Andrew Skurka‘s still making the rounds, talking about his coast to coast hike. The Billings Gazette has a nice writeup up his adventure and includes the obligatory Ryan Jordan quotes.

“Andy was really the first person to bring a winter skill set to the through-hiking community,” Jordan said. “It certainly raised the bar of what can be accomplished on a through hike.”

Avoiding winter is not possible on a 7,000-plus mile through-hike across the northern United States. And winter hiking through the Great Lakes states made the most sense, Jordan said.

“If you’re going to hike in the winter anywhere, the Upper Peninsula is the place to do it,” he said. “There’s not the heavy snow of the Continental Divide or the wet cold of the Northwest. On the UP you can cover some miles in a day and you’re not wallowing around in deep mountain snow.”

Conclusion: get your fanny up to Northern Michigan next January if you get the urge to go winter camping where they have real winters.