JuntoVenture Crosses North America

Sure, we do a lot of writing about sustainable traveling (and also practice it when we have the chance), but we’ve just come across a group of four who are really doing it. And we mean REALLY doing it. These four go by the name JuntoVenture and are traveling the length of North America (Death Valley to Alaska) to show the world that sustainable travel is totally feasible.

The group is using only eco-friendly clothing, food, transportation, and even hygiene products. The purpose of this trip is “to show people that they can take eco-friendly lifestyles on the road, and can have fun while doing it.” Plus they’re shooting video, creating podcasts, and blogging as they go. The end product will be a self-produced documentary featuring the footage they filmed along the way.

Here’s a teaser from their blog (which is a must-read full of the snafus and victories on their journey):

In our discussions in ways we are or are not being sustainable, two things come to mind. First of all, one weakness is occasionally buying drinks at convenience stores. This happens when we don’t have water, which happens for various reasons (i.e. the night before we did not camp near a water source). Also, when we’re driving for long stretches at a time, there’s nothing like a cold, (preferably caffeinated), drink. A way we have decided to solve this is to buy an extra cooler, keep it stocked with ice, and only keep organic sodas and drinks inside for when we’re traveling.

A second problem we have encountered is generating trash. We are trying to reuse as much as possible — reusing all plates and silverware and cups; using Light Load towels instead of paper towels; recycling everything we can; basically trying not to participate in the patterns of our throw-away culture. However, we are still generating a lot of trash, almost a bag a day, I’m not even sure from what. As a solution to this problem, we have designated one of the bear canisters as a compost pile. (Our bear canisters, given to us by Backpacker’s Cache, are impermeable black cylinders used for storing food). So we are going to take composting on the road, putting all food scraps and paper products into the pile.

We left Canada and returned to the Homeland, the US, by crossing into Alaska, although in some ways Alaska is almost like its own country, or at least a different territory. We were afraid the border patrol would make us take down the “upstairs,” the tarp, and it would take about five hours, but fortunately they let us through without a problem. We spotted our first moose, and made it to Anchorage, where we witnessed a stunning 2-hour sunset on the top of one of the Chugach Mountains.