Andrew Skurka is an accomplished adventure athlete, speaker, guide, and writer. The 31-year-old is most well known for his solo long-distance backpacking trips, notably the 4,700-mile 6-month Alaska-Yukon Expedition, the 6,875-mile 7-month Great Western Loop, and the 7,775-mile 11-month Sea-to-Sea Route. In total, he has backpacked, skied, and packrafted 30,000+ miles through many of the worlds most prized backcountry and wilderness areasthe equivalent of traveling 1.2 times around Earths equator! He is the author of The Ultimate Hikers Gear Guide: Tools & Tips to Hit the Trail.

Skurka has been named Adventurer of the Year by both Outside and National Geographic Adventure, as well as Person of the Year by Backpacker. National Geographic described him as a superman among trekkers and one of the best traveled and fastest hikers on the planet. He has been featured by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fox News Channel, National Public Radio and dozens of local media outlets.

Skurka was born and raised in Seekonk, MA, and now resides in Boulder, CO. He enrolled in Duke University in 1999 with plans of a lucrative Wall Street career but made a mid-course correction after working at a high-adventure summer camp and hiking the Appalachian Trail. Today, hes fortunate to have made his adventurous lifestyle into an occupation.

In the process of trying to travel mega distances over rugged terrain in relatively short periods of time, and also trying to somehow enjoy that experience, Skurka helped to define light-and-fast backcountry travel. His typical 3-season pack cumulatively weighs between 8 and 10 pounds, sans food and water; and he regularly logs 30+ miles per day, even off-trail.

When not in the field, Skurka occasionally dabbles in ultra-running. In his first and only 100-mile run, the prestigious Leadville Trail 100 in 2008, he placed second in 18 hrs 17 min. His PR for the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim, which is 42 miles long and features 21,420 feet of elevation gain & loss, is 8 hrs 2 min.

While his trips and PRs are quantitatively noteworthy, Skurka finds much more motivation in the qualitative experience. Its not about covering miles, being the first, or conquering Nature rather, for Skurka its about stepping outside his comfort zone, and learning about himself and the lands through which he travels. At times the experiences are uncomfortable, stressful, and even frighteningbut the resulting personal growth is ultimately worthwhile.

Adventure