When someone posted recently asking for advice about leaders of wilderness trips, I got to musing about who I would sign up with should I ever win the lottery and have enough for a canoe trip in Canada: my own dream adventure. I think I know the answer to my own question here, but I'm not about to reveal who I'd ask so as not to embarrass anyone! I'd be curious to know who other members may choose though. What is your "trip of a lifetime" and who would you sign up with if money was no object?
This got me to thinking about those stirring tales of adventure and exploration that we all- come on confess it- read on winter night by the fireside. Nessmuk, Grey Owl, Sturt or whoever. You know, the sort of mythical figures that Ray Mears makes programmes about. The story that probably stirs me most is the Lewis and Clark expedition. All the way across the US through spectacular scenery in the days when there was plenty of land for everyone and co-operation not competition was the watchword. The expedition members were not volunteers, just regular soldiers detailed off for a rather odd operation. And what a feat. Lewis and Clarke got their squad from one side of the US to the other, over wintering and living off the land. They didn't have much in the way of maps- indeed they made maps as they went. All this for the loss of only one man who died from appendicitis not long after starting out, and in the 19th century he would probably have died of this in barracks. What a high level of bushcraft skills they must have had. I love to think I would have been up to their standard if fate had put me in that position. And I'd have loved to have met that Sacagawea- what a girl and with a new-born baby too!
What past expedition would you like to have been part of ? What stirring account can you recommend to read during the rest of the winter and whet the appetite for adventure in the year ahead?
This got me to thinking about those stirring tales of adventure and exploration that we all- come on confess it- read on winter night by the fireside. Nessmuk, Grey Owl, Sturt or whoever. You know, the sort of mythical figures that Ray Mears makes programmes about. The story that probably stirs me most is the Lewis and Clark expedition. All the way across the US through spectacular scenery in the days when there was plenty of land for everyone and co-operation not competition was the watchword. The expedition members were not volunteers, just regular soldiers detailed off for a rather odd operation. And what a feat. Lewis and Clarke got their squad from one side of the US to the other, over wintering and living off the land. They didn't have much in the way of maps- indeed they made maps as they went. All this for the loss of only one man who died from appendicitis not long after starting out, and in the 19th century he would probably have died of this in barracks. What a high level of bushcraft skills they must have had. I love to think I would have been up to their standard if fate had put me in that position. And I'd have loved to have met that Sacagawea- what a girl and with a new-born baby too!
What past expedition would you like to have been part of ? What stirring account can you recommend to read during the rest of the winter and whet the appetite for adventure in the year ahead?
