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A Letter To Subaru

Love might be what makes a Subaru a Subaru... but sometimes love can be a little tough

By: Eric Murdock + Save to a List

Dear Subaru

I am writing to you because not only may your car have saved our lives, but more importantly, it saved our road trip. 

10 months ago my car left me high and dry. I was set to leave for Alaska in 3 days, and I had $1800 to find a car before then that I could trust to take the 8,000 mile journey. 24 hours later and I was the proud owner of a 1998 Subaru Legacy Outback. 

Fast forward 6 months, and the Subie had successfully taken me over 10,000 miles through some of the most remote and unforgiving roads in North America without skipping a beat, and the time had now come to leave Alaska for a new road trip that would push us further, longer, and harder into the last frontier and North America than I had previously gone before. 

Planning this trip we were aware that more often than not, we would be hundreds of miles away from the nearest form of civilization, and consequently any help. Yet the farther we pushed into the wilderness, the stronger the Subie began to run, as if knowing the gravity of the adventure that was currently at hand.

It's easy to quantify the long hours, the thousands of miles covered, and the literal months spent on the road, but that's not what I'm here writing to you about. What I really want to thank you for is all of the memories and moments that happened along the way. 

The spontaneous off road adventures onto riverbeds to experience a truly unique views of the Alaskan range


Being the pots of gold at the end of a double rainbow

Pushing long hours and breaking the speed limit to catch a clear of view of Denali as the sun set

Letting a friend take the wheel (and play the harmonica simultaneously) when I got too sick to drive

Staying with us even as we got lost driving circles in the middle of the night trying to find a secret campsite

More riverbed off road adventures to surprise friends who thought you were already on your way to Canada

Sacrificing your license plate to be one of the first Arkansas in The Signpost Forest

Driving the entire Alaskan Highway trouble free 

Pushing those extra few miles further to find that perfect pullout for the night.

Taking one hell of a beating for miles on end for no reason but to see where the road would take us.


Always getting us to camp for the night even after all the pointless driving into the unknown

Getting us to Banff in time to wake up to the first snowfall of the year

Getting hit by a Semi-truck at 100kph, and not only saving our lives, but our road trip as well.


Getting us up close and personal with wildlife along the way 


Allowing us to finally check Highway 1 off our bucket list

Getting us lost in the Wild Wild West


Even after 10,000 miles you still kept going strong to get us to where we needed to go

So for all of this, and of course so much more, I thank you

Sincerely 

A fellow adventurer

We want to acknowledge and thank the past, present, and future generations of all Native Nations and Indigenous Peoples whose ancestral lands we travel, explore, and play on. Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations. Please explore responsibly!

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