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.
Anna Wells on the Winter Munros Round: Anna Wells became the first woman and fourth person to complete a Munro round in winter. She covered the 282 peaks in Scotland over 83 days, matching the previous record set by Martin Moran.
Here, Wells speaks about her journey, how she planned the route, the need to be flexible, and her emotions through the challenge. She thinks one of the keys to her success was not breaking up any loops. She had grouped Munros and figured out how to link them together. If the weather was poor, she still didn’t mess with her link-up plans. Instead, she picked another loop altogether.
Photo: Anna Wells
The Orange Cat Guiding Hikers: Foxglove Farm is an AirBnB that is perfectly placed for Appalachian Trail hikers. It even comes with a guide, an orange cat named Cinamen.
Earlier this year, Cinamen went viral after a guest shared his experience on X. The eight-year-old adventure cat has spent years on the trail with his family. Cinamen is one of the most common topics in reviews of Foxglove Farm.
Went with my partner upstate and the AirBnB host’s cat took us for a guided hike along the Appalachian Trail. Apparently, this is what she does with every guest. She would complain when we took a wrong turn off the trail and knew the way back. Amazing cat. Would apocalypse with. pic.twitter.com/Ubomeix285
— Sebastian S. Cocioba🪄🌷 (@ATinyGreenCell) March 11, 2024
Rio Grande drying up
How Do You Paddle a Disappearing River?: Daniel Modlin drove across Texas in the hope of a four-day, 53km canoe journey on the Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park. But the river was incredibly dry, and even after he and his friends changed their starting point, the boat beached several times.
Such experiences on the Rio Grande are now pretty common. For years, the volume of water in the river has been dwindling. The Rio Grande is in a precarious situation with regular droughts, and farmers and cities depleting the water.
British Woman Gored by Himalayan Yak: Emma Keen was hiking to Everest Base Camp when a Himalayan yak attacked her. The 42-year-old was on FaceTime with her family when she first saw the animal. In a flash, she heard the thundering of hooves, felt a stabbing pain in her leg, and was thrown a meter into the air.
The yak was getting ready to take a second run at her before other hikers ran over to deter the animal. New rules on Everest mean the number of yaks is increasing, and there are fewer helicopters to Base Camp.
Keen was airlifted out and patched up in the hospital. She later rejoined her group and completed the last section of the hike on horseback.
Climbing caricatures
Funniest Climbing Clips We’ve Ever Seen: Climbing has pulled together some of the funniest climbing clips online. From ridiculous comments climbers have made to the consequences of climbing hungover, and every character you come across in a climbing gym, there is something to make everyone chuckle.
First Wave Riders in Prominent Surfing Nations: Inertia has pulled together the stories of five of the world’s first wave riders from different countries. The earliest story is of a Hawaiian trio: David Kawananakoa, Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana’ole, and Edward Keli’ialonui. They were in Santa Cruz for military training when they kickstarted the surfing craze in California. They had brought their redwood boards with them from Hawaii. For decades afterward, these boards remained the favored wood for boards in California.
