The Pursuit Zone

Bruce Low is a professional whitewater rafting guide and whitewater kayaker. For 6 days in 2010, he solo rafted a 60-mile stretch of the Cotahuasi River in Peru. It's a 160-mile river that drops 100 feet per mile and winds through the deepest canyon in the world – the Cotahuasi Canyon – twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. Located on the edge of the Atacama Desert, it's dry, hot, and windy. Besides...

When Hannah Engelkamp learned of the recently opened Wales Coastal Pathway that would connect to the Offa's Dyke Path, she hatched a plan to spend half of 2013 walking 1000-miles around Wales. A grand journey in its own right, but Hannah spiced it up a bit by traveling with a companion – an eccentric donkey named Chico. The pathways were off limits to Chico, so the two trekked over bike paths and...

Tom Denniss began his lap around the world on December 31st, 2011 in Sydney Australia. Over the next 21 months, with the help of a small support crew, he ran across 4 continents including North and South America, Europe, and Australia. In total, a run of 26,232 km averaging 50 km per day. He did it for the adventure, to inspire others, and to raise money for Oxfam, an organization devoted to fight...

In January of 2012, Darren and Sandy Van Soye set out on a 424 day, around-the-world expedition, visiting 53 countries on six continents.  Their goal was to bring geography to life for as many young people as possible in hopes of instilling a greater appreciation and curiosity about the planet, people, and cultures.  They also trekked nearly 500 miles in some of the most remote and beautiful place...

At age 16, Lewis Clarke set a world record for being the youngest person to ski from the Antarctic coast to the South Pole.  It was a 48-day, 702-mile expedition along the Hercules Inlet route.  Lewis and his guide experienced temperatures as low as –40 C and winds up to 60 miles per hour in one of the harshest environments on earth.  You can read more about his adventure at his website youngestto...

For Felicity Aston, Antarctica has been a constant thread running through her life.  From time spent as a scientist at the Rothera research station to leading an expedition of eight women on a 38-day ski expedition to the South Pole.  In 2012, Felicity returned to Antarctica to test her mental stamina on a 59-day, 1,744 km expedition across the continent from the Leverett Glacier to Hercules Inlet...

Anna McNuff set out in July 2013 to cycle 11,000 miles through all 50 states.  Starting in Alaska, she made her way to the lower 48, cycling a unique route from Washington State to Texas.  She encountered floods in Colorado, blizzards in South Dakota, and the Polar Vortex in Arkansas.  She ended her 7-month journey in Hawaii, cycling to the top of Mount Haleakala, a 10,000 ft volcano in Maui.  You...

After a 9000 km cycling adventure across Africa, Davey du Plessis set his sights on his next adventure, an unsupported solo source-to-sea expedition of the Amazon River.  In 2012, with the first two stages of the Amazon expedition behind him, Davey set out to kayak the remaining 5700 km to the Atlantic Ocean.  This final stage, however, would not be completed because Davey was ambushed in the Peru...

West Hansen first paddled the Amazon at the 2008 Great River Amazon Raft Race in Peru.  Their team won the race and set a new record in the process.  On the flight home to Texas, West read the book Running the Amazon by Joe Kane and got hooked on the idea of paddling the entire river.  He started planning the next year and by August 2012 was back in Peru to begin his Amazon Express expedition.  Hi...

When Norwegian surfers Jørn Nyseth Ranum and Inge Wegge discovered an isolated bay on a remote, arctic island along the coast of Northern Norway, they wondered if it would be possible to spend 9 months of winter there, surfing the ice-cold waves rolling in from the Atlantic ocean.  With only a few hand tools, they built a little cabin from the driftwood and other trash washing ashore.  They also b...

As a child, Bria Schurke traveled to Eastern Russia 10 times, first setting foot in Siberia at age four while visiting her father's expeditions.  As a first grader she went to the North Pole and grew up among sled dogs near Ely, MN learning to be a musher and becoming an accomplished Nordic skier.  Bria has worked at medical facilities in India, Kenya, and Somalia and has worked as an instructor f...

Sarah Winters Papsun has figured out how to travel while helping others and that skill has brought her to nearly every continent and to 40 countries.  In January of 2010, Sarah traveled to Africa to climb with the 3 Peaks 3 Weeks Challenge team.  The goal was to climb Mount Kenya, Mount Meru, and Mount Kilimanjaro to support, encourage, and raise awareness for grassroots community organizations in...

In June of 2011, Caroline Moireaux set off from her hometown in France to begin a ten-year, 70,000 kilometer walk around the world.  Her chosen route will take her through 45 countries and she may choose to bike or canoe sections of the journey when necessary, but plans no motorized modes of transportation.  After this winter break she sets off again in 2014 to cross Russia and you can follow her...

In June of 2010, Greg Petry and Lucas Will set out to circumnavigate Lake Superior in handmade Greenland-style kayaks.  It was a 97-day, 1200-mile expedition they call Superior Dream.  The men hope to showcase the lake's beauty and impact on the region by turning the 80 hours of video they captured into a documentary film of their adventure.  You can read more about their journey at SuperiorDream....

In March of 2013, John Huston and Tobias Thorleifsson co-led a team of four that set out to explore Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic as part of their New Land 2013 Expedition.  With the help of four sled dogs, the team skijored over 511 nautical miles on Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg Islands.  The purpose of their 65-day journey, beyond traveling through a remote and beautiful landscape, was t...

The North Country National Scenic Trail is the longest trail in the United States.  It stretches 4600 miles from North Dakota to Vermont.  From April to October of 2013, Luke Jordan thru-hiked the trail from west to east encountering many obstacles including knee-deep snow, tree blowdowns, and overgrown trails almost impossible to navigate.  You can learn more about his adventure at stridernct.com...

After a year and a half toiling through life as an actor in Los Angeles, Shannon O'Donnell left in 2008 on an 11-month around-the-world adventure.  She had hopes that traveling and volunteering would act as a reset button on her life.  Many times she traveled with family and friends, including 6 months traveling and home schooling her 11-year-old niece Ana.  Along the way the experiences shaped an...

After two years of planning, Sarah Outen set off on her London to London Via the World expedition on April 1 st of 2011.  She crossed the English Channel by kayak and cycled across Europe and Asia during the first leg of her journey.  On the second leg, she rowed her 21-foot ocean rowing boat, Happy Socks, for 150 days over 3,750 miles from Japan to the Aleutian Islands – becoming the first person...

Thousands of orphaned children fight for survival each day on the streets of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.  The majority of these children are below age 12.  There are not many orphanages in Mongolia so these children form gangs and sleep beneath the city streets to stay warm.  The purpose of Brian Hunter's expedition is to raise awareness of their plight and distribute necessities to over 3,000 of these...

Starting in September of 2012, Ken Ilgunas spent 5 months walking 1,700 miles from Hardisty, Alberta Canada to Port Arthur, Texas – the proposed route of the Keystone XL Pipeline.  He thought he might be the last person to see and document the area before it is developed.  While hiking he experienced the simple joys of camping, interactions with strangers, run-ins with law enforcement, violent dog...

Dan Hobbs climbed 57 Colorado peaks in 25 days to raise money for Save the Children, a charity that helps poor and afflicted children in the US and around the world.  All the peaks were over 14,000 feet and 17 of them required class 3 to 5 technical climbing skills.  That's 400 miles and 160,000 vertical feet of hiking and climbing using many non-traditional routes and peak-to-peak traverses.  You...

Scott Mestrezat is the first person to Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) the Missouri River, from June to September of 2013, starting at its headwaters in Montana and ending in St. Louis Missouri.  He traveled self-supported on a board he constructed.  It was 107 days and 2400 miles of lakes, river, wind, and heat.  You can learn more about his adventure at missouririversup.com .  Scott Mestrezat welcome...

The Great Himalaya Trail is one of the highest and longest trails in the world.  Between April and June of 2013, Doc McKerr became the first person to solo trek the Great Himalayan Trail on a 65 day, 1480 km trek in Nepal from east to west.  His route took him through some of the world's most amazing and difficult landscapes as he trekked through Himalayan foothills, forests, jungles, and remote v...

In May of 2013 Amber Valenti was one of four women who embarked on a source to sea descent of the Amur River—the world's third longest free-flowing river. They traveled through remote Mongolia and Russia from the birthplace of Genghis Khan to the Pacific Ocean delta.  They called their expedition Nobody's River Project and its purpose is to tell the story of this widely unknown watershed from the...

On July 27 2012, Katharine & David Lowrie began an epic journey to run the length of South America; over 5000 miles through some of the most awe inspiring and biologically rich ecosystems on earth. Katharine will be the first woman to run across the continent and as a team they will be the first to run the continent unsupported.  They hope that through sweat, tears and determination, they can open...