Recently our friend Eric Porter reached out to share his excitement for his newest project with FreeHub Magazine.
Issue 12.4, a feature written by pro rider Eric Porter (@portermtb) about his first multi-day bikepacking mission with his entire family—which he took to Alaska this summer for an experimental two-night wilderness adventure. The story, complemented by a sweet short film by Justin Olsen, is now live on FreehubMag.com.
Porter has long loved exploring the backcountry by bike, and this love is something he’s shared with his family since his two sons were old enough to pedal. Though the family has enjoyed many day trips in the Wasatch Mountains near their home in Park City, Utah, an overnight bikepacking excursion is something they’ve been building up to—until this summer, when Porter took them on a crash-course in wilderness survival. This self-supported, two-night experiment would be a trial by fire, with his wife Megan and 9- and 11-year-old sons, Owen and Milo, climbing on fully loaded mountain bikes for more than 2,000 vertical feet to reach a remote alpine lake.
Braving the harsh alpine elements and keeping an eye out for grizzlies, the family experiences the highs and lows of independent wilderness travel while learning best practices for staying safe in bear country. The journey was never meant to be easy: For Porter, to truly understand bike adventure in the mountains, it must be experienced firsthand. And the inevitable hardships are what will show his family the ropes.
“Being out here in the woods, on our bikes, fully self-sufficient for a few days, is the coolest feeling I’ve had yet,” Porter says of the experience.
And subscribe to Freehub to see this and many other stories of personal adventure resplendent on the pages. The ritual of holding the book in your hands and smelling the fresh ink is like no other—and you’ll also have the satisfaction of supporting North America’s only rider-owned mountain bike journal.
Freehub Magazine // @freehubmag // https://freehubmag.com/
Writer
Eric Porter // @portermtb
Photographer
Justin Olsen // @justinolsen
#freehubmag #mtb #mtblife #mountainbiking #adventure