Travel Stories From FlightNetwork.com

It has been a couple of weeks since I've shared some of my more travel related stories from FlightNetwork.com, one of the sites I contribute to on a regular basis. The blog there contains lots of good stories for travelers with tips on where to go and what to do when you get there. Additionally, there is general travel news, gear reviews, and much more. Here's a sampling of what is on offer there:

• 10 Big Adventures For 2014
• 52 Passengers Rescued From Stranded Antarctic Ship
• My New Year's Travel Resolutions 
• National Geographic To Bring Iconic Maps To Google Engine
• Tips For Moving Abroad

Duggars Walkin' In A Winter Wonderland

Residents across the United States are bracing themselves for a record-breaking cold front. In Northwest Arkansas, temperatures are hovering around 0 degrees Fahrenheit, with a high of 13 on Monday. Thankfully for the Duggars, snowfall has been minimal, and meteorologists are predicting above-freezing temperatures for the rest of the week. How is the weather in your area?

The Duggars enjoy an afternoon of sledding after a snowstorm in 2011

Large dumps of snow are few and far between in Arkansas

More Courtship News

We know you all enjoy occasional updates from the Bates family. Over the course of the past two months, two Bates children (Zach and Erin) tied the knot, and two more started courtships. Alyssa's courtship with John Webster began in November, and the New Year brought news of another budding relationship. Michael, the second oldest of Gil and Kelly Bates' 19 children and the oldest girl, entered a courtship with Brandon Keilen. Here's a photo:

The Adventure Blog Facebook Page Launched

A quick announcement that is probably long over due considering how prevalent social media has become in our lives these days. I've just launched a new fan page on Facebook for the Adventure Blog and would like to encourage anyone who wants to follow my blog through FB to "Like" it. It should provide a direct feed of all of the content that publish here, plus other stuff as well. For those who don't get my daily updates in their email or don't always have time to drop by here directly, this could be a good option for staying current on what is going on in the world of adventure at the moment.

I've added this option for a couple of reasons. First, for the past few years I've been encouraging readers to become "friends" on Facebook as I always enjoy hearing from everyone and my blog stories always fed directly into my feed there. But recently that hasn't been the case and most of posts were not showing up on Facebook any longer. I've read that FB is doing some things to curate items that are automatically sent to the feed, and while my Twitter updates continued to go to the site as expected, anything directly from my blog was lost in the ether. Creating this page has seemed to have solved that problem.  For the record, my Twitter feed still gets all the updates and more as well.

The second reason for making the change is that I'll also be whittling down  my friends list on Facebook. I have far too many people that I don't know on there and it has kept me from sharing things with my friends and family for the simple reason that I didn't want to post some things for the entire world to see. So, over the course of the next week or two, I'll shortening up that list to make it more manageable as well. If you get "unfriended" it isn't personal. I promise! But to those who I actually know, and have met, or I'm on a first name basis, never fear. You'll remain on my friends list.

So, if you'd like to start (or continue!) getting the Adventure Blog in your feed on Facebook, please drop by the new page and "Like" it. I'd be very appreciative and it'll be an efficient way to continue to get the content I produce here. Thanks to everyone for dropping by my little corner of the Internet. Your kind words and shared love of adventure make this blog a labor of love.

Explorer Returns To South Sudan Despite Looming Civil War

If you have been keeping up on current events lately, you probably already know about the turmoil that is going on in South Sudan, the youngest country on the planet. The nation was formed following a long struggle against leaders in Sudan, but almost since the day the nation first gained its independence, political struggles and old rivalries have threatened to break it apart. That all boiled over in mid-December and now the country is in open conflict with factions that have been rivals for years falling back into old familiar territory now that their common enemy had been defeated. At the moment, thousands of South Sudanese citizens are displaced and hundreds have been killed. It is, at times, a violent and unpredictable place, where foreigners are discouraged from traveling to.

That is the environment that explorer and anthropologist Julian Monroe Fisher is facing as he returns to South Sudan to continue his work there. He departs Austria today to launch the third phase of his Great African Expedition, a four year, multi-phase plan to explore the ethnographical make-up of central Africa and study how it has changed over the past two centuries.

Julian has also been instrumental in developing a new long distance trekking route dubbed the "Sir Samuel and Lady Florence Baker Historical Trail." This new route, which begins in South Sudan and runs into Uganda, is more than 500 miles (805 km) in length and has been designed for backpackers and long distance hikers. The hope is that the trail will draw a much needed economic boost to the region, which lacks jobs and other resources currently.

On this visit, Fisher plans to hike the entire length of that route for the first time. That could be risky however, as the trail begins near the town of Gondokoro, which is located not far from the capital of Juba. That area has been hit hard by the current civil unrest in the country.


When I heard from Julian earlier in the day he was just preparing to leave for Africa. His contacts in the country assure him that he will be safe and that they will do what they can to securely deliver him to the trail. For his part, the explorer says that he is not concerned about his own safety and welfare but instead would like to call attention to what is happening in South Sudan. Much of the conflict stems from long standing ethnic disputes between the Dinka and Nuer people, which Fisher compares to the 1990's conflict in Rwanda. He hopes his efforts will help draw a focus on the South Sudanese conflict that will hopefully prevent another genocide like the one that took place in Rwanda.

The current expedition is set to last up to two months and Julian will post updates from the field as he goes. Hopefully he'll not only get the chance to hike the trail that he has been helping to develop but he'll remain safe along its entire length. His mission there is a good example of explorers visiting dangerous places with the hope that they can help improve conditions there in the future.

Video: Erik Weihenmayer Talks Paddling On The Rio Marañon In Peru

Adventurer Erik Weihenmayer is certainly one inspiring individual. Not only is he the first (and to date, only) blind person to climb Everest, he has also managed to compete in adventure races, compete in mountain biking events, and a number of other outdoor activities. He has even taken up kayaking, which must be terrifying for anyone who doesn't have the use of their eyes. Next year Erik plans to paddle the length of the Grand Canyon and as a training exercise for that expedition, he recently traveled to Peru to take on the Rio Marañon, which presents some similar challenges. In the video below, he talks about that adventure.

Thanks to Lou-Phi for sharing this video.

Rio Marañon with Erik Weihenmaye​r from peter gandesbery on Vimeo.

Winter Climbs 2014: Dujmovits Abandons Solo Nanga Parbat Expedition

Yesterday I posted an update on the winter climbing scene in Pakistan where several teams are hoping to make the first winter ascent of Nanga Parbat this year. So far those attempts have been stymied by bad weather conditions that have included high winds, cold temperatures and lots of snow. But with the forecast improving over the next few days, it seemed as if the climbers were preparing to truly get their acclimatization process under way at last. For one climber however, the risks on Nanga are just too great, so he has elected to pull the plug and go home.

As noted in my previous update, German climber Ralf Dujmovits was hoping to make a solo climb of the mountain and had recently arrived in Base Camp where he had been weighing his options for the best approach. What he found was that his intended route was far more difficult to find that he had anticipated and that it was was more dangerous as well. Ralf discovered that there were two massive ice towers precariously balanced just above where he would be climbing. He also estimated that it would take him approximately a day and a half to move past those towers, which would have been an awfully long time to be stuck under their shadow. So, weighing all of this information out and considering how fearsome Nanga Parbat is in the winter under the best of circumstances, he decided it was best to pull the plug on the expedition rather than tempt fate.

With the decision made, Ralf will now leave Pakistan and head for home. He knew that climbing the mountain solo in winter was going to be a major challenge no matter what, but the conditions even more dangerous than he had anticipated. I think the term "discretion is the better part of valor" is an apt one here.

This won't be the only solo attempt on Nanga this season however. Daniele Nardi will be arriving in Pakistan later in the month and he will attempt a solo summit along the Diamir face too.