For J.R. Harris, his real adventures and life began in 1966 when, as a young New Yorker, he impulsively drove his VW Beetle across the country to the very end of the northernmost road in Alaska. He was searching for an answer to a simple question: “What is it like to be way out there?” Harris is the author of Way Out There: Adventures of a Wilderness Trekker, an account of his extraordinary exploits while backpacking in some of the world’s most tantalizing places—largely alone and unsupported. After almost fifty years of wilderness travel, “J.R.,” as he’s known, has plenty of tales to tell. His stories are funny, tragic, and uplifting, and are all told in his down-to-earth, friendly style.