6 Great Soft Adventures For 2014

If you missed my list of 10 Big Adventures for 2014 or your looking for something a bit less demanding for your own escape, then you'll want to checkout the 6 Best Places for 2014 as selected by Richard Bangs. Richard, who hosts the television show Adventures with Purpose, posted his selections to HuffPo last week, offering travelers a great selection of destinations for the year ahead.

The list is actually a series of videos which don't actually reveal the destination outright, but instead give viewers clues to exactly where Richard is as he shows off the attractions there. At the end of the video, we can then click on an object in it to reveal the exact location. For an example, check out the clip below, and then start making your plans to travel later this year.

Antarctica 2013: Speed Records, Resupplies, And Agony At The Bottom Of The World

It has been another very active couple of days in the Antarctic, where the explorers continue to press ahead with expeditions to and from the South Pole. At this point in the season the teams still out on the ice are really in the grind. They've been skiing (and in some cases biking!) towards their goal for days, and while the end is in sight, there are still many miles to cross before the season is finally done. It can be a very tough, agonizing stage of the journey, both mentally and physically, as most now found out.

We've been following the Scott Expedition for two and a half months now, and Ben and Tarka have now rounded the Pole and are headed back towards their starting point at the Scott Hut along the coast. But last week the boys were forced to call in a resupply as they were starting to run dangerously low on  food and fuel. On top of that, the physical toll of the expedition has really hit the team hard. They had hoped to pick up speed on the return trip, but so far that hasn't happened. Over the course of the past few weeks, their blog updates have hinted at the struggles they had been facing, but Ben and Tarka did a good job of hiding just how difficult the journey had been, and how close to the edge they were playing their dangerous game. In the end, they came very close to having to call off the expedition altogether, as they misjudged how difficult it would and pushed themselves to the very limits. To get a true sense of what they were up against, I'd suggest you read this blog post from last Thursday. It'll give you a true sense of just how incredibly rough the mission has been so far. Needless to say, the resupply may have saved their lives, or at the very least has allowed them to continue. The drama isn't completely over yet however, as the duo continues to face challenges, including a bout of hypothermia, even as they have reached their first supply depot on the return trip. Now 74 days into their journey, they still have roughly 740 miles (1190 km) to go, with the clock ticking towards the end of the season.

While the Scott Expedition continues its long, cold march back to the coast, another explorer has wrapped up his expedition as expected. On Saturday, Richard Parks reached the South Pole, completing his speed record attempt in an impressive 29 days, 19 hours, and 24 minutes. That is five days off the record pace he had hoped to set, but still good enough to give him the fastest time by a Brit to the the Pole in solo and unsupported fashion. I'm sure Richard is a bit disappointed at not getting the record, but considering the conditions he faced, he should be quite proud of his efforts. It hasn't exactly been a good year in the Antarctic and in order to break the record in the future, conditions will have to be nearly perfect. Parks had little time to celebrate his achievement at 90ºS, as he has already returned to the Union Glacier Camp and will soon be making his way back to Punta Arenas, Chile, and then home to the U.K.


Aussie kite-skier Geoff Wilson has also completed his expedition at last. After 53 days of catching the wind, he has traversed the continent via the South Pole and now arrived at Hercules Inlet, where he is reportedly exhausted and happy, but still waiting for extraction to Union Glacier. In his latest blog post from today, he reports that he is down to his last full meal, so he is hoping that weather conditions improve soon. High winds are keeping flights in Antarctica grounded for now, but the forecast is reporting better weather ahead. Geoff says that he won't starve, as he has a few other scraps to keep him going, and plenty of fuel to melt snow for water. But by now, he is ready for a big meal and a warm bed.

16-year old Lewis Clarke continues to make good progress in his efforts to become the youngest person to ever ski to the South Pole. He and his guide Carl Alvey have now crossed the 87th degree and covered more than 500 miles (804 km) in the process. They've now entered the massive sastrugi field that is located at that point on the map, which is slowing them down some and making progress much harder. Still, with less than 200 miles to go until they reach the Pole, Lewis is doing quite well. They should be on track to reach the finish line sometime next week.

Also now inside 87ºS is South Pole cyclist Daniel Burton, who continues to extend his record for riding the longest distance in Antarctica. Every day continues to be a struggle for Daniel, but he shows remarkable resolve in his efforts to become the first person to ride his fat tire mountain bike the full distance to the South Pole. He's dealing with the sastrugi as well, and reports that they continue to grow in size. As tough as they are to ski over and around, I'm sure they are just as challenging on a bike, which has precarious balance in the high winds and slick surface conditions of Antarctica. If all goes well, there is a good chance that Daniel will wrap up his expedition next week as well. He has continued to increase his mileage, although the challenge is still quite great.

Finally, husband and wife team Chris and Marty Fagan are pushing ahead toward the Pole. It is now the 35th day of their expedition and they have just 12 days to reach 90ºS before they run out of food. Unless they go on half rations, that means they now have less than two weeks to cover the remaining 160 miles (257 km) that remain. That average out to 13.5 miles (21.7 km) per day to reach their goal. Certainly doable, but they'll need to push hard over the last stretch.

The Antarctic season isn't over yet, and there still plenty of drama to come as we head down the stretch. Stay tuned for more updates in the days ahead.

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.