Inspiring Global Adventures
Have you ever wanted to go on an adventure? Climb a mountain? Walk the Pacific Crest Trail? Canoe from one coast to another? Swim with sharks? Camp throughout the winter months? There are so many adventurous souls on this earth, and thankfully, many of those folks have shared their stories to inspire budding adventurers and those of us who want to live vicariously through others.
All that glitters : a climber's journey through addiction and depression
Talbot, Margo, author
2020
As a result of her family's dysfunction and her own growing mental illness, in time, drugs, alcohol, sex, and violence became Margo Talbo's primary ways to connect with herself and others. From the depths of suicidal depression and a conversation with Death, Talbot eventually found solace and redemption in both the healing power of nature and the glory of climbing frozen landscapes in some of the world's most pristine and challenging environments.
Beyond possible : one man, 14 peaks, and the mountaineering achievement of a lifetime
Purja, Nimsdai, author
2022
"Nepali climber Nims Purja is the first man ever to summit all fourteen of the world's 8000 meter "Death Zone" peaks. He did so in less than seven months, breaking the previous record of seven years. In this spellbinding memoir, tied to the acclaimed Netflix documentary "14 Peaks," Purja reveals the man behind the climbs, explaining how his early life in Nepal and training as a soldier in Britain's elite Gurkha and SBS units allowed him to achieve a mountaineering mission few thought was attainable"-- Provided by publisher.
Beyond the trees : a journey alone across Canada's arctic
Shoalts, Adam, 1986- author
2019
Between his starting point in Eagle Plains, Yukon Territory, to his destination in Baker Lake, Nunavut, lies a maze of obstacles. With trademark doggedness fueled by his unquenchable love of nature, Adam Shoalts sets out nonetheless. His only company is the lore of the north, the stories of other adventurers, explorers, First Nations, fur traders, dreamers, eccentrics, and bush pilots. Heart stopping, filled with wonder, and beautifully attentive to the majesty of the natural world, Shoalts captures the ache for adventure as only an adventurer can.
Blue sky kingdom : an epic family journey to the heart of the Himalaya
Kirkby, Bruce 1968- author
2020
One morning at breakfast, while gawking at his phone and feeling increasingly disconnected from family and everything else of importance in his world, it strikes writer Bruce Kirkby: this isn't how he wants to live. Within days, plans begin to take shape. Bruce, his wife Christine, and their two children--seven-year-old Bodi and three-year-old Taj--will cross the Pacific by container ship, then travel onward through South Korea, China, India and Nepal aboard bus, riverboat and train, eventually traversing the Himalaya by foot. Their destination: a thousand-year-old Buddhist monastery in the remote Zanskar valley, one of the last places where Tibetan Buddhism is still practised freely in its original setting. Taken into the mud-brick home of a senior lama, Tsering Wangyal, the family spends the summer absorbed by monastery life. In this refuge, where ancient traditions intersect with the modern world, Bruce discovers ways to slow down, to observe and listen, and ultimately, to better understand his son on the autism spectrum--to surrender all expectations and connect with Bodi exactly as he is. Recounted with wit and humility, Blue Sky Kingdom is an engaging travel memoir as well as a thoughtful exploration of modern distraction, the loss of ancient wisdom, and the challenges and rewards of intercultural friendships.
Braving it : a father, a daughter, and an unforgettable journey into the Alaskan wild
Campbell, James, III, 1961-
2016
Crossing home ground : a grassland odyssey through southern interior British Columbia
Pitt-Brooke, David, author.
2016
"Like John Muir, David Pitt-Brooke stepped out for a walk one morning--a long walk of a thousand kilometres or more through the arid valleys of southern interior British Columbia. He went in search of beauty and lost grace in a landscape that has seen decades of development and upheaval. In Crossing Home Ground he reports back, providing a day-by-day account of his journey's experiences, from the practical challenges--dealing with blisters, rain and dehydration--to sublime moments of discovery and reconnection with the natural world. Through the course of this journey, Pitt-Brooke's encounters with the natural world generate starting points for reflections on larger issues: the delicate interconnections of a healthy landscape and, most especially, the increasingly fragile bond between human beings and their home-places. There is no escaping the impact of human beings on the natural world, not even in the most remote countryside, but he finds hope and consolation in surviving pockets of loveliness, the kindness of strangers and the transformative process of the walking itself, a personal pilgrimage across home ground. Crossing Home Ground is a book that, though rooted in one specific place and time, will evoke a universal sense of recognition in a wide variety of readers. It will appeal to hikers, natural-history enthusiasts and anyone who loves the wild countryside and is concerned about the disappearance of Canada's natural spaces. Pitt-Brooke's grassland odyssey is sure to become a classic of British Columbia nature writing" -- Provided by publisher.
Dogs on the trail : a year in the life
Braverman, Blair, author
2021
"When Blair Braverman started posting pictures of her dog team on Twitter, she had no idea the response she would get. Being a musher, after all, isn't just about racing--raising dogs from puppyhood to retirement (and beyond) is a full-time job. She and her husband, musher Quince Mountain, wanted to share stories about life with their dog team. And not just the big stuff, like expeditions and wild animal encounters, but also the everyday things: the challenge of storing a thousand pounds of raw meat, scouting new trails with the dogs, the decisions that go into putting a team together, how she trains puppies to be brave. These were goofy stories, scary stories, heartfelt stories, stories that clearly connected with people and kept going viral. Inspired by those connections, Dogs on the Trail is a chronicle of a year in the life of their dog team"-- Provided by publisher.
Eating dirt : deep forests, big timber, and life with the tree-planting tribe
Gill, Charlotte, 1971-
2011
Everything left to remember : my mother, our memories, and a journey through the Rocky Mountains
Jagger, Steph, author
2022
Steph Jagger lost her mother before she lost her. Steph watches as the woman who loved and raised her slips away before getting the chance to tell her story. Too aware of her mother's waning memory, Steph proposes that the two take a camping trip out to Montana. An adventure full of horseback riding, hiking, and "tenting" out West quickly turns into one woman's reflection on childhood, motherhood, personhood - and what it means to love someone who doesn't quite remember the person she spent her lifetime becoming.
Journeys north : the Pacific Crest Trail
Mann, Barney Scout, author.
2020
"True story of six thru-hikers whose journeys cross and eventually combine in a thrilling finale"-- Provided by publisher.
Kings of the Yukon : a river journey in search of the chinook
Weymouth, Adam, author
2018
"The Yukon River is 3,190 kilometres long, flowing northwest from British Columbia through the Yukon Territory and Alaska to the Bering Sea. Every summer, millions of salmon migrate the distance of this river to their spawning ground, where they go to breed and then die. The Chinook is the most highly prized among the five species of Pacific salmon for its large size and rich, healthy oils. It has long since formed the lifeblood of the economy and culture along the Yukon--there are few communities that have been so reliant on a single source. Now, as the region contends with the effects of a globalized economy, climate change, fishing quotas and the general drift towards urban life, the health and numbers of the Chinook are in question, as is the fate of the communities that depend on them. Travelling in a canoe along the Yukon River with the migrating salmon, a three-month journey through untrammeled wilderness, Adam Weymouth traces the profound interconnectedness of the people and the Chinook through searing portraits of the individuals he encounters. He offers a powerful, nuanced glimpse into the erosion of indigenous culture, and into our ever-complicated relationship with the natural world. Weaving in the history of the salmon run and their mysterious life cycle, Kings of the Yukon is extraordinary adventure and nature writing and social history at its most compelling."-- Provided by publisher.
Leave only footprints : my Acadia-to-Zion journey through every national park
Knighton, Conor, author
2020
When Conor Knighton decided to spend a year wandering through America's "best idea," he was worried the whole thing might end up being his worst idea. But after a broken engagement and a broken heart, Conor desperately needed a change of scenery. The ambitious plan he cooked up went a bit overboard in that department; Knighton set out to visit every single one of America's National Parks, from Acadia to Zion. Leave Only Footprints is the memoir of his year spent traveling across the United States, a journey that yielded his "On the Trail" series, which quickly became one of CBS Sunday Morning's most beloved segments.
Lost in the Valley of Death : a story of obsession and danger in the Himalayas
Rustad, Harley, author
2022
In 2016, Justin Alexander Shetler, an inveterate traveller trained from adolescence in wilderness survival, made his way to the Parvati Valley, a remote and rugged corner of the Indian Himalayas. There, he spent weeks studying under the guidance of a sadhu, an Indian holy man, living and meditating in a cave. At the end of August, accompanied by the sadhu, he set off on a "spiritual journey" to a holy lake - a journey from which he would never return. This is a riveting narrative centering on the unsolved disappearance of an American backpacker in India.
Mother, nature : a 5,000-mile journey to discover if a mother and son can survive their differences
Jenkins, Jedidiah, author.
2023
"In this poignant memoir from the New York Times bestselling author of To Shake the Sleeping Self, a forty-year-old gay man and his eccentric conservative mother travel the country together and find surprising answers to our generational and cultural rifts. When his mother, Barbara, turned seventy, Jedidiah Jenkins was reminded of a palpable, sobering truth: Our parents won't live forever. For years, he and Barbara had talked about taking a trip together, just the two of them. They landed on an idea: retrace the thousands of miles Barbara trekked with Jedidiah's father, travel writer Peter Jenkins, as part of the "Walk Across America" book trilogy that became a sensation in the 1970s. They began in New Orleans and set off for the Oregon coast, listening to podcasts about outlaws and cult leaders--the only media they could agree on--while reliving the journey that changed Barbara's life. Jenkins discovers who she was as a thirty-year-old writer walking across America; who she became later, as a wife scorned by infidelity; and now, who she is as a parent who loves her son while holding on to a version of faith that sees his sexuality as a sin. Along the way, he peels back the layers of questions millions are asking today: How do we stay in relationship when it hurts? When do boundaries turn into separation? When do we stand up for ourselves, and when do we let it go? Tender, smart, and profound, Mother, Nature is a story of a remarkable mother-son bond and a moving meditation on the complexities of love"-- Provided by publisher.
Rising : becoming the first Canadian woman to summit Everest : a memoir
Wood, Sharon A., 1957- author
2019
Running with Sherman : the donkey with the heart of a hero
McDougall, Christopher, 1962- author
2019
The slow road to Tehran : a revelatory bike ride through Europe and the Middle East
Lowe, Rebecca, author
2022
One woman, one bike and one richly entertaining, perception-altering journey of discovery. 'A terrifically compelling book.' Sir Ranulph Fiennes
Spirit run : a 6,000-mile marathon through North America's stolen land
Álvarez, Noé, author
2020
As a first-generation Latino college-goer, Álvarez struggled to fit in. At nineteen, he learned about the Peace and Dignity Journeys, epic marathons meant to renew cultural connections across North America. He dropped out of school and joined a group of Dené, Secwépemc, Gitxsan, Dakelh, Apache, Tohono O'odham, Seri, Purépecha, and Maya runners, all fleeing difficult beginnings. Telling their stories alongside his own, Álvarez writes about a four-month-long journey from Canada to Guatemala that pushed him to his limits.
