A Long Trek Home – by Erin McKittrick
Click to find the A Long Trek Home – by Erin McKittrick at Amazon.com
After visiting Erin and Hig in Homer, AK to talk about adventuring with kids, and seeing their film Journey on the Wild Coast, I figured it was time to actually read the book about their 4000+ mile hiking/skiing/rafting trip.
The book recounts Erin and Hig’s journey from Seattle, Washington to the Aleutian Islands over the course of just more than a year. They made a rule for themselves that they could not use any form of motorized transport, and they stuck to it with one short and somewhat comical exception. Instead, the pair used their feet, skis, and inflatable pack rafts to make the journey.
Initially, I was worried that the book might be more about environmental concerns, and less about the actual adventure, but once I dove in I found that the two were well balanced and I was able to read and enjoy without feeling preached at. That being said though, there is a lot in the book about our impact on the various eco-systems that the couple traveled through on their journey. If this sort of thing is of interest to you, I recommend checking out their blog at groundtruthtrekking.org.
One of my favorite aspects of the book, was the way it chronicled the shift in the couple’s outlook on life, home, and career over the course of their journey. I found the book to be entertaining and inspiring, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves Alaskan (or otherwise) adventure literature.