Yeah, so, my vow of chastity to write only about Nor-Cal stuff has lasted about 47 minutes at last count. It’s all because an Oregon-based writer/climber/podcaster named Fitz Cahall sent me a link to his latest ‘cast, which describes one guy’s experience backpacking deep in the wilds of Alaska after he splits off from his group because he has to get back to civilization to attend his sister’s wedding. One of those decisions any of us would make in the same situation, such an obvious call that it almost seems mundane. What happened next was anything but: first he bumped into a family of grizzlies, then he fell into a crevasse (a short one), then he fell into a river of raging snowmelt, then he stumbled half frozen into a hunting camp where he needed to catch a flight out.

Great stuff, or at least good enough to grant myself an exception.

Here’s a link to the podcast.