Hike South Dakota’s Highest Peak

I found this gem of a peak in an obscure mention in Outside or National Geographic Adventure. I knew it would make for a perfect MicroAdventure to hike South Dakota’s highest peak, Harney Peak. I tore out this adventure blurb for our Men’s Town Road Trip. Harney Peak is South Dakota’s highest point at an elevation of 7,244 feet above sea level. Located in the Black Hills only a few miles from Mount Rushmore’s National Memorial, this peak pays a huge summit dividend.

The history of Harney Peak's fire lookout tower built in 1929
The history of Harney Peak’s fire lookout tower built in 1939

The reward on top of Harney Peak is the three-story 360-degree fire tower lookout built in 1939. Built during America’s New Deal era, this is one of the most beautiful architectural creations I’ve ever witnessed in the wilderness.

Harney Peak-looking to the black hills
Harney Peak-looking to the black hills

The Story of Black Elk

According to Outside, Black Elk, an Oglala Sioux medicine man who fought in the battle of the Little Bighorn, climbed Harney Peak on a vision quest when he was only 9 years old. When he came down, he called the mountain-not far from the precise geographic center of the United States-the “center of the universe. 

Harney Peak prayer flags
Harney Peak prayer flags

Trailhead: Sylvan Lake in Custer State Park

41 miles south of Rapid City, SD, we hiked the 7-mile round trip route from Sylvan Lake to Harney Peak. The trail is very well marked and climbs a moderate contour around crazy valleys to Harney’s granite monolith summit home. Bring your own water and plan on a full day to enjoy the hike and summit vistas. Make sure you poke around and investigate the fire lookout tower and water pump-house below the summit. You will be amazed at the engineering involved in making this outpost fully sustainable for mountain fire forecasting. If any weather rolls in, shelter up in the fire tower.

 Side Trips from Harney Peak

Resources for hiking Harney Peak

Here is a downloadable map for Custer State Park-Harney Peak. 

MicroAdventure Hike Hanging Lake, Colorado

Hanging Lake is a must-see magical place perfect for a MicroAdventure hike. Hanging Lake reminds me of Peter Pan’s Mermaid Lagoon from the 1953 Disney. It’s so beautiful it doesn’t seem real. Located just seven miles outside of Glenwood Springs, CO Hanging Lake is a very popular destination. Normally, I would advise you to stay off the well-worn paths and find a less popular trail. Hanging Lake is so special; it’s worth sharing the adventure with other people.

Peter Pan Mermaid Lagoon Disney 1953

Getting to your MicroAdventure Hike Hanging Lake

Trailhead: Dead Horse Creek
Trail conditions: Moderately difficult 1.2-mile long climb up a rocky drainage.
Best seasons to visit: Spring, summer and fall.
Time required: Plan on two to three hours.
Parking: This can be a challenge as the parking lot fills up in the summer. Located immediately off I-70 in Glenwood Canyon, start early and you should be able to find a parking spot.
Who can go? I’d take little kids, but be ready to carry them. I wouldn’t take aging parents or grandparents that have trouble getting around. The trail is very rocky.
The stuff you can’t do: No dogs. No Swimming.

MicroAdventure resources to Hike Hanging Lake

White River National Forest
Information including trail conditions and closure updates. Downloadable PDF here.
White River National Forest
900 Grand Avenue
Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
970-945-2521

Hanging Lake on Wikipedia
If you’re a big planner, you might enjoy reading details about the history and geology of Hanging Lake.

City of Glenwood Springs: Hanging Lake
Great photos, trail description and details on what to carry in your pack.

Hanging Lake waterfall

Off Script: Basecamp Hotels

Just like a Boy Scout camp out -South Lake Tahoe Hotel Basecamp

I found a fun boutique hotel that is tall on Adventure, Basecamp Hotels. Adventure pinpointed in California, South Lake Tahoe and Tahoe City and now in Boulder, CO. Check out their Instagram feed to get a good feel on the hotel experience.

Here is their story from their website 

“At Basecamp Hotels, we want to bring the spirit of exploration back to your hotel stay. Our mission is to take under-appreciated buildings in great destinations and infuse them with soul, so you can have an alternative to the cookie cutter hotel experience. We love to connect with the people who stay here and to connect them with the place they stay.”

Scarcity and Abundance: What Do You Believe?

A single mother raised me. Growing up, I watched her despairingly pay for groceries using food stamps. I mowed lawns to pay for my school clothes. On more than one occasion, my mom returned our collection of recyclable aluminum cans for their nickel deposit grocery store refund just to give me lunch money.

I lived on the borderlines of the low-income project housing, but I had rich friends with country club memberships. I watched and observed the beliefs of both.

I learned that being poor is as much a mindset as it is a financial reality. Rich people seemed to believe that poor people chose to be poor. Poor people believed that rich people spent as much money as they wanted.

It turned out that neither aggregate was entirely correct. Some poor people do choose to be poor by their repetitive choices. The rich, who actually remain rich, never spend as much money as they want. Poor people don’t realize it’s how much money you keep that makes you wealthy, not how much you spend. Rich people can’t fully appreciate how long it takes to save $1,000.00 when you deposit only $7.00 a week in a savings account.

Being a witness to the dichotomy of these two worlds has shaped my beliefs about money. Here are a couple of takeaways I live by:

I never use the phrase “I deserve this.”

When I hear someone use this statement in relation to money, I immediately envision what it must be like to be under a trance from a hypnotist. You’re getting very sleepy. When we are under the influence of the belief “I deserve to buy this,” then our logical reasoning disappears and our emotions take over. Quick- snap out of it.

Two stepsisters

I’ve learned that there are two stepsisters who tell me stories about money. One is named Scarcity (poverty) and the other stepsister is named Abundance (wealth). These phantom sisters represent physical and emotional realities that have driven my belief systems about money.

I can very easily be charmed by either one and consequently my actions and decisions about money pendulum to either extreme. Here is how their voices can sound to me,

The voice of Scarcity, “Aaron, You know it’s going to get bad again. You better start stockpiling rations for the next emergency.” 

The voice of Abundance, “Aaron, these good times are never going to end. Just go for it; you only live once.”

The voice of Scarcity drove my behaviors and actions for decades. Life experience had taught me to dislike unnecessary chaos and unplanned emergencies. Stockpiling rations seemed like the wisest approach.

I took it too far.

I didn’t believe that Abundance was a voice I could afford to listen to. Consequently, I missed out on a lot of fun and enjoyment of life.

Today, I’ve decided that I listened to Scarcity long enough and it’s time to have some fun. Abundance, let’s do this!

Regardless of which stepsister you’ve listened to most, spend less money than you make. 

  • Have a savings account for rainy days and emergencies.
  • Invest some of your resources in the good times, having fun, and exploring the planet.

This post is an excerpt from the Field Guide: 99 Ways to Navigate Your Best Life. Download the full guide here.

How To Be an Artist by Sark

How to Be an Artist by Sark

How to Be an Artist- by Sark

Our friends the Teem’s have this poster hanging in their children’s bedroom. I wonder what shape my life would have taken, had I fallen asleep each night reading Sark’s advice on How to Be an Artist? 

I thought I’d share her advice with you in hopes of us all living more like an artist today. I’m ordering a copy to hang in our new house.

How to Be an Artist- by Sark

Stay loose. Learn to watch snails. Plant impossible gardens. Invite someone dangerous to tea. Make little signs that say yes! And post them all over your house. Make friends with freedom and uncertainty. Look forward to dreams. Cry during movies. Swing is high as you can on the swings by moonlight. Cultivate moods. Refuse to be responsible. Do it for love. Take lots of naps. Give money away. Do it now. The money will follow. Believe in magic. Laugh a lot. Celebrate every gorgeous moment. Take moon baths. Have wild imaginings. Transformative dreams and perfect calm. Draw on the walls. Read every day. Imagine yourself magic. Giggle with children. Listen to old people. Open up. Dive in. Be free. Bless yourself. Drive away fear. Play with everything. Entertain your inner child. You were innocent. Build a fort with blankets. Get wet. Hug trees. Write love letters.

From Planet Sark www.planetsark.com

I’m SARK, also known as Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy- which spells SARK

The name was given to me by the author Henry Miller in the early 1980’s. Soon after, I started taking notes as spirit spoke through me. Those notes turned into all the books and art and everything SARKian. I love representing the SARK spirit and I know that that spirit is inside everyone!

Throughout the course of my life and career as an international expert in personal well-being and transformation, my name has become synonymous with transformation, color, healing, movement & FUN.

I’m inviting you to play and connect with me, letting gladness expand into your heart and touch that place deep inside of you- your inner Wise Self- that already knows everything you’ll ever need in this world is within you.

I’ve written countless books and created programs that I offer to provide a powerful, grounded and practical approach to feeling glad more often, transforming what hurts into what helps and living a life of joyful creative expression. No matter what!

Off the Grid: Why I Fly Fish

Golden twilight bends across the South Platte riffle. A horde of infant insects rises off the water like a helicopter army. The hatch is on.

My iPhone is silent. I cast. I mend the line. The drift is set. I repeat. No voicemails buzz. Fish spotted. A brown trout divulges his camouflage. I crack my fly box to curate a pairing for the big brown—a double dry fly rig that’s the equivalent of a fat steak with a full-bodied cabernet to a trout. No text messages chime. Mr. Brown trout, I’m coming for you.

The bending light fades to dusk. Facebook remains even darker. I cast. Mend. Drift. Boom. Fish on the line. But there’s no cell service. Nothing but the river. Nothing but this moment.

Hooking up
Hooking up

Get Started: Take a class at Angler’s Covey. Ask for Cody Lovecchio as a guide. anglerscovey.com

Get Going: Eleven Mile Canyon on the South Platte River is one of the last great swatches where Verizon or AT&T can’t find you.

Get Equipped: “Perfect dry flies are Parachute Adams No. 18-20, Blue-Winged Olive No. 20-22,” Lovecchio says. “For a nymph rig, use olive or grey color RS2 No. 18-24 and a BWO No. 20-24.”

This Field Report first appeared on Springs Magazine.

Waiting on the hatch
Waiting on the hatch

Four Days in Paris Without a Plan

I received an email from a friend asking about the trip my son Holden and I took to Paris a few years ago. I thought it was a great excuse to start offering this type of adventure, travel posts. Great adventures are available if you’ll go for it.

Advice
Walk the city.
Talk with locals. Rehearse a few French phrases and at least attempt to speak in their language.
If you’re American, please don’t be loud, obnoxious, demanding and talk about your cattle ranch in Texas. The reason we American’s get a bad wrap internationally is because of those few people who stand out. Instead, be kind, be polite and be mindful of others around you. Find a cafe and sit outside facing the street and spend an hour just watching people.

eifel-tour-in-background

Getting to Paris from London Eurostar train

We did not have a specific plan for each day. We started with a general list of some sites e.g. The Louvre museum, Sacre Couer. The only advance reservations we booked were for the train from London to Paris and back. We traveled over the Thanksgiving holidays, November 2013. We rode the Eurostar train from London’s St. Pancres Station to Paris Gare du Nord Train Station. Here is information on fares. It looks like we paid around $109 USD per person, each way. Round trip total of $220 per person.

Where to stay

Hotel Astrid room view photo credit Holden McHugh

The hotel we my assistant found was a last minute booking. We won the lottery. We ended up getting a room on the top floor staring just down from at the Arc de Triumph.

ASTRID Paris
27 avenue carnot 75017 Paris
Phone: 0144092600 – Fax: 0972130031
paris@hotel-astrid.com

Just off the Arc de triumph train stop. A buffet breakfast is served every morning in the dining room at the Astrid Hotel. Enjoy a drink while reading the newspapers provided in the lounge bar, which includes a collection of artworks. Hotel Astrid operates a tour desk providing information about local sights and excursions. Charles de Gaulle – Etoile Metro Station is an 8-minute walk from the hotel, providing direct access to the Louvre Museum and Disneyland Paris. Monceau Park is a 15-minute walk away. 27 avenue Carnot, 17. Palais des Congress. Just 1800 ft. from the Champs Elysées, this 19th-century hotel offers air-conditioned guest rooms.

Places to Visit in Paris

After a business meeting in London, a US native Sarah wrote me an email with a download of how to experience Paris. I copied her advice here below.

Montmartre – is up on the hill so you can get a great panoramic view, near Sacre Couer, and has lots of artists/good places to eat. We visited Sacre Couer early one morning. The views are pretty difficult to describe.

Notre Dame – is a must see and keep your eye out on the floor for a bronze circle which marks the center of the city. If you step on it, that means you’ll come back to Paris, so I always make sure I touch it every time! 🙂 Thanks Sarah, we found the bronze circle. Amazing. Better than any pictures they showed in my middle-school French class.

Eiffel Tour at night photo credit Holden McHugh

Eiffel Tour – if you want to go up (and it’s totally worth it) I would recommend buying your tickets in advance so you don’t have to wait in line. We didn’t go to the top, but I did take an evening run past her all light up and sparkling. Amazing.

The Palace of Versailles photo credit Holden McHugh

Versailles – is basically a whole day trip, at least from 9ish to 4ish and I think it’s a great place to visit since we don’t have anything like this in the States. We opted for the whole day affair. Personally, I really enjoyed the grounds of the Palace of Versailles just as much as the Palace itself, or maybe more. I love the National Parks in the US and loved the contrast of the wealth of one king owning all of Versailles. Compared to the wealth of the everyday man having free access to the same beauty, but shared in the National Parks.

Music in Paris

St. Chapel photo credit Holden McHugh

Concerts and St Chappelle or Notre Dame (both on Ile de la Cite)- they have really nice and often free concerts. I’m sure they will have a lot of Christmas Carol ones that will be beautiful!

Jazz Clubs – Paris is FULL of great jazz clubs, which is a nice way to spend an evening. I don’t have one in particular to recommend but here’s a link to what seems to be a comprehensive website.

Museums in Paris

Louvre photo credit Holden McHugh

Louvre – I wouldn’t only recommend going inside if there are things you feel like you just have to see. Otherwise it’s very crowded and can take up a whole precious day in Paris. We walked to the Louvre, strolled through the museum. We spent a few hours. Loved it.

Musee Rodin – Is a beautiful museum in an old home with a garden to display all of Rodin’s sculptures. It’s small enough and central enough that it doesn’t take that long to go an enjoy!

Musée Marmottan Monet – 2, rue Louis-Boilly 75016 Paris All the good Monet pieces in a nice museum in a nice area, good to eat around there too

Musee D’Orsay on the left bank (if you’re into art and cool buildings) and definitely watch the sun go down over the city from Montmartre and the Sacre Couers (its where the cool artists hang out and a great commanding view of the city).

Panoramic View Bars:

Observatory Panoramique de la Tour Montparnasse– very high tower, good for a snack/dessert. Best time would probably be sunset.

Ice cream if it’s not too cold!

“Best” Ice Cream Sorbet in Paris and it’s on the Ile Saint Louis (other end of island from Notre Dame) is a very cute place:

How to Explain Your Idea Simply

Can you explain your idea simply?

How to Explain Your Idea Simply

I’ve suffered through so many unnecessarily complicated presentations, speakers, films, interviews, talks, articles, PowerPoint decks, conference calls, white papers, websites, case studies, user documents-the list keeps going. The problem is the speaker or author falsely believes that if they use fancy words fabricated by the marketing department combined with and a lot of technical jargon they will sound smarter than the previous guys.

Albert Einstein said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough”. I love the process of distilling down to simplicity. I preach my passion for simplicity using this phrase, “Can you explain it to me using fifth grade-friendly english?”

As the communicator, I believe that I own the responsibility to absorb complexities and net down nuance differences on behalf of the listener.

Start simple. Go slow. It’s hard to undo confusion.

I find that if we apply this idea for our communication, we can always layer on complexity and details after we first come to alignment on the basics.

Index an idea your listener is already familiar with

Let’s say our company is creating the newest competitor to the TESLA (electric car). Our team has a killer technology invention. Our special-sauce is our flux capacitor (yes like Back to the Future) add-on, carbo-loaded, nitrate booster, electromagnetic dissector that will compound the conversion rate of gigawatts to jiggawats at sixteen hundred particles per second.

I’m not kidding you. This is the kind of jargon people use when what we really mean to say,

“We are creating a new electric car that’s like the TESLA.
Our electric car goes 20 MPH faster and can travel 100 miles farther on the same charge”.

Wouldn’t that be easier to open our presentation with that sentence?

It gives the reader, the listener, the customer, the prospect, an opportunity to index something they are already familiar with e.g TESLA. Here is what our audience can hear from us when we explain our idea like we were talking with a fifth grader.

They are making something new.

It's like a TESLA.

Their electric car goes faster than a TESLA.

Their electric car can travel longer distances without having to stop and recharge as frequently as a TESLA.

Stop worrying about sounding smart

Even though we don’t want people to think that all of our fancy, technical, innovative, sophisticated betterment can be boiled down to something simple. The reality is that our audience often does not care about how our electric car will go faster. They only care that our electric car DOES go faster.

Keep it simple.

Own the burden to communicate simply.

If we can’t explain it simply, we need to invest more time distilling our translation. Once we’ve got that down, then elevate our story telling to a high school level. If that works, try leveling up to a grad student. Finish with a version of our story that is aimed at our expert peers.

PS. I failed at this miserably today.

I had to retrace my steps and go back to the beginning and explain my idea like I was speaking with a fifth grader. It wasn’t because the audience wasn’t bright. It was because I skipped to the complicated stuff too quickly.

(photo credits unknown)

Why My Daughter and I Are Restoring Our 1974 VW Joy Bus

Averi and I last winter before we got the heater working. We had to bundle up to go for a drive.

It all started when my daughter Averi blurted out this dreamy statement, “When I graduate from high school, Maya and I are going to buy a VW Bus, road trip to California and surf for the summer.” Averi was probably in fifth or sixth grade when she hatched this adventurous plan. After more banter about this idea, we began to think, “Why not? Why not lean into the dream and see where it goes?”

Averi is our youngest of three children. With Averi’s older brother, I would have likely offered a litany of logical facts as to how improbable dreams of surfing the Cali coast would be for two eighteen-year-olds. The truth is, I wasn’t always willing to embrace the wonder of big, audacious dreams. Nor was I fanning to flame the sparks of our children’s dreams to reach beyond their present particularities of reality and muse about what lies beyond tomorrow.

After twenty years of practice, trials, and mistakes I am becoming a much better father.

”Let’s do it. Let’s buy a Bus and let’s see where this story goes.”

Averi and I started riffing on the idea of finding a Bus and fixing it up together as a father-daughter project. Our two older children no longer live at home and the reality of Averi’s post-high school departure is super motivating to make our time together count. Compounding my awareness of the count down to Averi’s launch is how her brother and sister left home. After an unsuccessful freshman first semester, our son was quickly admitted into a drug and alcohol recovery program in California. Averi’s older sister passed away January 28th, 2011 after twelve years of living confined within her special needs body.

Our daily life story needs an infusion of more joy. I’m guessing you can relate in some way to the toll that life can take on your resilience and joy. The vision of owning a VW Bus became the perfect symbolic mascot to facilitate bumping up our joy meter.

1969 VW Westfalia Bus found near Buena Vista, CO

Last summer we started driving around with eyes wide open scanning for our VW Bus. It became like a “Find Waldo” treasure hunt. Averi and I started trading texts, “I spotted one downtown today. Army green. Roof Rack. Rusty.” Even if the VW candidates weren’t posted for sale, we stalked them anyway. Last summer I found a 1969 VW Westphalia camper outside of Buena Vista. It was tired looking. Grass grown up around her, bald tires, sliding door cocked open with all her glorious imperfections on display. We door knocked, left notes on the porch, and tracked down a phone number of the owner. It turned out that his late father purchased the Bus new in 1969. Three generations later, it ended up in the front lawn waiting for the grandsons to resurrect her.

Our new 1974 VW Bus: Adventure Awaits (photo by Mason Parke)

After six months of picking fields and alleyways, we concluded that we should revise our search to a Bus that was reliably running, looked decent, and could be restored with a little love and patience. We found her in Issaquah, WA. It turned out that this Bus lived its entire life in and around Portland, OR. The original owner retained her for her first thirty-seven years. She then traded hands twice before we chose her. The clincher story for me was the seller had just finished an epic 2,500-mile tour of Glacier, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.

Averi and I were high-fiving with optimism, “This is the one”. We called in a favor and got our friend Scott Witteveen involved. He is the President of the local Pikes Peak VW Club and he made a few investigative phone calls to confirm our Bus’s history. Scott said, “It checks out solid.” The week before Thanksgiving, we purchased plane tickets to fly to Portland and pick her up. The 1,300-mile car-camping road trip in twenty-degree temps was too much adventure for my brother and his eleven-year-old son to pass up.

Road Tripping the 1974 VW Bus Home

Now a party of four, Averi, Matt, Nate and I boarded our new 1974 VW Bus, and navigated back roads and interstates through five states to bring her home to Colorado Springs. The kids camped in the Bus on the fold-down camper bed. My brother and I braved the winter brisk in a tent beside the Bus. It was a killer trip. We laughed, listened to tunes, told stories, and relived our high school 1974 VW Super Beetle days. Our joy meter was topping out.

The girls hatching a plan for Adventure

Back in Colorado Springs, my wife confidently proclaimed, “We should name her The Joy Bus”. Done. A perfect name for the joyful story we are aiming to live. Averi and I are tinkering on weekends slowly improving the Joy Bus. I’m not a great mechanic, but Averi and I make a great cleaning team. A forty-two-year-old vehicle requires a high tolerance for imperfection and vision for what she can become. After saving for five months, Averi and I just ordered new custom fabric to hand-make new curtains. We found an artist, Kevin Butler, in Southern California that illustrates a cartoon drawing series called Rad Cars With Rad Surfboards. We asked him if we could purchase a custom edition of only VW RadCars. The fabric just arrived this week and we’re heading to my mom’s place in Denver to sew the new curtains together.

Kevin Butler’s RadCars with Rad Surfboards custom VW Pattern for our new curtains

The story is happening. We are making the time left with Averi count. We’re not just letting time pass and then wonder, “Where did it go?” Instead, we are tilting towards a trail marked Adventure and Relationship. I believe that the Joy Bus deposits made into the relationship between Averi and I will contribute to a lasting foundation for father-daughter bond.

I’m not sure I’m up for Averi and Maya taking the Joy Bus to California in three years for the summer. We don’t need to make that decision just yet. For now, she needs to make it through driving school and learn how to drive a stick shift.

Until then, the Joy Bus is an excuse to live more adventurously, build our memories together, and have a lot more joy. Next month we are taking three teenagers to Shelf Road outside of Canon City, CO for a weekend camping-climbing adventure. This morning we stuffed ten freshmen girls into the Joy Bus and drove them to school after a birthday sleepover. Our Joy meter is successfully pinging the high mark.

Now that you know the full story behind the Joy Bus, when you see us out on the road, give us a honk and a wave. Heck we may even pull over and give you a ride.

Find joy. Chase Adventure. Choose the people you love.

MicroAdventures: Backyard Discoveries

It’s challenging to keep a camp stove lit at 11,742 feet between spindrifts of snow. I haven’t spent the night in a snow cave in ten years. I wasn’t sure I’d remember how to build one. But an hour earlier, my three buddies and their teenage sons hand-carved a two-foot snow shelf into the side of a windswept drift next to our igloo-ish accommodations for the night. But the stove resting there is losing the battle with the elements. My bare fingers are numbing with each attempt to thaw the frozen gas line.

Finally, we’re back in business melting snow for our water supply and heating dinner before we hibernate for the next 14 hours in our seven-man snow cave on top of Hoosier Pass.

We’ve come here on a microadventure. The boys will earn a polar badge, and within 24 hours, we’ll all infuse our lives with a story we’ll never forget.

snowcave-panorama

I have a love affair with adventure

My soul has an insatiable curiosity about what’s around the next corner. At age 43, I’m beginning to understand that adventure is part of my DNA. It has compelled me to drive the Alaskan highway from Seattle to Anchorage and eat ptarmigan roadkill stew—secret recipe—on the hood of an SUV. It has driven me to climb frozen waterfalls squeezed into the cold veins of towering red rocks.

But most of my big adventures occurred before starting a family, getting a real job, and buying a house. Business travel became my normal. I subscribed to Outside magazine and settled for living vicariously through other people’s quests. I started believing that our adult modern world doesn’t naturally afford us margin for exploration, and my pursuit of adventure was relegated to the category of “when I have more time, money, or fitness.”

The problem was rooted in how I viewed adventure. My misunderstanding of the anatomy of adventure included a set of prerequisites: physical difficulty, long periods away from home, difficult-to-reach locations, gigantic and improbable goals, extensive planning and equipment.

Alastair Humphreys National Geographic Adventurer of the Year
Alastair Humphreys National Geographic Adventurer of the Year

“Change how you see the world.” Alastair Humphreys

Then I met Alastair Humphreys. The British explorer won a prestigious National Geographic Adventurer of the Year award in 2012, not for a polar expedition or for cycling around the world. Instead, he won the recognition of the adventure elite for his idea of microadventures: small bursts of new exploration accessible by anyone and everyone right outside their front door.

Humphreys agreed to be a guest on my blog and podcast, Work Life Play, to talk about the simple yet pioneering framework of his book Microadventures: Local Discoveries for Great Escapes. I asked, “What are the benefits of a microadventure?”

“It still captures the essence of big adventures: the challenge, the fun, the escapism, the learning experience and the excitement,” Humphreys replied.

Microadventures are the reinfusion of adventure into our busy lives. They produce all the same types of benefits of big adventure and they have changed the way I live. Thanks to Humphreys I regularly seek out obscure discoveries close to home that feed my curiosity and fuel my spirit. Upon returning to my work, life, and relationships, I am enthusiastic, refreshed, recharged, and proud of my ambitious burst.

That’s how adventure works—whether it’s big or small, near or far. Adventure disrupts our comfort-driven center of gravity. It gives us greater confidence to tackle life’s challenges and helps us gain perspective on life back at home.

The most important step in a microadventure is to get started. Pick something small, cheap, and accessible. Then, go make it happen. Need some ideas? Our collective backyard is full of excellent options. Here are a few of my favorites.

Here are a few of my favorites right in my backyard.

microadventure-mt-hermon
Microadventure on Mount Hermon fifteen minutes from my home
  1. The Mission: Pick something you’ve never done or somewhere you’ve never visited.

The Tool: Pikes Peak Atlas. This local map is the perfect excuse to pick a new trail you’ve never hiked and go! Each time I explore a new section of trail, I trace it on my map in Sharpie marker, number the microadventure and write the latitude and longitude coordinates. I use MotionX-GPS app for iPhone.

  1. The Mission: Look outside your front door for close, easy access.

The Location: Painted Mines Interpretive Park. Only 30 miles outside Colorado Springs in Calhan, the park remained on my “someday soon” list for 10 years. I brought my running shoes and ran every marked trail within the park boundary. This is a great spot for photographers.

  1. The Mission: Make the most of short bursts of time, from one hour to a few days.

The Beverage: Cup of coffee on Eagle Peak. I spotted a small sub-peak that I wanted to tag just below Eagle Peak on the Air Force Academy. I packed my PocketRocket stove, Starbucks Via packets, and a mug. Within three hours I explored a new summit and created an excuse for a cup of coffee with a killer view.

  1. The Mission: Pick something easy that can be accomplished physically by any age or fitness level.

The Venue: Money Museum. I have driven past the Money Museum for 22 years and never gone inside. For a $5 admission over the lunch hour, I toured the phenomenal installment of Olympic Games Memorabilia.

  1. The Mission: Act on an impulse.

The All-Nighter: Sleep on a hill: I crept in by headlamp to sleep in my bivy sack on top of Soldier Mountain. I picked a spot I’d never hiked, threw some gear in the car, and simply went. In the morning, I awoke to elk hunters in orange vests just 75 yards away. Good thing I didn’t have antlers. I left home after 8 p.m. and was back to regular life by 9 a.m.

  1. The Mission: Your turn.

*This article appeared in SPRINGS, the city and lifestyle magazine for Colorado Springs, Colorado in April, 2016.

MicroAdventure Fueling Up before an overnight bivy
MicroAdventure Fueling Up before an overnight bivy

Adventure Titles Worth a Read

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer Pictured Chris McCandless

A couple of buddies recently asked me for a few recommendations of “epic stories”. Here is my list of favorite books and audio title that qualify as epic adventures, survival, resilience and wilderness experiences that will change your life.

Adventure Titles Worth a Read

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer 
The story of Chris McCandless who in 1992 walked into the Alaskan wilderness to never return. This was one of the very first first adventure stories I’d ever read. I subscribed to Outside Magazine and received a copy of Jon Krakauer’s award winning article on Chris McCandless’s disappearance. This story also became a box office indy-hit but the book invites you into a place the movie cannot take you. Long live Alexander Supertramp.

Book | Audio Unabridged 

To Build a Fire by Jack London
Classic survival short story where the Yukon Territory is always harder than any man. If you’ve never read this one, start with this one. You will feel the plight of the main character’s desperate need to build a fire for his survival after his sled falls into a creek. A great story to read around a fire.

Book | Audio

The Call of the Wild by Jack London
The story is told through the eyes of Buck, the sled dog, in the Yukon during the Klondike gold rush of the 1890’s. I read this story in part to my son when he was in middle school on a few of our Men’s Town road trips. 

Book | Audio 

Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
The mind boggling epic survival story of famous Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton and their twenty-two month struggle to survive the Arctic. The story is set in the age of exploration as the British race to conquer and discover unfound places of the earth. Amazing story. One of my all time favorites.

Book | Audio Unabridged

Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man’s Miraculous Survival by Joe Simpson
The story is about Joe Simpson and his climbing partner Simon Yates on a never-to-be repeated ascent of Siula Grande.
The movie is just as gripping, but the book puts you alongside Joe Simpson as he crawls to his rescue.

Book | Audio Unabridged

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
Although it was made into a recent hollywood movie, I’d still recommend the book. The story of Louis Zamperini’s WWII survival story and redemption. Powerful! I’ve listened to the fourteen hour audio book at least twice.

Book | Audio Unabridged

Undaunted Courage:Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West
The Story of Lewis and Clark by Stephen Ambrose. An account constructed by Ambrose using personal journals from the men apart of the journey to discover a water passageway to the Pacific Ocean.
Book | Audio Abridged | Audio Unabridged

Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life by Erik Greitens

A series of letters between two Navy Seals working through the hardship of re-entry into civilian life.
Book | Audio version 

No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World’s 14 Highest Peaks by Ed Viesturs
“For eighteen years Ed Viesturs pursued climbing’s holy grail: to stand atop the world’s fourteen 8,000-meter peaks, without the aid of bottled oxygen. But No Shortcuts to the Top is as much about the man who would become the first American to achieve that goal as it is about his stunning quest.”
Book | Audio Unabridged

Deep Survival: True Stories of Miraculous Endurance and Sudden Death by Laurence Gonzales
Phenomenally compelling stories ranging from a Navy Seal drowning to children being rescued in the woods. Gonzales unpacks the science behind Who Lives, Who Dies and Why. Listen to my podcast with the author.

Book | Audio Unabridged

Surviving Survival: The Art and Science of Resilience by Laurence Gonzales
Survival experiences change a person permanently. Some people thrive and some people barely survive after their survival experience. Gonzales lays out the differences between the two survival groups highlighting the characteristics and choices of those who move forward and thrive. Fascinating.

Book | Unabridged Audio

Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 by Marcus Luttrell
Now a blockbuster movie, the book still reads like a Texan Navy Seal’s first person account of how the hell he survived a gunfight in Afghanistan. Shocking and human.

Book | Audio Unabridged

Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel by Rolf Potts
It’s about taking time off from everything to travel. From six weeks to three years, Potts advocates for a simplistic sauntering instead of blitz-paced assaults on visiting new places. Spoiler alert: Unless you have unending wealth, you won’t be staying at many Westin hotels if you follow Rolf’s plan. But you will experience adventure as you allow each trip to unfold.

Book | Audio Unabridged