Quirky thoughts from an old man.
“Uncertainty is one of the ingredients necessary to make a trip an adventure.”
If everything is organized then you are on a trip. In an adventure there is uncertainty. But uncertainty is not enough. There is uncertainty in the outcome of a soccer match but that does not make it into an adventure.
The puzzle continues.
Apple in the advertising for their new Apple watch use the tag line “Adventure Awaits.” At the beginning of the month we got back from a trip to Europe which included a river cruise that also included the tag line “Adventure Awaits.” Since then I have been trying to define adventure. I know I want adventures but I’m not sure what exactly what they are and how you find them.
Websters calls it “an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity.” This definition would include a trip to a Circle K in South Phoenix but would exclude most organized tours. A rafting trip down the Colorado River would be an adventure even if it was with an organizer. What about an off road Jeep tour near Moab or a solo off trail hike to an unnamed peak in the Tonto National Forest.
Note the brass seashell in the pavement. It indicates that I am hiking on the Camino de Santiago. And in fact I did for about 30 feet. But if I did the entire length from Bayonne to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela would it be an adventure?
Perhaps an adventure is a relative experience. For someone who has never been swimming in the ocean snorkeling is an adventure. For an experienced Scuba diver snorkeling is not. For a baby its first steps are an adventure. For a healthy adult a neighborhood walk is not an adventure.
People think of Zip lines and Jet Skis as adventures the first few times they do them. After that not so much. All I can be sure of is that a life where you seek adventure is more interesting than a life where you seek security.
Between Two Scorpionsby Jim Geraghty
I know Jim Geraghty as a columnist for National Review. It turns out that he is also a very good adventure/spy/action writer. It is a quick read with memorable characters. There are no deep insights and not much philosophy but there is a wild ride. Continue reading “Book Read: Between Two Scorpions”
When we got back from our Grand Canyon float trip in June I posted the picture above and a pithy comment on the Western River Expeditions web site. They approved it this week and I’m pleased to share the link here.
On the same day I received a link to one of my fellow travelers compilation video of the rapids. It gives a real sense of the roller coaster feel of the giant rubber raft. Continue reading “Western River Expeditions”
“If you do not undertake a risk of real harm, reparable or even potentially irreparable, from an adventure, it is not an adventure.”Nassim Taleb Skin in the Game