pack that includes glacier trekking, fly fishing, and packrafting gear, too!

—

Ultralight Backpacking Boot Camp comes with my personal guarantee. If you finish the online course, went through the material, and think you totally wasted your time and money, I’ll refund your online course fee. I’m not interested in seeing you waste money – that’s something that completely negates my own principles of living an ultralight life (i.e., the principle of exercising monetary discipline).

Moreover, if you’re on the fence, don’t be afraid to ask me any questions. I’m happy to work through them with you via email, chat, Skype, or phone. Just drop me a line.

Enroll Now »

Introduction

Last week I spent four days in the Bob Marshall Wilderness with Scout Leaders from around the country training them in the art and practice of ultralight backpacking techniques for the Backpacking Light / Montana BSA course. Our goal is simpler, yet more profound, than just playing with gear: thinking about the best ways to impart the knowledge to Scouts in a way that helps them grow, and be encouraged about traveling through Wild Places.

We split the twelve of us into two crews of six. We traveled separately along our own off-trail routes throughout the week, and then camped together two out of our three nights, so we could share war stories.

I like traveling as a group, and sharing gear, and relying on each other. Camp routine as a group is a rewarding way to achieve comradeship. Two people gather firewood, start the fire, and prepare the meal. Two people set up the shelters. Two people hang the bear bag and treat everyone’s water.

My crew in May 2011 in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, an enjoyable lot of fine company from diverse backgrounds, united with common interests in Scouting and lightweight wilderness travel.

When it’s all done, we’ve accomplished something together quickly and efficiently, and strengthened our connections to each other. Connections that you can’t get when you have six people traveling solo with all of their own gear.

This connection culminates at dinner time. We say grace, we eat together, we clean up together, we enjoy a fire together, and we chat about the glorious day behind us.

This all happens better when we share stuff. This post is thus about Group Gear.

Group Gear

My approach to group outfitting has been cultivated by the following:

• Adherence to and support of the Patrol Method in Scouting;
• Travel through the high mountain environments of the Northern Rockies
• Travel with group sizes of 6-8 people
• Travel with groups of like-minded individuals.

Consequently, you may come from a different framework than I, and may need to adjust your approach accordingly.

Pre-trip collaborating: planning an expedition route across the Beartooth Plateau on a wall map tacked to the outside of a remote USFS Forest Service Cabin.

When I travel with groups, we share the following:

• shelter gear
• cooking gear
• firestarting gear
• water storage and treatment gear
• bear bag hanging gear
• navigation gear
• first aid gear
• breakfast and dinner food

Here’s a comprehensive group gear list for a typical three-season trip with a group of six persons. Weights aren’t indicative of resolution achievable by using scales accurate to a tenth of an ounce, because even though tenths of ounces matter to gram counting solo hikers, nobody really cares about them in a group.

This list was pretty close to what our crews took into the Bob, except where noted.

Shelter Gear

• GoLite Shangri-La 6 Shelter – 55 oz
• Qty (2) Seek Outside Carbon Fiber Adjustable Poles – 16 oz
• Qty (6) 8″ Easton Tubular Stakes – 7 oz
• Qty (10) 6″ V-Channel Aluminum Stakes – 4 oz
• 210d oxford nylon stake bag – 1 oz
• 30d silnylon shelter bag – 1 oz

The GoLite Shangri-La provides an environment of bustling activity for kids and adults alike. Here, Boy Scouts enjoy the business of morning preparation for the day ahead while chatting, laughing, and dreaming together.

Commentary:

1. When possible, putting the entire group into a single shelter creates a great sense of connection. Four-man groups can be accommodated under a large (10′ x 14′) silnylon tarp or large pyramid (10′ x 10′). I like putting larger groups under one of the double-pyramid GoLite Shangri-La’s, and I generally prefer pyramid shelters to tarp shelters in the winter (better protection from cold wind and blowing spindrift, along with steeper walls for snow-shedding), and smaller (more wind-resistant) shelters in high mountain environments.
2. Carbon poles are not recommended for winter, or with less experienced hikers, because they require extra care, and break under heavy snow loading. Aluminum ones are available for about 30% to 40% more weight, and much more strength.
3. I like using long stakes for the four corners and at least two guylines for large shelters. Small stakes can round out the rest. Large shelters grab a lot of wind, and generally, are inappropriately matched to thin skewer stakes.
4. A thick and durable stake bag allows the stakes to be stored with the shelter, and the stake bag packed with the shelter, thus protecting the shelter from being punctured by the stakes.
5. When traveling with this type of floorless group shelter system, each group member should pack along a lightweight ground cloth or bivy sack for ground protection in the shelter.
6. For our last Scout Leader trek, we took one two-man flat tarp and one four-man pyramid tarp, to give the leaders a little more experience with multiple shelters.

Cooking & Firestarting Gear

• Primus Express Spider Stove – 7 oz
• MSR Windscreen – 3 oz
• Open Country 4 Quart Billy Pot – 13 oz
• MSR Alpine Folding Spoon – 1 oz
• Adventure Medical Kits BAK Hand Sanitizer – 1 oz
• Light My Fire Firesteel Firestarter – 1/2 oz
• Tinder-Quik Firestarting Tabs – 1/2 oz
• Esbit Tablets – 2 oz
• 4×5 Loksak Bag – 1/2 oz
• Poly Bag – 1/2 oz

A simple, fast, light, and very effective group cooking system based on the Primus Express Spider and the Open Country Billy Pot. This setup, from a group traverse of the Teton Crest in September 2010.

Commentary:

1. The Primus Express Spider is a compressed gas canister stove that can be used with an inverted canister, which extends its applicability to winter conditions by allowing for the fuel to be liquid-fed to the stove (thus eliminating canister cooling that degrades compressed gas stove performance in cold conditions). In addition, the Spider is light, durable, and has the large flame head required for rapidly boiling water in large pots.
2. The windscreen is essential for conserving gas, especially in windy conditions.
3. Open Country makes two types of pots – the 4 Qt Aluminum Kettle, and the 4 Quart Billy Pot. The Billy Pot is 3 oz lighter, has a nonstick coating on the inside, and more rounded edges that allow for slightly easier packing.
4. Cooks use the MSR Alpine Folding Spoon to ration out dry foods into personal mess kits, which can be as simple as a bowl and spoon (mug optional). Generally, with this style of cooking (see Foods section below), you simply add hot water to dry food, and let it rehydrate in personal bowls. I recommend that each person carry a Glad Ziploc Bowl with a homemade “cozy” made from Reflectix that can be used to insulate the bowl after the water is added while it is “cooking” – a process that takes 5 to 10 minutes with most dry foods.
5. Hand Sanitizer is kept in the cook kit to make it as easy as possible for cooks to maintain good hygiene. We use BAK instead of alcohol because in high mountain environments, dry skin results in cracking, especially on the hands, and alcohol stings!
6. Our firestarting kits are stored in the 4×5 Loksak bag and include the firestarter (which is used to light the stove, too), firestarting tabs, and Esbit fuel tablets. I recommend saving the fuel tablets for emergencies only (e.g., when you absolutely have to get a fire going fast in wet conditions).
7. All of the supplies will fit into the cook pot, which then goes into a cheap poly bag, such as the Backpacking Light size S Pack Liner, for storage inside somebody’s pack. I recommend the poly bag in case you cook over fire, thus protecting pack contents from soot.
8. On the Scout Leader course in the Bob, we cooked quite a bit over fire, and only used the stoves here and there. Fire is more fun. Stoves are more useful in sensitive areas, or when you’re in a hurry.

Two Open Country 4-Quart Kettles preparing dinner water for a crew of 12 in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

Water Storage and Treatment Gear

• Platypus 6L Bags – 4 oz
• Aqua Mira Kit – 3 oz
• Aqua Mira Pre-Mix Bottles – 1/2 oz
• Water Kit Storage Bag – 1 oz

Commentary:

1. When all members of our group are carrying enough water bags or bottles for “a few to several” liters of capacity per person, then we usually don’t bring any big water bags like the Platypus 6L. But if we’re traveling through some place like the Beartooths or Wind Rivers, where water is plentiful and you only really need to carry a single 1L water bottle, a large group bag is nice for in-camp use.
2. The trick to making Aqua Mira efficient for group travel is the pre-mix bottle. I use a Backpacking Light MiniDrop bottle for this purpose. In the morning, we add about 100 drops of Part A and 100 drops of Part B into the pre-mix bottle (e.g., enough pre-mix to treat 14 liters of water). Then, when it’s time to treat water, we dispense 14 drops of the premix into a 1 liter bottle of water that needs to be treated (28 drops into a 2L bottle, etc.). With large groups or on treks where we’re consuming a lot of water, we might have to make another bottle of pre-mix during the day.
3. Like any group gear “kit” that contains small parts, I like to have a dedicated storage bag, which is well worth its minuscule weight for its ability to contribute to group gear organization.

Food (Bear) Storage Gear

• AirCore Pro Rope – 6 oz
• #3 S-Biner – 1 oz
• Rock Sack – 1/2 oz

Troop 676 Boy Scouts get ready to 'hang' their bear bags over granite cliffs near Rough Lake in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, July 2010.

Commentary:

1. If everyone brings their own food storage stuff sacks (and odor resistant plastic bags to line them with), then group bear bag hanging gear can be as simple as a big rope.
2. I like to use Backpacking Light AirCore Pro Rope for group hanging because (a) it’s strong enough and (b) it’s nice and slick which makes it easy to pull over tree branches with a lot of weight. Food weights that are heavier than about 30 pounds are hard to pull, so consider having multiple ropes on trips where you have to hang more than 15-20 person-days worth of food.
3. The rock sack is simply a little stuff sack that is big enough for a baseball-sized rock. Put the rock in the sack, tie the end of the rope to the sack, and sling it over a tree branch. This saves the pain of tying a slick rope around a round rock and watching the rock sail into oblivion while the rope falls into a lifeless clump at your feet because it fell off the rock.

Navigation & Emergency Gear

• Satellite Phone – 8 oz
• Maps – 4 oz
• 12×12 Loksag Bags (Map Case) – 1 oz
• Brunton 7DNL Compass on Lanyard – 1 oz

Navigating the old fashioned way - by map and compass - in the Tobacco Root Mountains, March 2010.

Commentary:

1. The GPS and SPOT are optional devices. A GPS can save time, and a SPOT is a neat device for blogging your trip locations to your friends.
2. With groups, I highly recommend a satellite phone. With a satellite phone, you have the flexibility to change exit logistics, get an emergency weather report, and as needed, deal with a life-threatening emergency fast.
3. I like sharing the map and compass with the group. Navigation is an activity ideally suited for collaboration, and having everyone looking at one map connects group members.

Learn More About Group Travel

I explore group gear and techniques in more detail in the Ultralight Backpacking Boot Camp, Expedition Planning, and BSA Leader Training online courses, including:

• Group travel philosophies and styles (Boot Camp & Expedition Planning)
• Personal vs. group first aid supply considerations (Boot Camp & Expedition Planning)
• Group food planning, packaging, and cooking (Boot Camp, Expedition Planning, and BSA Leader Training)
• Case studies in group travel (Boot Camp, Expedition Planning, and BSA Leader Training)
• Group social and psychological dynamics (Expedition Planning and BSA Leader Training)
• Group leadership considerations (Expedition Planning & BSA Leader Training)
• Executing the Patrol Method with lightweight gear (BSA Leader Training)

Learn More About Group Travel in My Online Courses

What Would You Use?

I’m interested in learning about your favorite group gear, and what you might consider for shelter, cook systems, water treatment, and more when you hike with your family, troop, or crew of pals. Please leave your feedback below!

Perspective

This laptop sleeve case has one third the volume of what it replaces – a Domke F-803 satchel, which weighs 54 ounces with a shoulder strap and padded sleeve from a popular bagmaker in California.

This sleeve weighs 3.7 oz.

So while the Domke bag can store 3 times more stuff, it weighs 14.6 times as much.

Disclaimer

This is a short post that features a final product only – there are no patterns or instructions published here, because I haven’t had the opportunity to make them up (yet, perhaps!).

Therefore, I only hope that this inspires a few DIY readers to make their own ultralight laptop sleeve that doesn’t cost a fortune or weigh more than the computer that’s going into it. If you’ve tackled a project like this, I’d love to hear about it, please post!

Why I Did This

For years my laptop was housed in some type of third party laptop sleeve, and then dropped into a Filson briefcase. I enjoyed as much shoulder strain as a pro mall shopper on Black Friday.

As my laptops lightened up, so did my needs for a briefcase.

As of last year, I had commissioned my Domke F-803 reporter’s camera satchel from a camera bag to an MBA 11 case. However, it weighed, almost obscenely, more than three pounds (including the strap and a sleeve for my 11-inch MacBook Air). I say obscene because the weight of the briefcase was heavier than the contents.

This should sound familiar to those of you who are ultralight backpackers. Remember the days when we lightened our load so much that the weight of our backpack was more than the weight of the contents of the gear we packed into it?

While lightening my laptops, I also lightened my needs for “office tools, supplies, and accessories”. (I talk about those tools in more depth, and how I use them for running my company and personal life, in the Ultralight Gear for the Ultralight Life Letter.)

So in the process of lightening my briefcase contents, and radically changing how I work, I simplified the Domke F-803 into obsolescence.

After searching high and low for a Macbook Air sleeve that had pockets, was simple in design, and accepted a shoulder strap, I failed to find anything light, or anything that reflected what I most loved: the outdoors. Most of the quality cases out there were made out of boring black Cordura or ballistics nylon, expensive leather, or cotton canvas that screams “I’m not a photojournalist but I really want to look like one, so I have this neat canvas case”. Besides, they were all really heavy.

Then I realized: I had light fabrics, sewing skills, and I knew exactly what I wanted.

This laptop sleeve is the fruit of those efforts – enjoy.

Features

• Sized to fit a Macbook Air 11
• Tricot-lined open cell foam padding (1/4″)
• Dimension-Polyant sailcloth fabrics
• Two bellowed front pockets
• One rear magazine sleeve pocket
• D-rings for shoulder strap
• Shockcord system for securing contents
• Weight: 3.7 oz (sans shoulder strap)

Limitations

The purpose of this section is to prevent non-ultralight-backpackers from posting to the comments below with obvious criticisms, like:

1. “Dude, it’s not waterproof! My MBA is gonna get fried in the SFO fog!” That’s right, mac fanboy – you’d do well to spend a little time in the ultralight backpacking community; just wrap your MBA in one of these as needed, if you have to live or travel in SFO or SEA.
2. “A measly quarter inch of open cell foam? Bwahahaha! I can’t wait to see what happens when you drop your MBA and start cryin’ your eyes out while you pick up a thousand dollars worth of parts!” This question comes mainly from PC owners and those who use 4-season tents for summer hiking, and I’m not sure I can help you guys. For those of you that fear the wind, do what the cowboy does: “Hang on ta yer hat, pardner.”
3. “There’s no pocket flaps, or velcro, or snaps, or clasps, or buckle closures, or…or…or…my stuff’s gonna fall out!” This bag cannot be used on the monkey bars. The ultralight shockcord actually goes a long way at securing contents (not tiny stuff, obviously, but those can be secured easily enough with some creativity (see the Letter). My goal was to keep this as simple as possible – and closures aren’t simple. I find most closures pretty irritating.
4. “This is really cool. Where can I buy one?” This is a DIY project (for now, at least).

Photos

The front view shows the side-by-side bellowed pockets where I store accessories.

The rear view shows the nearly full-height slip pocket for magazines, etc.

The top view shows the main sleeve compartment (tricot-face foam-lined), and the opening to one of the side bellows pockets.

Learn More

If you subscribe to the letter, “Ultralight Gear for the Ultralight Life,” you can watch the video tour of my mobile office to see what’s in the bag.

More details about this case, what goes in it, and how I use the case, its contents, and mobile technology to run my business and personal life without the need for permanent physical home or professional offices, please consider subscribing to Ultralight Gear for the Ultralight Life. I will be featuring this topic specifically in the issue that will be sent to subscribers as of Saturday, May 7 at 9:00 AM U.S. Mountain Time. If you missed the deadline, and subscribe, please drop me a note and I’ll be happy to send this letter back issue to you.

The big brown’s first aerial leap from the depths of the Madison River made me smile. The second one made me laugh. The third one, at the end of a run in strong current, reminded me that using tenkara gear and methods for big trout in big rivers is as applicable as the practice of small-stream tenkara.

Tenkara has been unfairly characterized as either a “method of choice for small stream fly fishing” or “applicable primarily to small stream fly fishing”. While I agree with the former, I wholeheartedly take issue with the latter.

If you’ve fished with me long enough, you’ll experience one or more of the following scenarios.

1. Suffering through thick bush, talus, mountain storms, poison oak, or twenty mile walks in a quest to find the biggest trout in the highest and remotest lakes and streams of the Beartooths, Bob Marshall Complex, Yellowstone, Uintas, or Wind Rivers.
2. Getting up at 5 am to fish the Hebgen Lake trico hatch and not putting the rods away until fish stop rising to the last caddis to hatch at Three Dollar Bridge on the Madison, which is usually after 11 PM.
3. Hunting large trout on big rivers with tenkara.

This post is about #3, and fish like this:

Daniel Galhardo, Tenkara USA Founder, with a large brown trout caught via Tenkara during a baetis hatch on the Madison River in Beartrap Canyon, Montana.

The Small Stream Myth of Tenkara

The tenkara Wikipedia entry (retrieved 28.Apr.2011) tells us that tenkara is used primarily for small stream fishing.

Certainly tenkara methods offer advantages over western (short-rod-and-reel-fly-fishing) methods on small streams, simply by its virtue of not having to deal with backcasting in brushy conditions and notwithstanding the fact that the $400 line holder you are carrying, with the accompanying weight of gear, is probably overkill.

But the real beauty of tenkara on small streams is being able to control the fly in turbulent water by keeping the line out of the current – one of the most difficult aspects of fishing small streams with western gear.

As a result, I know of many western anglers that now use tenkara rods for small streams, but remain addicted (out of fear perhaps) to western methods on larger rivers. Unfortunately, the myth that tenkara is “best” applied to small stream fishing, or worse, “only” applicable to small stream fishing, isn’t helping tenkara gain acceptance.

Enough is enough.

I think there are two reasons for this.

1. The first is that once a myth is seeded, it’s easily propagated, because it’s easier to tell lies about something you’ve never tried than tell the truth about something you know don’t quite know how to do.
2. The second is that as the primarily supplier of tenkara gear in the US Market, Tenkara USA has thus far limited their rod offerings to shorter, collapsible, softer ultralight rods that are gaining a wide appeal amongst ultralight backpackers and travelers.

I can’t help you with #1 other than to say: put up or shut up. Get off the forums and go learn, and then practice tenkara.

And Tenkara USA can certainly help you with #2: enter stage left, the Amago, and say hello to big(ger) river tenkara fishing.

About the Amago

At 13’6″ with a 6:4 taper on the faster side of 6:4, the Amago has the length to manage a longer line on bigger water. It easily throws a 50 foot #5 level line, and you can manage the signature fly-first tenkara cast with #5′s up to 30 feet without difficulty, and only a little practice. You may need a netting partner when using lines longer than 20 feet. Precision casting (without wind) with the Amago is probably best with a #4 or #5 level line that is in the 20-24 foot range – in other words, you can get away with a slightly longer line than “1.5 times the length of the rod” with the Amago, due to its length and action. With wind, I recommend a shorter line in the 16-18 foot range.

Fishing with the Tenkara USA Amago in big water on Montana's Madison River near Bozeman. Ashley Rasmussen Photo.

In addition, the Amago has both the length and backbone to fight bigger fish. Of all the rods in their line, the Amago is probably best positioned to fish big water, and land trout bigger than 20 inches.

Beyond the Amago

The Amago is the best we have right now from Tenkara USA, but it’s not a square answer to the question of how to land big trout in big water.

For every large (up to 24″) trout that I’ve landed on a tenkara rod, there have been two that escaped because the rod didn’t have the backbone required to steer them out of strong currents and prevent them from running. I recall two fish in particular: a South Fork Flathead River bull trout that was in the 28″+ range and fiery Missouri River rainbow (24″+). The bull trout dogged its way into a log jam and the rainbow screamed downstream in fast water. To be fair (to me!) both trout were hooked on the very soft (5:5) Ayu, which simply doesn’t have the steering power of the Amago.

I’m catching bigger fish on the Amago, but still losing the biggest ones. I’m confident that my fighting technique is improving, however, and more trophies are coming to the net.

My ideal big trout big water tenkara rod might have a 7:3 taper (8:2 would be too fast in windy conditions) and be in the range of 14 to 15 feet in length, with a long grip for cantilever double-handing when fighting large fish.

Why Tenkara Beats Western Methods Most of the Time on Big Rivers

“Tenkara has limitations”.

Oh, if I had a fly for every time I’ve heard this one from a shop clerk, “pro” angler, blogger, or other self-professed expert…

So let’s talk about the real limitations of tenkara methods:

1. You can’t fish weighted nymphs with a tenkara rod. Sure you can. You might have to wear a bag over your head, because tenkara purists will scoff at you, but I find some degree of satisfaction putting a weighted Czech nymph at the end of the line and managing its position and drift with the precision that only tenkara can provide. See below for more info. Caveat: you can’t chuck weighted nymphs with them. In addition, big weighted nymphs can nick the rod tip and break it. Finally, big flies require robust tippets to cast, and you don’t want to be using tippets stronger than 4x or you’ll risk tip failure. So, fish weighted nymphs all you want, but keep them small and don’t fool around with strike indicators and split shot, or all of tenkara’s fly control advantages will be lost. Tenkara, with a weighted nymph, is high-stick Czech nymphing at its finest, and most effective.
2. You can’t reach fish that are 50 feet away with a tenkara rod. Then walk or wade towards them, you lazy bum.
3. Tenkara fishing eliminates the cool factor I get by showing off my $400 disc-drag hi-capacity large arbor reel. Spend the $400 bucks on a nice camera: you’ll be so much cooler landing a five pound brown and asking the guy with the reel to take a photo of you with your “little trout” and “fly stick”.
4. You can’t look like Brad Pitt in A River Runs Through It when you’re casting a tenkara rod. Brad Pitt will have nothing on you. Tenkara is sexy – but it’s for Presbyterians, too.

I live, fish, and guide in Southwest Montana on big rivers like the Yellowstone, Madison, and Missouri – and am here to tell you that I’m a big-river-big-fish tenkara addict.

Here’s why.

1. Tenkara allows you to deliver a fly-first and fly-only presentation.

The western angler, after a series of false casts to increase line length, will lay out a final cast across the current with delicacy and finesse – with the fly, leader, and line seemingly and softly falling onto the water at the same time that the final loop of leader and tippet unfurls in the distance.

This cast just spooked half the trout between you and the fly.

I cannot recall how many times I’ve seen a fly fishermen ignore, and then spook, every trout within easy reach of a tenkara cast, while casting long lines and then try to mend them in complicated currents.

A more skilled western angler will cast to close fish first, then to fish a little farther away, and finally, to the fish that require long casts. But what if fish are rising everywhere?

Tenkara allows you to pick and choose what fish you are casting to, regardless of where they are (except of course, for those ones that are very far away).

You see, tenkara allows you to deliver both a “fly first presentation” (where the fly hits the water first, before any other part of the line) and a “fly only presentation” (where the fly, and perhaps a few inches of tippet, are the only things to ever touch the water’s surface during a drift).

These two factors make for a deadly combination on spring creeks, but are even more important in big rivers. First, it allows you to more effectively respond to rising fish in front of you regardless of their position, rather than being forced to cast to the fish closest to you before casting to fish a little further away. Second, the fly first presentation allows you to precisely control the fly (see #2 below) with your rod tip, a much more effective and accurate strategy than mending line.

The reason that tenkara can more effectively deliver a fly first presentation is that the rod length allows the backcast to be delivered not only behind you, but high (where the fly is delivered up into the sky at an angle back over your shoulder) rather than behind and back (where the fly is delivered pretty much parallel to the ground behind you). The result of this backcast positioning is that it stages the forward cast for delivery of the fly forward and down (where the fly is delivered to the water at a much lower elevation than the rest of the tippet/line), rather than for delivery of the fly parallel to the ground in front of you, as in western methods.

Ryan Jordan shows a tenkara backcast where the fly is casted "back and upward", staging for a fly-first delivery. Brian Flemming Photo.

It is because of these same casting physics that a fly-only presentation is effective with tenkara. Even with long lines (I sometimes use a level line up to 30 feet in length with the Amago), a long tenkara rod can effectively keep most of the line and leader off the water with little or no drag ever imparted to the fly. With 30 feet of double taper 4 weight line and a nine foot rod, this feat is nearly impossible with western style.

2. Tenkara allows you to control the fly.

Big rivers harbor complex, swirling currents. The more line you have to manage, the more strikes that you’ll miss at these current edges. Tenkara allows you to more effectively fish eddy lines, current seams, and over fast current lanes more effectively than western methods.

The sensitivity of tenkara, combined with the rod length and short line, means that every cast is predictable.

The result is that I can regularly deliver a fly at the end of four feet of tippet attached to a 20 foot tenkara level line to a target three inches in diameter, repeatedly.

The ability to cast with precision to a pinpoint location – combined with the fly-first and fly-only presentation style of tenkara – means that you can employ one of the most effective fishing strategies to entice a trout to take your fly: the repeated delivery of a fly to a small area over and over again, at quick intervals (this makes the fish aware of surface activity), followed by one final presentation that allows the fly to travel through the entire feeding lane of the trout. Often, the result is a successful, and aggressive take. Using this method with western gear is difficult (because it’s less accurate unless you are a practiced casting champion) and risky (because the more you send highly visible conventional fly line over a stream, the more you risk spooking trout with the shadows, splashes, spray, and drag of the line).

In addition, because you can deliver a fly-only presentation where the fly is controlled directly with the rod tip, you have immense control over where that fly travels, and can precisely position it into just about any feeding lane. My favorite feeding lanes to fish with tenkara gear are far eddy lines, pockets beyond faster moving water, and the far seams of plunge pools on the opposite sides of rocks – three locations where fish love to feed, and three locations that give all western flycasters absolute fits of line drag.

3. Tenkara requires that you stalk the fish at closer distances.

If you think that you only have to stalk fish in streams and spring creeks, then it’s a sign that you’ve watched a River Runs Through It too many times, and that you’re a western line distance addict. Stalking fish is not the same as “seeing a rise on the other side of the river and casting to it.” Stalking fish may be the single most important skill required to catch big trout, and it’s not the same as “prospecting for big trout in obvious looking runs”.

You don’t have the ability to cast to a fish rising 70 feet away from you, across the river, if you fish tenkara. Thank goodness, because I’ve yet to see a western angler effectively manage that much line in a big river unless he’s stripping a streamer.

4. Tenkara allows you to control the position of an underwater fly around and over obstacles.

We’ve already discussed above how and why tenkara’s fly-only presentation allows you to control a dry fly. This presentation style offers significant benefits for wet fly / nymph fishing as well.

Big rivers have big obstacles. Underwater log jams, boulders, and other structure provide current breaks that allow a smorgasbord of trout food to accumulate. Managing the drift of an underwater fly around obstacles, and over them, is nearly impossible with western methods. With tenkara, it’s as easy as lifting, reaching, and pulling. Tenkara allows you to deliver an underwater fly with absolute precision, simply by moving your rod tip up (raises the fly up in the water column) and down (sinks the fly down), back (upstream, raises and slows) and forth (downstream, sinks and dead drifts), or fore (away from you, sinks or dead drifts the fly away) and aft (towards you, raises the fly towards you). Combinations of these movements can effect additional control over the fly. These movements in combination with river currents give you tremendous control in positioning wet flies – all without the aids of indicators and split shot.

5. When you hook a fish with a tenkara rod, you have more control over the fish – where it goes, what it does.

Playing a big fish with tenkara is very exciting – you control a running fish with rod angle and control, not reel technology – there is more skill and “feel” involved in landing, and you are more connected to the fish. You can feel when it’s getting tired, and you can feel when it’s about to surge.

This big brown fell to a sakasi kebari style fly during a spring baetis hatch. Tenkara allowed the trout to be landed quickly - less than a few minutes - which improves recovery and survival when practicing catch-and-release.

The length and slower action of tenkara rods are more forgiving than western rods when it comes to your response time to a running trout. There is a common misconception that in order to land a big fish using tenkara methods, you have to be prepared to swim and chase it. Mostly, it’s hogwash, and landing large trout simply means that you have to follow the fish a few yards, but mostly, use the rod, its position and angle, and the river currents, to your advantage to tire the trout.

6. Tenkara is aesthetically beautiful to hold, to cast, to land fish.

I can write about what this feels like, or you can try it for yourself. Go fish tenkara. You don’t need me to fuel the emotional addiction to tenkara fishing.

Ryan Jordan is a tenkara addict. Ryan is a licensed fishing guide in the State of Montana and offers tenkara instruction and guided trips on the Madison, Missouri, Yellowstone, and other big rivers that harbor big trout. Ryan teaches tenkara casting, fly control, big fish landing techniques, and more – learn more at the tenkara fly fishing page.

Since it’s high baetis season in Southwest Montana right now, I thought I’d share what I’d fish with during a baetis hatch if I could only have one fly: the Kebari (Tenkara) Baetis. The pattern is presented in the order of construction, and as typical of tenkara flies, is tied reverse-style.

Hook: standard wire, straight-eye scud hook, sizes 16-22
Head: brown silk
Hackle: starling
Thorax:  ringneck pheasant tail
Body: brown silk

Tenkara methods allow this fly to be fished very effectively regardless of its position in the water column. Baetis are dead drifting insects that aren’t as active as say, a caddisfly, so don’t impart a lot of action to the fly. Fish to risers in the surface film, dead drifted just underneath the surface, or fish deep as a nymph. The soft action of the starling feather gives the fly plenty of movement, the pheasant thorax presents the tell-tale wingcase bulge of the emerger, and the brown-and-gray coloring mimic the vast majority of coloration patterns of emerging baetis.

Madison River baetis spp., April 2011, from Beartrap Canyon.

Important: keep the fly sparse. The temptation when tying tenkara flies is to use lots of hackle and fat bodies. Less material means that the fly will sink better, giving you more options for fishing deep, as well as not hold a lot of water, which will allow you to fish it in the film after a false cast or two.

Adaptations: This pattern is easily adapted to other species of mayflies, simply by changing the thread and/or hackle color. I tie it in a pale morning dun version by using yellow silk and the softer feathers of naturally mottled ginger hen hackle.

Ryan Jordan is a former commercial fly tyer and licensed fishing guide in the State of Montana and offers tenkara instruction and guided trips on the Madison, Missouri, Yellowstone, and other rivers. For more information, visit the tenkara fly fishing page.

“It’s too cold!”

“Trekking is a summer activity!”

“Sleep in a snow WHAT?”

When I bring up the prospect of a ski trek, I expect these sorts of reactions from some mothers, a few fathers, and certain types of boys. I don’t expect them, nor do I hear them, from the types of boys that love adventure – which lies at the heart of most of them.

The types of boys that love adventure and are willing to try anything are the types of boys that Baden Powell served, and the types of boys that will perhaps flourish the most under the Scouting program.

A troop that doesn’t offer grand adventures, like ski trekking, isn’t a bad troop, per se. Ski trekking, 50 Milers, and rhino wrestling aren’t required in order for a troop to carry out the BSA’s Mission and Vision, and sanitary outdoor activities like summer camping near cars and other picnics can be designed with enough justification that a troop is even carrying out the Aims and Methods of Scouting.

After all, the development of character in a boy really is the most important thing – not whether or not he knows how to pack, or pull, a pulk across Montana.

However (you knew this was coming) -

Character is a muscle.

And if you don’t flex it, you won’t develop it.

I propose that one can maximally develop strong character only through a combination of mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual hardship.

There are no shortcuts. While you develop some, you don’t develop *much* character by speaking to your boys (but don’t stop doing this), helping them memorize the Scout Oath and Law (don’t stop doing this, either), or reflecting on how bad the ants were at the annual Troop picnic (please stop doing this).

I propose to you that an essential part of developing strong character in a boy is by exposing them to a consistent, challenging, and exciting program of multi-day outdoor adventures that test their physical strength and endurance, maximize their ability to rely on each other to accomplish the adventure’s objectives, and offer opportunities for failure with a lack of guaranteed outcomes.

Troop 676 Scouts embark on a 3-day ski trek, starting in the waning evening hours of a Friday night after a long week of school, pulling pulks towards the wilderness of the Crazy Mountains. Ryan Jordan photo.

There isn’t one way to develop character of course, and good character can be developed outside the framework of outdoor adventure.

But I have to ask:

Why would you steal that opportunity from your Scouts?

“What?! Who? Me?” you ask. ”But I do _____, and _____, and ______ – and my boys have good character! How dare you accuse me of —”

Save your breath.

If you are not providing opportunity for the boys in your troop to flex their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual muscles – all at once – and in the absence of The Net (you know the one – the net that removes all risk, all guarantees of failure, and protects you from fielding complaints from Scouts and parents) – and you are not doing this outside and away from all the stuff that dilutes their engagement (electricity, car heaters, radios, fluffy beds) then you are robbing them of their full potential.

Don’t be a thief. Sleep on that.

And then, when you wake up, call your Senior Patrol Leader, and start a brand new day.

Let your boys explore their wild side – outside. They’ll thank you for it.

Ryan Jordan is an Eagle Scout, former High Adventure Director and Trekking and Mountaineering Guide at Camp Parsons (Chief Seattle Council), and currently, serves as the Scoutmaster of Troop 676 in Bozeman, Montana and as the High Adventure Committee Chair for the Montana Council. Ryan has a heart for training Scout leaders to do epic things with their boys and is the lead instructor for the BSA High Adventure Leader Training School offered by Backpacking Light and the Montana Council.

Andrew Skurka and I met “online” (who didn’t, these days?) what now seems like a long time ago, while he was preparing for a trek across the CONUS from the Atlantic to the Pacific Coasts. At that time, he was asking me questions about how to keep his feet warm during the winter while trekking through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and what to do about bears once he reached Montana.

Those early conversations make me laugh now, because Andy can pretty much school anyone when it comes to gear selection and wilderness skills in hostile environments.

I got to know Andy well when he worked for Backpacking Light as a business development intern in 2005, and our family has always had a soft spot for his contagious enthusiasm to live life to its fullest. My own feelings towards Andy have oscillated between envy (for getting to see wild places in their most raw state, with a lens of primality), awe (for his physical and mental prowess at facing unbelievably difficult challenges in the wild), and privilege (for counting him as a friend).

Andy just returned from a 4,500 mile circumnavigation of the major mountain ranges of the state of Alaska and Canadian Yukon, a journey that was featured in a recent issue of National Geographic. I wanted to take the opportunity to discuss the trip, but more important, dive in a little bit deeper about the Skurka Way of Life.

(Interview Date: March 29, 2011)

Ryan: So, what are you? I mean, how do you identify yourself? If you were to introduce yourself to somebody, and say, “Hi, I’m Andrew Skurka and I’m a __________.” How would you fill in the blank?

Andy: That’s always a challenge — it’d be easier to say that I’m an accountant or lawyer. People get that, and expect it to. I would describe myself as a “budding adventurer.” I’ve transitioned away from being a straight-up backpacker, but I think I need another trip or two to get the adventurer degree.

Ryan: So Alaska – that was a warmup, then?

Andy: I would never call it a warm-up, but it wasn’t a cool-down or finale either. I’d describe it as my first long-distance adventure.

Ryan: I think you’ve made a unique mark – some might call it a reputation – as doing expeditions that cover very long distances in very short periods of time. Is that a fair assessment of what you’ve done to date? If not, then what do you see as your unique signature as an adventurer?

Andy: That’s an accurate assessment. I’ve been pursuing the “further, faster, and lighter” mantra for quite a while now — my first long trip was in 2002 and I’ve gotten out pretty much every year since then. Originally I only applied it to conventional backpacking trips (i.e. thru-hikes) but I’ve been applying it to more complicated and committing trips since 2008.

Ryan: Do you see your contribution as an adventurer in the future continuing down this line, or do you see yourself developing into something else as you continue to explore?

Andy: I’m reluctant to say that I’m making a contribution. If others perceive it that way, fine — but I’m just doing trips that I want to do, because I think I’ll get something out of them. Yes, I do expect that future trips will be along these lines. If you look at the progression of my trips, they’ve had a steady increase in difficulty. My first trip was the Appalachian Trail, and I was able to finish it despite having no skills and no experience when I started. In comparison, I can think of only a few individuals in the world who have the potential do complete the Alaska-Yukon Expedition.

Andrew Skurka trekking, on his recent amble through pretty Alaskan meadows, and more.

Andy: I think the Alaska-Yukon trip has received more public attention than the Great Western Loop, especially thanks to the 16-page feature story in National Geographic’s March issue. And turnouts at recent presentations have been huge — there were 300 people at my presentation last Thursday at Neptune Mountaineering in Boulder, which I think is more than they’ve ever had, despite having countless legends speak there (e.g. Royal Robbins in speaking there in April). Part of the public recognition might be cumulative — “How does he keep finding a way to up the ante? And how does he keep pulling these things off, despite all the odds against him?” — but I think the Alaska-Yukon trip has a special appeal because of the public’s impression of Alaska and the Yukon. It’s the last frontier, the greatest wilderness in the world, the home of more grizzly bears and caribou than people, etc.

Regarding the second part of that question, I no longer associate strongly with the the Great Western Loop. I’m very proud of that accomplishment — it demonstrated enormous athletic prowess and mental discipline — but it’s not where I’m at anymore. It’d be like a high schooler who is taking calculus classes to still be identifying themselves as a graduate of 6th grade algebra.

Ryan: We’ve sat down together over beer, or on the phone – prior to both your GWL and AK treks – and bounced ideas off each other about your expeditions. They focused on “what to do” that would be big, bold, and unique. Yes — you have / are upping the ante, so to speak. Everyone wants to know “what’s next” but I promised myself not to ask that. Instead — now that Alaska is in the bag — are you going to look at planning your next big expedition in the context of “what to do”, or will you focus more on “where to go” or a particular style, length, something else?

Andy: “What’s next?” is a question I get too often, as if brilliant ideas like the Sea-to-Sea Route, Great Western Loop, or Alaska-Yukon Expedition are as countless as unclimbed peaks in the Himalaya or virgin couloirs in the Chugach Range. I think my primary motivation for the next trip is the experience, or feel, of it. The most redeeming feature of the Alaska-Yukon Expedition — by that, I mean the scariest part from which I learned the most — was the BIG wilderness I experienced in the Yukon Arctic and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. I’d like to experience that again, maybe on an even bigger scale. Travel mode, location, and length will all play a role in formulating another trip too.

Ryan: The Tibetan plateau is pretty big.

Andy: Yes it is. As is some of the islands in the Canadian Archipelago.

Ryan: At one point, I think Roman was talking to us about a packrafting trek up there. Maybe global warming will open up new opportunities for exploring that area.

Ryan: So you are in this interesting life cycle. Plan a huge trip. Execute it. Spend the next year on a speaking tour and doing what you call “littler trips” while planning the next big trip. Repeat. Did you choose this lifestyle, or did it choose you?

Andy: Both — it’s the pattern that seems to work, for me personally as well as my economic realities. My pride and identity is wrapped up in my big trips. But I can’t always be on one — I need to plan them and fund them, and I want some semblance of a normal life too. The smaller trips are useful in between the big trips: they help me gain new skills and experiences, they solve a perpetual case of cabin fever, and they are accommodating to an ambitious public speaking schedule (this year I’m expecting to give about 50 presentations) and to some private guiding.

Ryan: Is this your career or do you see yourself in some sort of post-graduate, pre-career phase?

Andy: For now, it’s my career. But I think it will evolve, as has the career of other outdoor luminaries before me. Given how skill-intensive these trips are, I could see myself peaking in my mid- or late-40′s, long after I’m on the backside of my physical strength and endurance. But, with age, it seems that the appeal of civilian life and the need to do something that’s not so self-centered increases.

Ryan: You’re guiding now, writing more, speaking more. This looks like a career forming. How busy do you want to be?

Andy: This has been a career since 2006, but it seems to be growing especially fast right now.  I feel like I’m at a critical juncture, where I have to get some major projects going or completed in order to set myself up for long-term sustainability.  So I’m okay with the busyness for now.  But eventually I would like to outsource the mechanics of these projects so that I can focus on the things that only I can do — I need to give the presentation, write the book, and guide the trip, but I can have someone else schedule the events, fill the orders, and do my finances.

Ryan: What do you want most, that you don’t have now? What is your expedition lifestyle incapable of providing to you?

Andy: For now, nothing. I’m a very happy guy. I get to go on amazing trips; and then when I return I get to wow audiences, go skiing with my friends, and date a beautiful woman. As someone told me recently, “It’s not fair that you have the best of both worlds — the wanderlust of a gypsy and the joys of being in a community.”

Executing the spreadsheet at "not-your-run-of-the-mill" post office.

Andy: The extensive planning I do is partly necessary and partly just me. Before I left for the Alaska-Yukon Expedition, I gave myself a 60/40 chance of finishing and a 10 percent chance of not coming back.  If I hadn’t done all that planning, I think my odds would not have been as high.  For example, I might have made poor macro route planning decisions, costing me precious time or worse; I might have had inadequate gear or supplies, which would at least caused unnecessary discomfort; and some of the sections would have been logistically impossible without advance planning.  That said, it would have been possible to “wing it” more than I did, but it’s not in my nature to let the resulting risks go uncontrolled if I can do something about it beforehand.

Ryan: I’ve reviewed your gear list, and I think you could save some weight and shave off a half pound – heck, maybe even a whole pound. Do you care?

Andy: Once upon a time, I definitely would care.  But an extraneous 8 ounces is negligible when I’m carrying a 17-lb base weight with two weeks of food.  On the Alaska trip, durability and familiarity were very important to me, which is why I used things like the GoLite Pinnacle and 3-pin telemark bindings and boots — in both cases, there were lighter alternatives, but I couldn’t trust them as much.

Ryan: When you did the GWL you tied it to a “cause” – increasing awareness of the threats facing the wilderness of the American West. Then you went to Alaska and basically said, “nah, no causes this time.” Why did you do that?

Andy: I’ve becoming very pessimistic that humans have the capacity to make the long-term decisions to sustain our well being.  The writing is on the wall, yet no one wants to do anything about it — our fate really is an inconvenient truth.  The American economy is going to be severely punished by our debt, which will have worldwide repercussions; and the entire human race is going to be punished by what we are doing to the environment.  I’m very disappointed in myself for thinking that we are fundamentally incompetent of fixing either problem, but I can’t seem to arrive at a different conclusion.  I feel like the previous generation has maxed out my credit card and left me holding the bill, and they’re not apologetic for it.  In light of that, I’m focused on doing what makes me happiest and on how I can make real improvements and contributions to my immediate niche, i.e. my family, friends, and local community.

Ryan: You grew up in the age when personal mobile communications technology exploded, but you’ve generally not been too plugged in yourself on your trips. Why? Do you’ll think you’ll embrace it more on future trips? How do you see this impacting backcountry travel in the next few years, especially as satellite communication services get really cheap?

Andy: Mobile communications have two functions: as a safety net, and as a marketing tool.  I think it’d be foolish to not carry one for safety sake.  Using one for marketing is an optional activity, and I’ve generally stayed away from extensively using one for this purpose because it’s a distraction.  One of the main reasons for these trips is to get “out there” — So why stay plugged in all the time and limit that experience?

Yukon mosquitoes (a lifestyle choice). Click to see the bugs, bigger.

Andy: I say, don’t think it’ll be easy.  There are a few ways to have a similar lifestyle.  (1) Get a job that has a lot of field time — wildlife biology, wind turbine repair, NOLS instructor.  (2) Buy your freedom.  Work really hard when you’re young, save every penny, make a lot of money, and retire at 40, or 30 if you get lucky.   (3) Work, travel, work, travel. Repeat indefinitely.  I think planning to be a “professional adventurer” is about as realistic as planning to be a basketball player, so I don’t usually encourage it.

Ryan: I think most people have an unrealistic view of people who live the lives they (the other people) think they want, but the recipe for any sort of success is pretty much the same: it’s a lot of hard work. I think the difference between those who are living relatively unsatisfying lives and those that are living relatively satisfying lives is that they either don’t enjoy the work, or they do.

Number 2. Would you give all this up – the opportunities to explore vast continental traverses for months at a time – for anything? If so, what would that be?

Andy: No.

Ryan: I’m going to ask you that question in twenty years. We’ll table it until then.

Number 3. What’s next? No, no – I mean – what’s next in terms of what you didn’t do in the past, and aren’t doing today, that you might be doing in the future – not just expeditioning – but “something else”?

Andy: I’m very happy with what I’m doing right now, thanks. Don’t want to change a thing.

Please visit Andy’s website at andrewskurka.com and find out about some fantastic guiding opportunities and read his new ebook there about backpacking gear.

Brian and I have been friends, and fly fishing partners, for a long time. We’ve spent a fair bit of time logging trail miles and floating together, always searching for streams off the beaten path that hold big trout.

We like to spend our Spring Breaks in Western Montana. Sure, the beaches are a bit snowy and we can’t wear Speedos and Reefs, but we do float some beautiful water and tie into some fantastic trout fishing for big, wild Montana rainbows and cutthroats.

I have fished Tenkara exclusively on our last two spring break trips, and mostly with soft hackle nymph patterns that mimic the soon-to-erupt skwala stoneflies. Occasionally, we get to cast to tiny midges which start hatching profusely this time of year.

Ryan Jordan is a licensed fishing guide in the state of Montana and one of the only guides in the USA to focus exclusively on teaching and guiding traditional Japanese tenkara methods. Learn more about tenkara and catching large, wild Montana trout by visiting Ryan’s tenkara page.