When I decided to hike the Chilkoot Trail—a 33-mile journey straddling the border of Alaska and Canada’s Yukon Territory—no one could have prepared me for what lay ahead. I was an active 23-year old and had managed a tough hike only days before. I was in decent shape. No need to train for a touristy hike like this one. After a long day of drinking, a couple of my friends threw out an idea: let's hike the Chilkoot and get back for work by Tuesday. With the dull threat of a hangover dragging my sleep-deprived body, I would have been wise to reconsider making a journey like this in under 24 hours, but hey, it's Alaska. You go on adventures, you suffer the consequences, you have stories to tell, and that's exactly what I got in return. 2011 boasted some of the century's worst trail conditions. Hitherto flat, dry paths were now flooded with waist-high rivers we couldn't avoid—something we would've learned had we registered for the hike, but the park ranger&
Thoughts of Dallin Nelson