The face of the moon was in shadow
Kitts Hill was founded by Robert Shurmer in 2024, but it has been a long time in the making. A life-long wilderness enthusiast, Rob fell in love with Alaska on his first visit in 2009. On that trip, he and several friends trekked into the bush from the Petersville Road, crossing into the very southern edge of Denali National Park as they headed up a relatively low ridge. That first four-day trek changed his life. They watched a huge beaver take a dive and swim across a pristine Alpine lake while filling water bottles on an Alpine lake; there was the first grizzly encounter (at a safe distance) after a rather strenuous push through an Alder thicket along a stream, and, while trekking at about 3600 ft on a blustery afternoon of intermittent hail showers, the summit of Denali came out of its billowy shroud long enough to astonish. Only four days in country, and Rob was hooked !
The Alaska Connection
Will Nash joined Rob in Alaska on cross-country odyssey in 2020. Traveling to Alaska at the height of the COVID 'crisis' turned out to be one of the best and sanest decisions of that otherwise crazy time. Though the restrictions imposed were trying at times, the Alaska ferry was virtual empty and with travel restrictions in place, we were both lucky to experience what they called a 'Locals Only Summer': a glorious month in the land with virtually no summer visitors. No cruise ships, no tour buses.
