the animal's journal

[saving-10-years]

Professional Adventurer

- should give a nice tone to the business cards. And keep us readers with lots to look forward to. Best of luck.

[theanimal]

7 weeks left of school and that means 7 weeks left to graduation. Time has really been flying by this semester, which is great because I can't wait to graduate!

About 3 weeks after graduation I'll be embarking on my first big solo adventure. I'll be spending four months backpacking and packrafting just over 2500 miles in the Brooks Range (Northern Alaska). As stated earlier in my journal, this is one of the top adventures on my list and I'm pumped to be actually doing it. Needless to say, I have been quite busy in my preparation for this expedition for the past few months.

For those wondering what the price runs on this type of thing, it is much less than you might think. It will cost me about $3200 for the whole trip but half of that is one time costs (few pieces of equipment I needed to pick up). So if one was to already own the necessary gear this would run somewhere around $1,600 or $400 a month. About $900 of that is flights, so it'll vary where you go but very ERE if I may say so myself.

I also applied for a $1,000 grant to help with the funding. I'll be finding out if I received it in the next couple weeks. Really hoping I get it!!

[jennypenny]

I'd love to know what you're packing for gear. (and I'm hoping you're taking a camera, but carrying extra weight is probably not the best idea)

[Dragline]

Very exciting! Hope you can take pictures and/or keep a journal.

[theanimal]

I'll definitely be bringing a camera and will be journaling as well. I plan on taking a lot more photos/video than last summer.

In terms of gear..I transferred my list to a google doc, which you can view here(https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... 0N3c#gid=0).

Not all the gear will be together at once. It depends on the season/activity (Summer, Fall, Backpacking, Packrafting). Feel free to ask any questions.

[theanimal]

I've had to change my plans a bit for financial reasons. The cost for a charter flight to my starting location is much much higher than I expected and can justify spending. So my trip will be shortened to ~1750 miles over 3 months. Not what I initially planned, but I think it'll work out better this way.

[theanimal]

Quick update: Unfortunately I was not selected for the grant, but things will still continue as planned. On a positive note, only 3 weeks left of school!!!

[theanimal]

I graduated!! And I think I basically am semi-retired for a while (as in years) since I'll only be working about 4-6 months out of each year. Needless to say things are going pretty well for me right now.

[jennypenny]

Congratulations! I love the way you've set yourself up--like starting a race at the finish line.

[Dragline]

Congratulations! Time to head north, eh?

[theanimal]

@JP- Thanks! I'm a big fan of it as well. And to think that just over a year and a half ago I had no idea what I was going to be doing, or even that I'd be graduating now.

One of my grandmas told me today that she was basically disappointed that I'm not getting a high paying job, so that I can spend lots of money. How little she knows about my plans...

@Dragline-Thanks! Indeed it is. I'll be heading up in about two weeks from now.

[saving-10-years]

Congratulations. Very well done and I look forward to hearing about further adventures. Yours sounds like a great plan.

[mxlr650]

I graduated!!

Congratulations!! Look forward to reading about your adventures in Alaska!

One of my grandmas told me today that she was basically disappointed that I'm not getting a high paying job, so that I can spend lots of money.

What Carlin would say to "How is the science project coming along Justin?"

[theanimal]

Well I'm heading up to Alaska in a few hours to begin my first big adventure. I'm both anxious and excited to get started. For anyone interested, my mom will be posting sporadic (weekly or so) updates to my blog. Here's the link again : http://www.animaltreks.wordpress.com

I look forward to talking with all of you again in the fall! Have a great summer everyone!

[jennypenny]

Good luck and have a great time!

Be careful. (sorry, gotta say it )

[saving-10-years]

+1

What a fantastic summer you have planned. Hope it all goes very well and look forward to stories on progress and reflections afterwards.

[Chad]

Nice! That's a better summer than most people have planned. I'm looking forward to the updates (bookmarked your blog). Keep the bear spray handy!

[theanimal]

This is a tough post for me to write.

In a few hours, I will be leaving Alaska heading back towards home. In short, I failed and I failed quickly. I had been anxious and unsure of my plans ever since I got to Alaska. I made it up to the Brooks Range and my starting point after a failed hitch-hiking/walking attempt that left me with a low level of confidence.

As I arrived at my starting point, the immensity of the task I had to accomplish and the true remoteness/wilderness left me feeling incapable and very unsure of my abilities. In short, I did not feel mentally prepared at all. I spent the night there and, after much thought and discussion with my parents, I realized my heart wasn't in it anymore and caught a ride back to Fairbanks.

I had spoken a lot before with others about completing the task alone and how I thought it wouldn't be a problem. Well that ended up not being true. At this point in my life, the vast remoteness of that area is something that I feel I can not endure on my own.

This was a very tough and disappointing decision for me to make after committing four months to planning. While short, this trip will have a lasting effect and has taught me a lot about my personal limits and trip planning among other things. Hopefully, I can get back into a solid state mentally and figure out what to do from here once I get home.

[JohnnyH]

I think you displayed much wisdom... Hone your skills, fight another day. I've had to turn back many times. I didn't like it on the trail with destination fixation, but with a clearer head I know it probably saved my life more than once.

[Ego]

One of the ways to gauge maturity and wisdom is to see if the person knows when to alter plans. But knowing when is only part of it. They must also have the courage to make the change. Sticking with plan A is overwhelmingly tempting when there is no plan B. It gets a lot of people into big trouble. I've got even more respect for you for making that hard decision.