When we’re not outdoors, we get our adventure fix by exploring social media and the web. Sometimes we’re a little too plugged in and browsing adventure reads can turn from minutes to hours. To nourish your own adventure fix, here are some of the best adventure links we’ve discovered this week.
The 30 Best National Parks in the World: The parks on this list span six continents and tens of millions of hectares, offering excellent fodder for any nature-addicted international traveler looking to indulge their wanderlust. Sadly, I’ve only been to one of them, and I’m unlikely to ever visit 99% of the rest.
The Retirees Who Hiked Out of Suburbia and into the Long-Trail Record Books: In their fifties, Marcia and Ken Powers began long-distance hiking. They eventually became two of the most prolific hikers in the United States. Among many treks, they completed the Triple Crown of American Hiking, knocking off some 12,800km of the Appalachian, Continental Divide, and Pacific Crest Trails.
‘Hank the Tank’. Photo: Bear League
Very Hungry Bear ‘Hank the Tank’ Is In Fact Three Bears, DNA Shows: DNA evidence has shown that the 500-pound black bear the public had nicknamed Hank the Tank is, in fact, at least three not-so-little bears. The trio have damaged more than 30 properties around Lake Tahoe in recent months.
Dawson City Is in the Middle of Nowhere and That’s Precisely Why You Should Go There: Strange things done in the midnight sun, reads the first line of William Service’s famous Yukon poem. It’s an apt slogan for Dawson City, Canada. A place unlike any other, the endless summer daylight shines upon wide, dusty streets and the constant churn of the Yukon River.
Yosemite Legend Royal Robbins on the First Ascent of El Cap’s North America Wall: Royal Robbins, Tom Frost, Yvon Chouinard, and Chuck Pratt teamed up to take down the first ascent this groundbreaking route on El Capitan.
Lost At Sea
Andrew McAuley.
How Sea Kayaker Andrew McAuley Came Heartbreakingly Close to Making History: Soon after Andrew McAuley disappeared just 50km from the end of a 1,600km kayak crossing from Tasmania to New Zealand a dozen years ago, pundits began second-guessing him. Nothing could be worth such risk, they scolded, especially to a man blessed with a loving wife and young son.
An Unbroken Journey to Every Country on Earth: Last week, Thor Pedersen boarded the good ship Kota Ratna, a 144m-long Pacific ocean liner. After waiting two years of waiting in Hong Kong for COVID restrictions to lift, Pedersen was finally off again. He passed Taiwan, Guam, Saipan, and Yap on the 4,600km journey to Palau. He now has just seven countries left: Tonga, Samoa, Tuvalu, New Zealand, Australia, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
Giant Australian Cuttlefish. Photo: Shutterstock
Australia’s X-Rated Underwater Show: Each year, the small South Australian town of Whyalla becomes home to one of the most spectacular underwater events: the spawning of the giant Australian cuttlefish.
