In October 2016 Faye Shepherd began a 6-month, 5,500-mile cycling adventure through Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Starting in La Paz with her teammate Anna McNuff , the two cycled south to Ushuaia on a mostly off-road route through the Andes. With over 100,000 meters of elevation gain they cycled the equivalent height of Mt. Everest over 10 times while wild camping most of the journey. As Faye writes in her blog “ I thought these facts and figures were going to be most important in terms of a ‘...
May 20, 2018•59 min•Season 1Ep. 156
This summer Adam “Chip” Vachon will depart on a thru-hike of the Appalachian trail , one of the 11 US national scenic trails extending 2,200 miles from Georgia to Maine. He will start at Khatadin on June 1st and head southbound, planning to complete the hike in 70 days. He will accomplish this by going ultralight and by hiking well after sunset. This will be his second time on the AT, having completed 800 miles in 2010. In this episode we talk about what it takes to prepare for an ultralight and...
May 06, 2018•41 min•Season 1Ep. 155
In March 2014 Steph Jeavons set off on a solo ‘round the world overland journey on her Honda CF250L motorbike. She completed her adventure 4 years later becoming the first Brit to do so by riding in all 7 continents. It was an adventure not about the bike or speed, but about living, learning, and enjoying life. She endured everything from extreme heat to the freezing cold while camping, couch surfing, and staying with fellow bikers. She is also fundraising for Rally4Life . An organization dedica...
Apr 01, 2018•54 min•Season 1Ep. 154
Raised in Oregon and Texas, Stevie Anna lives for travel and adventure. While living in a van with her dog Darcie, she traveled to 49 states and she’s guided backcountry horse trips both in Alaska and Minnesota. She also works as an expedition project manager. In 2015 she moved to Argentina and began planning – Patagone - an adventure on horseback through Patagonia from the dry steppe to the high mountain passes. It was an exploration over 3 months and nearly 1,200 miles of the stunning wilderne...
Mar 18, 2018•43 min•Season 1Ep. 153
For 3 years Tim Cope traveled by horseback through the Eurasian steppe from the ancient capital city of Karakoram in Mongolia to the Danube River in Hungary. It was a 6000-mile journey last attempted in the days on Ghengis Khan. For most of the journey he was alone except for his horses and his dog named Tigon. The adventure was a tribute to the nomadic way of life. Along the way he encountered a cast of very interesting characters. Some were thieves not to be trusted yet most proved to be incre...
Mar 11, 2018•43 min•Season 1Ep. 32
In the summer of 2017 Daniel Alvarez finished a very long walk across Europe. He started at the top of Norway and continued south across Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France, Spain, and Portugal following various trails including Sweden’s Kungsleden and the Camino de Santiago. It was a year-long journey covering over 6,000 miles and he writes about this adventure and others at his website predictablylost.com . Daniel previously appeared in episode 5 talking about his long-distance kayaking adventure...
Mar 04, 2018•56 min•Season 1Ep. 152
June 2018 will be the second time Ralph Karsten starts the Tour Divide at the Grand Depart in Banff Canada. The Tour Divide is an annual self-supported mountain bike race that follows the nearly 2,700-mile Great Divide Mountain Bike Route from Canada to the Mexican border. Ralph also enjoys primitive camping, practicing survival skills, and flying hang-gliders. Ralph Karsten, welcome to The Pursuit Zone. Show Notes: Tour Divide Bikepacking.net Ride the Divide movie Inspired to Ride movie The Lak...
Feb 25, 2018•58 min•Season 1Ep. 151
My next guest is Daniel Alvarez. After completing four long-distance hikes including the 2,000 mile Appalachian trail and the 3,000 mile Continental Divide Trail, he traded his hiking boots for a paddle and traveled 4,000 miles in a sea kayak from Minnesota’s Northwest Angle to Key West, Florida. It was a plan so audacious that Outside magazine awarded him a $10,000 grant. It was a 9-month adventure he completed on March 9, 2013. Now he has turned his boat around and is paddling his way back. Yo...
Feb 25, 2018•29 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Seamus Crawford and Paddy Montgomery previously appeared in Episode 118 to talk about the first two legs of their journey - The Race Across Europe and the Marathon des Sables . Now they are back to talk about their successful completion of leg 3 - the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge , a 3,000-nautical-mile row across the Atlantic Ocean. They are fundraising for The Prostrate Project and Shooting Star Chase and you can learn more about their adventure at saddlesandsea.com . Seamus and Paddy, ...
Feb 11, 2018•52 min•Season 1Ep. 150
Photo credit: Cat Vinton The Bicentennial National Trail stretches over 5,000 km and crosses some of eastern Australia's most remote and spectacular landscapes. It took 13 months for Alienor Le Gouvello and her 3 horses - Roxanne, River and Cooper - to complete the trail making her the first person to finish it on wild horses. Before setting out she had to break and train these wild horses, known as brumbies, with the help of the Guy Fawkes Heritage Horse Association . Alienor also traveled to M...
Feb 07, 2018•44 min•Season 1Ep. 149
Ben (left) and James In 2015 Benjamin Sadd and James Trundle decided to have an adventure and make a film. They wanted to build on their previous journeys and do something on a grander scale so they came up with the idea of building a dugout canoe. They traveled to the Ecuadorian Amazon, lived in an indigenous community that helped them build the canoe, then launched it into a river and continued their adventure through Ecuador's Yasuni region - one of the most biodiverse areas of the world. The...
Jan 28, 2018•54 min•Season 1Ep. 148
Larry Mishkar backpacked 400 miles across Iceland over 25 days. He traveled from the southern shore to the northern coast on the volcano route and today he will share with you why Iceland might be the best place for your first international backpacking trip. You can learn more about Larry at larrymishkar.com . Larry Mishkar, welcome to The Pursuit Zone. Travel resources: http://www.phlumf.com/travels/iceland/index.shtml Map of Iceland...
Jan 21, 2018•48 min•Season 1Ep. 147
After university in 2014 and with £9,000 in the bank, 22 year old Ben Page flew to the bottom of South America to begin an around the world cycling adventure. As Ben reached Canada he began planning a winter ride on a fat tire bike through the Yukon Territory from Whitehorse to the village of Tuktoyaktuk on the Arctic Ocean. This 2,000 km winter journey is documented in an award-winning film titled The Frozen Road and you can learn more about it at Ben's website anotherhorizon.org . After Ben th...
Jan 14, 2018•46 min•Season 1Ep. 146
In February 2017, Callie Morgigno set off with teammate Charlie Walker on a 5,500 mile adventure along the perceived border between Europe and Asia from the Russian arctic to the Bosporus strait in Turkey. It was a triathlon over 9 months as they skied through the Ural mountains, kayaked the Ural river, and cycled along the Black Sea coast to the finish. They call their expedition Following the Line and you can learn more about their journey at followingtheline.com . Callie is a seasoned travele...
Jan 07, 2018•58 min•Season 1Ep. 145
James Didier began mountaineering in 2011 in Colorado. Since then he has climbed several significant Alpine peaks in North America and Europe. His most recent adventure was a summit of Europe's highest peak - Mount Elbrus in Russia at 18,510 feet. James climbed without a guide and on a total budget of less than 1,500 dollars including travel expenses making Mt. Elbrus possibly the most affordable of the seven summits and one of the easiest to get to. James Didier, welcome to The Pursuit Zone. Mo...
Dec 31, 2017•40 min•Season 1Ep. 144
Greetings from TPZ headquarters where I produce The Pursuit Zone Adventure Travel Podcast. In this episode I talk about where I've been for the last year and about ideas I have for the podcast going forward. I also tell you about the biggest mistake I've made as a podcast producer. Let me know your thoughts and give me your feedback. In this episode I talk about: Why I burned out The online business I started New podcast artwork on the way Podcast show title change A voice message experiment How...
Dec 17, 2017•18 min•Season 1Ep. 143
Mike Summers is an outdoor enthusiast with a passion for hiking. In December 2016 he set out westbound to complete the Ice Age Trail in winter. It's one of the 11 National Scenic Trails and exists entirely in the state of Wisconsin. It took Mike 58 days to thru-hike the 1,077 miles. You can learn more about the Ice Age Trail at iceagetrail.org and more about Mike at improbablebutpossible.com . Mike Summers welcome to The Pursuit Zone....
Dec 10, 2017•55 min•Season 1Ep. 142
For over a decade, Chaz Powell has been backpacking in remote places around the world. Starting in August 2016, Chaz began an attempt to walk the length of the Zambezi river starting at the source near Kalene Hills in northwestern Zambia. He walked for nearly 1,300 miles in 97 days through one the most remote parts of the world, most of the time alone and self-supported. The goal was to reach the Indian Ocean, but Chaz fell short by 600 miles due to the dangers of traveling through Mozambique. H...
May 14, 2017•42 min•Season 1Ep. 141
In the summer of 2010, Leigh Timmis pedaled away from his home in England to begin an around the world cycling adventure. Somewhere along the way he realized that cycling every painstaking and dangerous mile of the journey is not as important as enjoying it. Leigh cycled in support of the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre , a charity that provides week-long holidays to children in need. After 7 years Leigh wrapped up his adventure a few days ago and you can learn more about it at his website ...
May 01, 2017•50 min•Season 1Ep. 140
In March 2014, Steve and Jo Dew-Jones traveled to the bottom of South America and began hitchhiking north. In November, they arrived in Homer Alaska after traveling over 26,000 miles with 392 drivers. Their only rule was to hitchhike and not use paid transportation. They wrote a book about the adventure titled The Rule of Thumb 2 […] The post Hitchhiking Argentina to Alaska with Steve & Jo Dew-Jones : TPZ 139 appeared first on The Pursuit Zone ....
Nov 13, 2016•58 min•Season 1Ep. 139
With 45 days of food crammed into their 17 foot expedition kayaks, Will Copestake and his friend Seumus began an 840 km expedition through the icy fjords of Chilean Patagonia – a perfect harmony of the brutal and the beautiful as Will writes at his website willcopestakemedia.com. Will previously appeared in episode 53 talking about […] The post Kayaking in Chilean Patagonia with Will Copestake : TPZ 138 appeared first on The Pursuit Zone ....
Nov 06, 2016•34 min•Season 1Ep. 138
In the summer of 2016, a team of five from Oxford University traveled into the Arctic Circle to ski east to west across the island of Spitsbergen – part of a Norwegian archipelago. They retraced a 1923 expedition that had contributed a great deal of scientific knowledge about the region. Their goal is to conduct […] The post Mountaineering in Svalbard with James Lam : TPZ 137 appeared first on The Pursuit Zone ....
Oct 30, 2016•33 min•Season 1Ep. 137
In the summer of 2015, Jeremy Cronon set out on a 32,000 mile road trip through the USA. He wanted to better understand the American wilderness and its conservation ethic by visiting places we have chosen to protect. With his faithful companion Sam, a 2008 Atomic blue Honda Element outfitted like a camper van, Jeremy […] The post Road Trip thru US National Parks with Jeremy Cronon : TPZ 136 appeared first on The Pursuit Zone ....
Oct 23, 2016•49 min•Season 1Ep. 136
In 2011, Henrik Frederiksen quit his job as a marine civil engineer to pursue his dream of cycling around the world. But when he reached Ecuador, after 2.5 years, he was looking for a change. So with his Bulgarian friend Peycho, the two decided to build a bamboo raft and float down the Amazon river. […] The post Rafting down the Amazon River with Henrik Frederiksen : TPZ 135 appeared first on The Pursuit Zone ....
Oct 16, 2016•48 min•Season 1Ep. 135
Olly Hicks and George Bullard kayaked from Greenland to Scotland. Their 22 ft tandem sea kayak was customized to allow them to lay flat in the cockpits and rest during the long crossings. From Greenland they paddled to Iceland then made their way along its northern coast before starting the 4 day and 4 night […] The post Kayaking from Greenland to Scotland with Olly Hicks : TPZ 134 appeared first on The Pursuit Zone ....
Oct 09, 2016•48 min•Season 1Ep. 134
Cycling from Belgium to Nepal to attempt a climb of Mount Everest, Jelle Veyt first stopped to climb Mount Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe. After summiting, he continued on cycling through Kazakhstan, China, Tibet and Nepal until reaching Kathmandu. After the roads ended he continue on foot to Everest base camp to join his […] The post Cycling to Mount Everest with Jelle Veyt : TPZ 133 appeared first on The Pursuit Zone ....
Oct 02, 2016•34 min•Season 1Ep. 133
34,000 km, 26 countries, 1 gear. In 2015 Markus Stitz began his round the world cycling adventure on a single speed bike. For the sake of simplicity, he abandoned not only the gears, but the traditional racks and panniers in favor of a bikepacking setup built on top of a Surly Ogre frameset. Iceland, New […] The post Cycling Single Speed Around the World with Markus Stitz : TPZ 132 appeared first on The Pursuit Zone ....
Sep 25, 2016•53 min•Season 1Ep. 132
Federico Cabrera is cycling thousands of miles through developing countries with a portable photography studio. His goal is to meet families in need that don’t have a family portrait and to make one for them. The project is called Their Only Portrait and his plan is to visit a new country every year starting with […] The post Bikepacking and Photography in Argentina with Federico Cabrera : TPZ 131 appeared first on The Pursuit Zone ....
Sep 18, 2016•31 min•Season 1Ep. 131
Sumatra is the 6th largest island in the world with just over twice the land area of Great Britain. During the summer of 2016, undergraduate Biology students Oli Broadhead and Iris Berger set out to walk across Sumatra to compare the biodiversity of untouched forests vs. deforested ecosystems. They found their way into an unexplored […] The post Sumatra Biodiversity Expedition with Oli Broadhead & Iris Berger : TPZ 130 appeared first on The Pursuit Zone ....
Sep 11, 2016•35 min•Season 1Ep. 130
After 68 days and 3200 km by canoe, Ian Finch and team completed their Pull of the North expedition – a source to Bering Sea descent of the Yukon River. Ian is an adventurer and researcher who travels to remote locations to learn about the ancient traditions and ways of life of First Nations people. […] The post Canoeing the Yukon River with Ian Finch : TPZ 129 appeared first on The Pursuit Zone ....
Sep 04, 2016•34 min•Season 1Ep. 129
