When we’re not outdoors, we get our adventure fix by exploring social media and the web. Here are some of the best adventure links we’ve discovered this week.
Filmmakers find 1895 wreck in Lake Huron: Last June, documentary makers Yvonne Drebet and Zach Melnick were on Lake Huron, making a film about quagga mussels. The married couple dropped a little robot into the water to see if they could find any. They found them, all right — covering every inch of an otherwise perfectly persevered shipwreck. They had just solved a 127-year-old mystery by discovering the steamship Africa.
Winging it with New Backcountry Barnstormers: Bush and backcountry pilots are trying to show the world what they do with their little planes. Trent Palmer, the focus of the piece, talks of his love of landing in the remote backcountry. Sometimes, his hobby clashes with aviation bureaucracy. Where, exactly, are you allowed to land?
Paddling the Thames in animal-skin boats: Theresa Emmerich Kamper and Sarah Day are trying to paddle the entire 219km of the River Thames in the UK. The experimental archaeologists are paddling handmade animal skin canoes and wearing clothes to mimic the travels of Stone Age people as closely as they can.
Theresa Emmerich Kamper and Sarah Day paddle the Thames in handmade animal skin canoes. Photo: Keridwen Cornelius
A viral vlogger calls it quits
Her Thru-Hike Went Viral. Then She Quit: Julia Sheehan completed the Appalachian Trail in 2019 and vlogged throughout. By the time she finished, she had 17,000 followers. They all wanted to know what her next big hike would be.
After the pandemic, she hit the Arizona Trail. Again, her follower count increased. She felt like she needed to plan another hike in order to stay part of this community.
Then, while on the Continental Divide Trail, her dog died, and she wanted to go home. In doing so, she faced an unexpected challenge: How do you tell tens of thousands of people that you have decided to leave their lives?
One Race, Three Women’s Perspectives: The Dark Divide 300 is a mixed-terrain bike race through the Southern Cascade Mountain Range in Washington. Starting in the city, they pedal out onto gravel trails, then start up a mountain. The 1,500m climb to Juniper Ridge is so steep (40%) that nearly all end up shouldering their bikes. Here, three women give their views on the event.
Two women pedal one of the easier uphill sections in the Dark Divide 300 race.
Training for outer space
Simulating Other Worlds: Around the world, 20 simulated space facilities are used to explore how people will cope in space, whether on the moon or in orbital stations. Volunteers agree to isolate for weeks or months in the facilities. Researchers track the participants’ stress levels, immune responses, and how they cope afterward. This gives insight into human behavior and how spaceflight affects the body.
Lessons in Climbing and Bailing in Pakistan: Tom Livingstone writes about climbing in Pakistan’s Charakusa Valley. Though he did not summit this time, he learned a great deal — specifically, on when to trust your instincts and bail.
Climbing in Pakistan. Photo: Tad McCrea
Teen Climber Dies After Fall in Alabama: Yutung ‘Faye’ Zhang, 18, was cleaning a route at Sand Rock in Alabama when she suffered a fatal fall. She was the last in her group who were climbing Misty (5.10b/c). No one saw what happened. Her friends and a nearby physician did as much as they could to help her, but it was too late.
