Grand Adventures

JESSICA WATSON

SAILED SOLO ROUND THE WORLD

It’s incredible how low our expectations of young people can sometimes be. As I was preparing to sail around the world I constantly came up against people who just assumed that a young girl couldn’t do such a thing. I don’t know why we automatically think something’s not possible rather than looking at how it might be achieved.

ANDREW FORSTHOEFEL

WALKED ACROSS THE USA

I graduated from college with a ton of questions, unsure of what I wanted to do, and figured I’d try to create around myself a situation that would help me engage those questions. I thought I might go abroad for a little bit but then I got fired from a job and didn’t have the money I thought I would have. So I figured I’d just start walking and keep it simple. I wore a sign that said, ‘Walking to Listen’. The idea was to get people curious and hopefully they’d stop and share a story or a piece of advice. And that was pretty much it. I had a few basic rules: walk every mile that was possible to walk. And camp out more often than not because that’s all I could afford.

© Daniel Munoz/Reuters/Corbis

BELINDA KIRK

ROWED AROUND BRITAIN

I had towed the line, worked hard at school and felt that I had done what I was obliged to do for my parents, friends, society, etc. So, completely against my parents’ wishes, I told them I was going to Africa to study monkeys and have an adventure for a year before getting back on society’s merry-go-round and going to university and all that jazz. It was without doubt the best step I’ve ever taken, bar none.

Some people say the first step is the hardest. I think it can also be the easiest. Because really it’s a no-brainer if it’s what you want to do more than anything else. I started as part of an organised expedition. I paid to be there – when you have zero experience to offer anyone then I think you should expect to pay to build that experience. I also knew I wanted to be part of some zoological fieldwork and couldn’t have done anything meaningful on my own.

KELLY DIGGLE

CYCLED A LAP OF ICELAND

I panicked at the realisation that, age 22, I was settling down to a life of conformity. It had just become a norm. I turned my back on pouring coffee for a living, sold the car, waved goodbye to my relationship and left Cornwall. I had no idea where I was headed. All I knew was that I had this burning desire to do something. I wanted to travel, to absorb culture, to meet all sorts of people and to purposely step outside of my comfort zone. After all, I was young, commitment-free and, let’s face it, a little bit naive. So far in my experience, these three things have favoured me extremely well.

SVEN YRVIND

PLANNING TO SAIL ROUND ANTARCTICA

My advice for young people considering their first adventure is, don’t trust the grown-ups! You need courage. You have to be a rebel.

A few years ago I rowed from England to France with Phil Packer, a disabled soldier. Two contrasting memories stand out from that experience. The first was that so many things that are easy for me – that I do not even think about – are either difficult or impossible for disabled people. Daily life is so much harder. On the other hand, disabled people are used to discomfort and difficulty, and this is perfect expedition training! I was on that row in order to help Phil, but I was so seasick that I was actually pretty useless and Phil did just about everything for me! If you think that your physical condition may limit your adventurous ambitions, read these interviews:

JIMMY GODDARD

HAND-CYCLED UP KILIMANJARO

About a month after the rock-climbing accident which left me paralysed from the chest down I was lying in my bed in Stoke Mandeville Hospital. What I really wanted more than anything else was to get back into the mountains and the open air and away from the ‘disability’ that surrounded me at Stoke Mandeville. Having a massive challenge to focus on again really got me moving forward. Travelling to Massachusetts to test-ride the bike and then later to Arizona to train with a friend on the moonscape terrain similar to Kilimanjaro, plus training here in the UK, gave me that sense of purpose and focus that I really enjoy. This was extremely cathartic after the accident. So many people have done so many extraordinary things these days that it’s nearly impossible not to find somebody who has done something similar to what you might be planning. So get on the internet and look for inspiration. Don’t be shy. Approach people and get advice. Most adventurers I’ve met make a point of being really helpful to new people trying to get into the scene. And finally, dream big but start small; learn the processes – kit, funding, planning – and work your way up to something epic!

KAREN DARKE

TWO DECADES OF EXPEDITIONS BY BIKE, SEA KAYAK AND SIT-SKI

I have no idea how my life would have been if I hadn’t ended up paralysed all those years ago. Certainly I’m sure I would have got more into climbing and big mountain/greater range stuff, but who knows? It’s a bit like that film Sliding Doors where one decision or incident totally changes the course of your life. I can’t know what direction my life would have gone in if I had survived the climbing accident with my spine intact. The stuff I’ve done since becoming paralysed has been about who I am deep down as a person – with a love of adventure, sport and the outdoors. I think people find it more surprising or inspiring or something because I happen to be paralysed. But for me I just feel fortunate to still be able to do things I love (albeit in an alternative way), and for great friends and companions without whom most of the adventures I’ve experienced would never have been possible. There was a time when I was first paralysed when pushing my wheelchair around the hospital grounds was a big adventure (no joke) – kind of a mini-expedition. When I’ve felt really daunted by a forthcoming adventure, I find it helpful to write down all my fears of likely problems. Then I try to think of one thing I can do, no matter how small or silly it might seem, to make myself feel more optimistic. For example, on the expedition skiing across the Greenland ice cap, I bought a fish-tank thermometer which has two temperature gauges, so that I could keep an eye on the temperature of my foot and my hip [as I have no feeling there, I cannot know if they are becoming cold], and reduce the risk of getting frostbite. I also carried a rape alarm in case we met polar bears as I understood they don’t like loud noises and I felt the most vulnerable of the team. Maybe they were crazy solutions, but they built my confidence, helped me overcome some fears and therefore made the whole adventure seem just a bit less daunting.

Many of the people I spoke to are serial adventurers – they’ve been doing this stuff for years and may even be able to make a living out of what they do. But everyone has to begin somewhere. We were all novices once. If you have not done a big trip before, don’t be disheartened or feel that you need to limit your ambitions. Many, if not most, of the people I’ve chatted to in this book had very little idea what they were getting themselves into at the beginning. If you have the nerve to begin, the nous to learn and the capacity to persevere, you’ll probably achieve whatever journey you set your mind to.

NIC CONNER

CYCLED TO JAPAN ON £1,000

The year before I went to cycle a bit of the Ridgeway – that was one overnight – but that was my only experience. It was quite a spur-of-the-moment thing to do. I like my sport, but I wouldn’t call myself athletic. I certainly carry a bit of weight. You know, I have love handles, I like drinking beer, I quite like a burger now and then. I wouldn’t say I have a nutritionist or am out at 5am every morning training.

INGRID, SEAN AND KATE TOMLINSON

CYCLED THE AMERICAS

Other than buying the bikes and trailers and our tickets, we pretty much made up the rest as we went along. I think with a trip like this there’s only so much preparation you can do. If you waited until you were 100 per cent ready, and had researched everything you needed to know, you would probably never set off! We didn’t have enough money to buy fancy cycling gear. When we first packed the trailers and pannier bags (in Inuvik itself!) we realised that we were hopelessly overloaded and had to give half our gear away.

© Ingrid and Sean Tomlinson

© Archie Leeming

TEGAN PHILLIPS

CYCLED THROUGH SPAIN AND AFRICA

I had no experience, no GPS, no set route, no sense of direction, no foresight and no coordination, which meant that I spent more time than not with absolutely no idea where I was. I fell off my bike at least once a day. I was attacked by wasps and thorn bushes and stationary poles. We never spent more than one night in any place. We camped under bridges, on private property (with permission), on private property (without permission), with friends of friends of friends, with people who just happened to be there when we couldn’t go on any more. But in the end I turned up in Alicante, which shows that if I can do it then anyone can. All you really need to do is this: Cycle. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.

MATT EVANS

TRAVELLED OVERLAND FROM THE UK TO SAIGON

I guess that if I was giving anyone advice on how to make the trip of a lifetime happen, it would be to take a deep breath and do something concrete that means it has to happen. We can all talk about what we want to do and make it sound convincing, but until you’ve actually passed a tipping point to make it happen – something that can’t be undone – then it’s all just dreams and window-shopping. Personally, I find dreams unfulfilling and window-shopping frustrating. So, take the plunge. Do something permanent and immovable. Once you’ve done that, you’ll find a way to make the rest fall into place.

OLLY WHITTLE

PADDLED THE MEKONG AND CROSSED FROZEN LAKE BAIKAL ON FOOT

I set out utterly bricking it. I had pretty much no canoeing experience. I hadn’t been able to find a life vest and I had no idea if my canoe was river-worthy. It felt pretty unstable and it leaked more than I thought it should do. But I had half an old plastic carton to bail it out with – which later also served as a urinal on the go. The feeling of saying ‘here goes nothing!’ impossible to replicate back at home in our normal, sanitised, risk-free lives.

JAMIE BUNCHUK

LIVED WITH INDIGENOUS HUNTERS IN TAJIKISTAN AND MONGOLIA

The single most practical thing a person can do to make an adventure happen is to book their flights to that country. Then you’re committed; everything else you’ll just have to work out and hopefully get right. Don’t wait for everything to be nailed down to the last detail before you commit, because an adventure can never be completely planned. At some point you’re just going to have to jump into the deep end. Book the trip and you’ve already made the leap.