No Way Around It
No Way Around It
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Ben Stookesberry and Chris Korbulic are the expedition kayakers. Over the past decade, the duo have made first descents of over 120 rivers in wildly remote locations across 36 countries and 6 continents. In 2016, Ben and Chris traveled to Myanmar to complete a source to sea descent of the Irrawaddy River.
They both say it was the first time they failed completely to accomplish their objective–and also one of the richest experiences they’ve ever had.
“Had we have floated freely down the Irrawaddy, I don’t know that we would’ve learned nearly as much about what actually was going on,” says Ben. “The corruption that’s occurring in that area stopped us from running the river. It wasn’t just a side note. It was directly in front of us.”
Today, we bring you a story about the intersection of politics and adventure, and about the richness in failure.
You can read more about Chris and Ben’s trip to Myanmar here.
Music: If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • The Return by nisei23 • The Departure by nisei23 • The Undefeated by Vienna Ditto • Sunset by Kai Engel • hope! by The Fucked Up Beat • Desert Castles by Little Glass Men • Original Score by Amy Stolzenbach
Tracks provided by Free Music Archive and with permission from the artists.
Mileposts — Calling Home
Calling Home
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For the past five years, David’s father, Scott, has visited a cluster of National Parks. And every year, David and his brother take turns accompanying him. Today, we travel with David and his father to Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe Mountains and Big Bend in search of two of the greatest gifts our public lands give us: family time and common ground.
You can find David’s writing, photos and video at: davidhanson3.com
Music: If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • On the Road by Amy Stolzenbach • Cowgirls by Ken Christianson • Kelp Grooves by Little Glass Men • Circuit Rider by Fog Lake
Tracks provided by Free Music Archive and with permission from the artists.
Start Saying Yes
Start Saying Yes
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“Over two weeks I went from pretty ‘fine’–I have to say ‘fine’ with air quotes and an eye roll, because it’s that kind of fine–so, I went from ‘fine’ to ‘I’m out’! I just needed a life restart,” says Katie Crafts.
For her thirtieth birthday, Katie gave herself a trip on a cruise to Antarctica. In the other, older passengers on the ship, she caught a glimpse of her future if she continued on the path she was on. In the ship’s crew, she saw something else: a superwoman equivalent of herself. Today, we bring you the story of a journey to the far reaches of our planet, and of what it takes to see the person you want to be, and then become that person. It starts with saying ‘yes’.
Music: If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • 550 by John Berry • All of the Time by adcBicycle • Then What!? by Publish the Quest • Night Without Sleep by David Mumford • hope! by The F***ed Up Beat • Pretty Lights by Fog Lake • Sadder by adcBicycle
Tracks provided by Free Music Archive and with permission from the artists.
Mileposts — The Grit to Make it Happen
The Grit to Make it Happen
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“If you go on some big, really ambitious trip or you have some enormous goal, if you look at the big picture all the time, it’s too intimidating, it’s too big, it seems too insurmountable,” says Jim Harris. “If you break it down into the next move, or the next pitch, or the next day of hiking, or the next rapid or whatever it is, those chunks are manageable. And there’s a lot of aspects to spine injuries that are that same way.”
A year and a half ago, Jim traveled to Patagonia to attempt a 350-mile traverse of the Patagonian ice cap via kite-ski and packraft. But before the team even made it out of town, Jim was practicing with his kite when an errant gust of wind pulled him into the air and then slammed him back into the ground, breaking seven vertebrae and rendering him paralyzed.
For the fifth installment of our Mileposts series, we travel to Grand Teton National Park to bring you a story of how much the places we love can take away from us, and about how, sometimes, those same places can teach us the skills we need to come back.
You can find Jim’s photography at Perpetual Weekend.
Music: Intro by Jacob Bain • If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain & Nis Kotto • Original Score by Jacob Bain • All of the Time by adcBicycle • Original Score by Amy Stolzenbach • Hope by Jacob Bain
Tracks provided by Free Music Archive and with permission from the artists themselves.
The Shorts — The Suffer Vest
The Suffer Vest
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“I’m not what you’d call a ‘runner.’ I prefer it to getting fat, but not by a lot,” writes Brendan Leonard. “The most I’d run in the past few years was probably close to 12 km. I ran a marathon once, and although it felt pretty recent, it was nine years ago.” So what’s a non-runner to do? Sign up for a 50K trail race with less than 25 days to train, of course. Ready, set, race.
You can find more of Brendan’s writing at Semi-Rad.
Music: If Walls Could Talk by Jacob Bain and Nis Kotto • The Return by nisei23 • Original Score by Amy Stolzenbach • We All Fall by Publish the Quest • Intro by Jacob Bain
Tracks provided by Free Music Archive or with permission from the artists.
