A few months ago I wrote about Andrew Skurka’s quest to be the first to thru-hike the Great Western Loop. Two days ago, Saturday November 3rd, Skurka finished his hike. Not only was his journey a personal one of self-discovery and pushing his limits, but he sought to bring attention to the reality that is Global Warming.

“The reality is that change has already taken place that has potentially catastrophic consequences. There was a drastic difference in the size of the glaciers on my map and the size of glaciers right in front of me. The snowmelt is shocking,” said Skurka. “With record high heats and record low precipitation along the trail, I felt a foreshadowing of what is to come in our climate.”

I applaud Skurka for his accomplishment, and look forward to (surely) another awesome trek in the future.