Ryan Jordan of Backpackinglight.com fame has rolled out a new blog for his 1000-kilometer traverse of remote Arctic tundra.

The objectives are simple: Walk. Eat. Rest. With an emphasis on the first two.

Ultralight gear is not a chosen style because “it’s cool”. It’s absolutely mandatory. Without ultralight gear, how can one carry the amount of calories required to travel nearly 1,000 km over some of the most difficult trekking terrain in North America?

Here’s his gear list page.

Here’s the thing with me: I’m a coward, I’m not into “adventures.” A nice walk in the countryside with picturesque scenery and a safe, relaxed return to civilization are all I require. Occasionally I’ll stretch it into a two-day walk, an experience greatly enhanced by not having to lug 50 pounds of survival gear.

So I’m thankful for Ryan Jordan and the GoLite folks for pounding the keep-it-light-and-simple ethos into thick heads such as mine. Still, I can’t understand why anybody would venture into the most remote and hazardous country in North America with all these self-imposed limits. No resupply. No fishing or foraging. Minimal shelter. No weapons to fend off bear attacks. It strikes me that only a determined lunatic would venture into that wilderness so willfully underprepared.

And yet I have no reason to believe Jordan and his companions are anything but sane, thoughtful people who believe they have addressed all these risks. Somebody has to prove the seemingly undoable can be done. Such an urge might be better channeled into, say, curing cancer or bringing peace to Darfur, but that ain’t how humans work.

So, good luck guys; hopefully you won’t need it.