Epic Solitude

A Story of Survival and a Quest for Meaning in the Far North

Katherine Keith

• Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781799956327, 9781538557044
• eBook ISBN: 9781538557037
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Historical Biographies
• Index: Social Sciences

All her life, Katherine Keith has hungered for remote, wild places that fill her soul with freedom and peace. Her travels take her across America, but it is in the vast and rugged landscape of Alaska that she finds her true home. Alaska is known as a place where people disappear—at least a couple thousand go missing each year. But the same vast and rugged landscape that contributed to so many people being lost is precisely what has gotten her found.

She and her husband build a log cabin miles away from the nearest road and create a life of love. An idyllic existence, but with isolation and brutal living conditions can also come heartbreak. Chopping wood and hauling water are not just parts of a Zen proverb but a requirement for survival. Keith experiences tragic loss and must push on, with her infant daughter, alone in the Alaskan backcountry.

Long-distance dog sledding opens a door to a new existence. Racing across the state of Alaska offers the best of all worlds by combining raw wilderness with solitude and athleticism. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, the "Last Great Race on Earth," remains a true test of character and offers the opportunity to intimately explore the frontier that she has come to love.

With every thousand miles of winter trail traversed in total solitude, she confronts challenges that awaken internal demons, summoning all the inner grief and rage that lies dormant. In the tradition of Cheryl Strayed's Wild and John Krakauer's Into the Wild, Epic Solitude is the powerful and touching story of how one woman found her way—both despite and because of—the difficulties of living and racing in the remote wilderness.

Table of contents

• Introduction
• Part One: Starting Line
• Iditarod, Mile 777 ・ Unalakleet, Alaska ・ 2014
• Dad’s Cabin ・ Garrison, Minnesota ・ 1988
• Indiana Jones ・ Kampsville, Illinois ・ 1994
• Cold ・ Biwabik, Minnesota ・ 1996
• Dog Mushing 101 ・ Kotzebue, Alaska ・ 2018
• Kobuk 440 ・ Kotzebue, Alaska ・ 2012
• Rock Climbing ・ Laramie, Wyoming ・ 1997
• Married ・ Savannah, Georgia ・ 1998
• Pacific Crest Trail, Mile 45 ・ San Bernardino, California ・ 1999
• Pacific Crest Trail, Mile 72 ・ Mount Whitney, California ・ 1999
• Pacific Crest Trail, Mile 830 ・ Muir Pass, California ・ 1999
• Pacific Crest Trail, Mile 850 ・ Sendall Pass, California ・ 1999
• Pacific Crest Trail, Mile 1,094 ・ Yosemite, California ・ 1999
• Sun Dance ・ Northeast Arizona ・ 1999
• Inipi ・ Northeast Arizona ・ 1999
• Falling ・ Minneapolis, Minnesota ・ 2000
• Soul Repair ・ Minneapolis, Minnesota ・ 2000
• Kuskokwim 300 ・ Bethel, Alaska ・ 2013
• Leaving ・ Ely, Minnesota ・ 2000
• Alaska or Bust ・ Kluane Lake, Yukon Territory ・ 2000
• Wealth ・ Matanuska Glacier, Alaska ・ 2000
• Sea ・ Seward, Alaska ・ 2000
• Phosphorescence ・ Seward, Alaska ・ 2000
• Part Two: Rookie Mistakes
• Iditarod, Mile 0 ・ Anchorage, Alaska ・ 2014
• Glacier ・ Seward, Alaska ・ 2000
• Horses ・ Fish Creek, Alaska ・ 2000
• Mummy ・ Fish Creek, Alaska ・ 2000
• Iditarod, Mile 153 ・ Rainy Pass, Alaska ・ 2014
• Sheefish ・ Fish Creek, Alaska ・ 2000
• Moose ・ Kobuk Lake, Alaska ・ 2000
• Iditarod, Mile 188 ・ Rohn, Alaska ・ 2014
• Living ・ Kobuk Lake, Alaska ・ 2001
• Iditarod, Mile 263 ・ Farewell Burn, Alaska ・ 2014
• Break-up ・ Kobuk Lake, Alaska ・ 2001
• Wood ・ Kobuk Lake, Alaska ・ 2002
• Our Littlest Angel ・ Kobuk Lake, Alaska ・ 2002
• Iditarod, Mile 795 ・ Koyuk, Alaska ・ 2014
• Helpless ・ Kobuk Lake, Alaska ・ 2002
• Part Three: Scratching
• Iditarod, Mile 0 ・ Fairbanks, Alaska ・ 2015
• Ceremony ・ Kobuk Lake, Alaska ・ 2002
• Futility ・ Kobuk Lake, Alaska ・ 2002
• Hope ・ Kobuk Lake, Alaska ・ 2002
• Footprints ・ Cape Espenberg, Alaska ・ 2003
• Goodbye ・ Kobuk Lake, Alaska ・ 2003
• Lost ・ Kobuk Lake, Alaska ・ 2003
• Thanksgiving ・ Kobuk Lake, Alaska ・ 2003
• Man Up ・ Kobuk Lake, Alaska ・ 2004
• Part Four: Finish Line
• Iditarod, Mile 446 ・ Galena, Alaska ・ 2015
• Starting Over ・ Anchorage, Alaska ・ 2005
• Cycles of Grief ・ Fairbanks, Alaska ・ 2004–2007
• Home Again ・ Kobuk Lake, Alaska ・ 2008
• Achieve ・ Fairbanks, Alaska ・ 2008
• Resilience ・ Palmer, Alaska ・ 2008
• Buddha and the Sky ・ Kotzebue, Alaska ・ 2012
• Shaman ・ Kotzebue, Alaska ・ 2015
• Yukon Quest ・ Whitehorse, Canada ・ 2017
• New Dreams ・ Kotzebue, Alaska ・ 2018
• Northern Lights ・ Kobuk Lake, Alaska ・ 2018
• Acknowledgments