By land and sea: More epic Alaska adventures

Earlier this month, we tried to pull together accounts of some of the memorable Alaska outdoors feats of 2010 -- acknowledging that we were sure to miss a few and asking readers for submissions.

And responses did, indeed, trickle onto our website and into our newsroom -- including my favorite:

"I got in my H2 Hummer this weekend and trekked to McDonalds for that elusive beast, the McRib. After braving the harsh elements of the drive though, I had to gear down to make an 8-inch ascent of my neighborhood speed hump. I'm beat."

Beyond that, several trips of note were noted:

SURFING

Epic trip through the Gulf of Alaska

In late November, four Homer-area surfers Mike McCune, Don "Iceman" McNamara, and Scott and Stephanie Dickerson hopped aboard the M/V Milo for four weeks of pioneering surf breaks in the Gulf of Alaska.

Donna Rae Faulkner, the group's chef, along with Scott's brother, Fred, visiting from Australia, and friend Matt McNeill joined them.

Starting in Sitka, they spent the first three days surfing and preparing the boat before heading north.

Once the group got going, their dim winter days completely revolved around surfing. They awoke early each morning to eat breakfast and then spent the day surfing, looking for surf or replenishing calories lost during surfing. A documentary of their trip called "Alaska Sessions" should be out next year.

"We planned according to the weather," Scott Dickerson said. "If the weather wasn't good, we didn't travel. Instead, we would stay at a safe anchorage and explore the surf potential around us. We planned for everything to not go right, and when it did, we had a lot more time to surf."

The group spent Thanksgiving surrounded by waves, glorious weather and the scenery of the Saint Elias Mountains near Yakutat. Eventually, the group headed back to Homer Dec. 11.

"Where a lot of surf films are just focused on the surfing, ours is focused on the people too," said Fred Dickerson. "We want to really show Alaskans engaging with their environment and the unique characters that make up the people here," said Fred Dickerson.

Getting to spots the surfers had only dreamed of was just the beginning of the mission to discover and surf new breaks throughout Alaska. McCune eventually plans to run a surf adventure company, Ocean Swell Ventures, from the boat.

But, Dickerson acknowledged, it can be difficult to surf and photograph on the same trip.

"If I go surfing first, then my hands are numb, my body shaking, and the only thing on my mind is a hot shower. If I photograph first," he wrote on his blog, "then I get too cold standing on the beach and the last thing I want to do when I'm that cold is jump in the water. So needless to say, a lot of amazing surf sessions passed undocumented.

"This winter I started leaving the surfboard on the car and just photographing. I think it paid off, though I missed some great waves, I've got photos to show how nice they were. And I've got some happy surfing buddies. Sure they missed my company in the water, but nobody minds seeing a photo of themselves getting barreled outside the ice pack with snow covered mountains in the background."

Back in Homer, McCune, Fred and Scott Dickerson continue to log lengthy surf days for -- more than six hours on Dec. 21.

"Homer is becoming a beach town. People from all over are coming to surf, stand-up paddle-board, and kayak," said Scott Dickerson. "But Alaska is still the last frontier for surfing, and it will stay that way for awhile."

-- The Homer Tribune

BICYCLINGPedaling from Knik to Nome -- unsupported

Mike Curiak of Colorado, known in some circles as the icon of the human-powered Iditarod, put his 15 years of Iditarod Trail experience to the test by once again riding from Knik to Nome -- this time completely unsupported -- late last winter.

He didn't step into cabins to talk to friends. He didn't take a meal from anybody en route. Just 1,000 miles, fat biking on snow for three weeks carrying all his own gear and food.

"Why?" he asked on his blog.

"Well, why the hell not?

"I carried a glorified point-and-shoot camera. No tripod, no remote, nothing but a peashooter and a fistful of batteries.

"I have no idea how to objectively film myself falling to pieces over and over the way I did on the way up to Shaktoolik and then Koyuk," he wrote on his blog. "I wish someone had -- it would have been hilarious, right up until it became too pathetic to watch.

"There were several times when it was simply not possible to shoot due to circumstance. Most often this means it was too cold, or windy, or snowy to bring the camera out, but there were several occasions when I was suffering too badly to be able to manage it.

"Some of the most precious moments were never recorded. And that's as it should be: Memories can grow more powerful through the years without evidence to support or deny."

Said APU professor and paddling pioneer Roman Dial of the journey, "That's an amazing achievement."

Watch the videos of Curiak's trip at www.alaskaultrasport.com/latest_news.html.

KAYAKING

4 weeks through Katmai

For four weeks in June and early July, Marc Donadieu kayaked solo thoughout Katmai National Park in a 14 1/2-foot Necky Manitou sport kayak.

"Since I live in Naknek," he wrote, "Katmai is my backyard. I just have to get a ride to the end of the road at Lake Camp where Naknek Lake becomes the Naknek River. My transportation expense was buying a friend a bacon cheeseburger in exchange for a ride."

After Lake Camp, Donadieu paddled to Fury's Cabin and the 2-mile portage to Lake Grosvenor.

"From there I went up to American Creek as far as I could paddle against the current. Then I came back down and started on the Savonoski Loop that took me to Brooks Camp for a few days before returning to Rapids Camp near King Salmon."

SKIING

Paxson to Cantwell

Tim Kelley, who does a wonderful blog of his backcountry skiing and other trips, pulled off a fascinating 131-mile ski along the Denali Highway in March and April.

"I did the ski from Paxson to Cantwell in two days -- 68 miles the first day, 63 miles the second day," he wrote on the blog. "My wife came along on snowmobile while I skied across, then she and I took turns skiing the super-nice stretches on the way back.

"We stayed at Denali Highway lodges while doing this ski trip, so that was fun.

"We saw a lot of animals: caribou, moose, ptarmigan, peregrine falcons and a big wolf. And in 260 miles we only encountered six travelers (two groups of three) on snowmobiles. All of the skiing we did was skating."

Given the good weather, Kelley's trip was perhaps less grueling than fascinating.

Check Kelley's website for great photos and some tips on logistics at crust.outlookalaska.com/Skiing2010.

ALSO: The most-mentioned trip of 2010 was Andrew Skurka's 4,700-mile Alaska-Yukon Expedition, which we described earlier this month. Readers interested in details about should check the National Geographic website at ngadventure.typepad.com/blog/andrew-skurka.

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