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.
Paddling 74km in a Giant Pumpkin: Gary Kristensen just broke the Guinness World Record for the “longest journey by pumpkin.” The 46-year-old spent 26 hours paddling a ginormous 431kg pumpkin down the Columbia River. Over October 12 and 13, he covered 74km, breaking the previous record of 62km.
Strong winds and currents meant he was barely moving most of the time. Waves constantly crashed over the side of the pumpkin. At one point, he had to stop for an hour to drain the pumpkin of water to prevent it from flipping.
Why You Might Need Adventure: A study in 2017 suggested that we need to embrace risk to flourish. Other research suggests that reframing your life as a quest or hero’s journey can be transformative. It creates a sense of purpose.
Photo: Steph Wetherell
The outdoors is for everyone
A Hiking Group Out to Prove the Outdoors is for Everyone: Steph Wetherell wears men’s jackets while hiking. Other hikers sometimes stop to tell her she is inspiring or to say well done for making it around the trail. The reason? She is plus-sized.
Fed up, she set up a plus-sized hiking group. Now, Every Body Outdoors has trained volunteers and 25 regional walking groups. They run courses on navigation and hill skills to give plus-sized people confidence outdoors.
The Rip in the World: Tourists have flocked to Iceland for years, but numbers increased from 2021 when Fagradalsfjall started erupting. It is exactly why Jonah Walters and his partner visited. They hiked across the volcanic plain, stopped to see the site of the 2021 eruption, and walked to the summit of the Litli-Hrutur. Why does disaster draw us in?
Photo: Dominic Horner
Wild swimming Georgia
Jump into Georgia: In the summer of 2023, Dominic Horner turned 40. He decided to mark the milestone by exploring the Republic of Georgia the best way he knew how — by wild swimming. He set out to complete 40 swims in 40 days. Some places he had visited previously, others were completely new.
Going Pro at 35: At 35, Boyd Ruppelt quit his job as a teacher and sold his house in an attempt to start over and live out his dream. Ruppelt wanted to kayak the world as a sponsored athlete. His first destination was the Zambezi River in Zambia. In his words, “the Zambezi was a quick teacher.”
Photo: Boyd Ruppelt
A fresh thru-hike
The 4,900km Divide-to-Crest Route Might be the Wildest New Thru-Hike in America: Lyla Harrod started thru-hiking in 2021. A few years and many thru-hikes later, she wanted to try something new.
Harrod decided to connect the southern terminus of the Continental Divide Trail with the northern terminus of the Pacific Crest Trail. On August 19, 120 days and 4,900km later, she completed her mission.
What is the Cyclopean Cave?: In the middle of a conifer forest near Leadville, Colorado, eight spelunkers are attempting to dig out a cave. Over a few years, they have hauled buckets of mud and rocks from an old mine shaft. They think that the shaft, created in the 1800s, could be the entrance to the long-lost Cyclopean Cave.
