ExWeb’s Adventure Links of the Week

When we’re not outdoors, we get our adventure fix by exploring social media and the web. To nourish your adventure fix, here are some of the best adventure links we’ve discovered this week.

The Evolution of Slalom and Downhill: When David Ryding scooped a World Cup gold medal in 2022, it marked a long, slow climb back to the pinnacle of the sport for British downhill skiers. Despite a long history in alpine skiing, Britain has largely watched the rest of the world win at it.

One Hell of a Life: Joshua Slocum ran away from home at 16, preferring a life at sea to the hardships of domesticity with 10 siblings. Some 38 years later, he found fame as the first person to sail solo around the world.

Hiking Wales: Celtic rainforests, Druid sites, and an enchanted lake: Hiking in Wales is never dull. These five walks through the Welsh countryside take in local legends and picturesque scenery.

The UK’s Rudest Walk: This walk takes in some very different local legends. James Forrest set out from his home in Cockermouth on a 500km walk to see his brother in Lickey End. Along the way he visited Great Cockup, Little Cockup, Andrew’s Knob, Nanny’s Breast, and a nature reserve in Bolton called Nob End.

A man poses with a sigh saying gloryhole.

The UK’s rudest walk visited some interestingly named locations. Photo: Outdoors Magic

 

The mysterious hermit of the Maine woods

An Uncontacted Tribe of One: For years, the North Pond Hermit had raided cabins and mystified the local community. Finally, in 2013, Maine’s hermit was caught pilfering supplies from a campsite. But who was he, and what had led him to a life in the woods?

From Porter to Gardener: When COVID shut down the world, porters on Kilimanjaro faced a bleak future. The Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project came up with an unusual but ultimately brilliant solution: organic gardening.

Flying in Paradise: “I’ve learned that, perhaps because it’s our nature, we Alaskans seem to head out of doors, not despite the weather, but because of the weather and what it has to offer.” Troy Henkels explains the joy of bad weather and paragliding in Alaska.

A paraglider soars above cloud in Alaska.

Photo: Troy Henkels / Last Frontier Magazine

 

The Secret of Youth: Twenty-seven years ago, on a bush walk in Queensland, Australia, Ian Elliot happened upon a group of climbers. It was the beginning of a lifelong passion, which he believes keeps him young.

Nepal’s Fight Against Deforestation: A radical policy introduced 40 years ago has born fruit in Nepal. Community-managed forests now account for more than a third of Nepal’s forest cover, which has grown by about 22 percent since 1988.

Martin Walsh

Martin Walsh is a writer and editor for ExplorersWeb.

Martin has been writing about adventure travel and exploration for over five years.

Martin spent most of the last 15 years backpacking the world on a shoestring budget. Whether it was hitchhiking through Syria, getting strangled in Kyrgyzstan, touring Cambodia’s medical facilities with an exceedingly painful giant venomous centipede bite, chewing khat in Ethiopia, or narrowly avoiding various toilet-related accidents in rural China, so far, Martin has just about survived his decision making.

Based in Da Lat, Vietnam, Martin can be found out in the jungle trying to avoid leeches while chasing monkeys.