DREAM BIG AND DARE TO FAIL

 “WHATEVER YOU CAN DO, OR DREAM YOU CAN, BEGIN IT. BOLDNESS HAS GENIUS, POWER, AND MAGIC IN IT.”

VON GOETHE

DREAM BIG AND DARE TO FAIL

Those explorers who seek the ultimate test of their abilities against the extremes of nature know better than most that there is no success without risking failure. Colonel Norman Vaughn, the veteran polar explorers’ motto: “Dream big and dare to fail.” The Norwegian polar explorer Borge Ousland thinks along the same lines.

   “If you want to be better, you have to give yourself another chance, take the chance of making another failure,” he says. “In order to win, you have to risk losing. That is part of it.”

  Ousland knows all about risk-taking and confronting failure. He has done both. In fact, his expeditions revel in risk. Two words tend to feature in any Ousland expedition: solo and unsupported.

   The first of his expeditions in this line came in 1991; a solo trek to the North Pole, hard on the heels of a joint unsupported ski trek to the same place, which itself was a first. It made the exploration community sit up and listen to the Norwegian, who was soon receiving considerable publicity. “I’ve started to feel the layers of civilization peeling away; it takes weeks to find your animal self,” he wrote in National Geographic during the pioneering expedition. “I wake up, grunt at the sun, perform the day’s chores, sniff the north wind, and automatically pick out the best route and the safest campsites – all without thought. I’ve found the rhythm. I think I can do this.” Fifty-two grueling days after setting off from Cape Arktichesky, he did. He still considers it his greatest moment out in the field. “Not many believed I would make it, I was not really sure myself.”

   Born in Oslo I 1962, Ousland went on to train as a diver after leaving school and for a decade from the mid-1980s worked in the North Sea as a saturation diver. In 1986, he dipped his toes into the exploration world, skiing across Greenland with friends, travelling 500 miles in 37 days in an expedition which recalled the exploits of his fellow countryman Fritjof Nansen a century earlier.

   Though he finds it hard to define exactly, Ousland is in no doubt about why he has chosen the path of adventure and exploration. “I think there is this restlessness in me, this urge to do it. I really feel great when I do these expeditions and I love it. I think you have to really love it to do these hard trips. You can’t do hard trips for money or for glory or any of those kinds of reasons. It’s really the true and joyful memories of being out there and being so close to you and close to nature. That’s why I do it.”

   He regards exploration as an intensely individual experience.

“Exploration is very personal. It doesn’t have to be the North Pole or the South Pole. I think the most important aspect of exploration is that you start on a personal level; you have to start at some level you are comfortable with and work from there. For me it is seeking out what is beyond the next horizon, it’s about following your dreams. I don’t do it for exercise, I do not do it to set a rulebook but for adventure.”

   From 1989 until 1991, Ousland donned uniform, serving out his military service with the Norwegian Special Naval Forces. He followed the trailblazing solo unsupported trek to the North Pole with its mirror image – only longer – at the other end of the world, an attempt to trek solo and unsupported across Antarctica from coast to coast via the South Pole in 1995. That time he had to abort but, unable to countenance defeat, he crossed the continent again in 1996-1997, travelling 1,778 miles in 64 days, enduring temperatures as low as minus 56 degrees Celsius. In 2001, Ousland became the first to cross the Arctic solo – inevitably – from Siberia to Canada via the North Pole. That epic journey took him 82 days. Oustland’s relentless preference for solo travel is borne out in the titles of his books, Alone to the North Pole, Alone Across Antarctica, and Alone Across the North Pole.

   “Out there on the ice where there is no grass or trees, there is nothing, it is a very desolate place so I long for the woods where every square centimeter is full of life and trees and birds and everything.”

   From the poles, Ousland turned to dabble in mountains, climbing Cho Oyu in 1999 and reaching the south summit of Everest in 2003 before returning to the ice by making the first unsupported trek across the Patagonian Ice Field, the third largest glacier in the world, in the same year.

   He understands he is an inspirational figure for untold numbers of young adventurers and throws himself into his role as a motivational speaker with the same sort of intensity that characterizes his extreme expeditions. His message to them is straightforward and uncompromising.

“I do have a motto and that is, follow your dream, never stop. I think it is our own responsibility to make people understand and respect nature because only by using nature we will learn to take care of it. I think everyone needs an anchor and that’s the most important thing we can give our kids. So in that respect I hope I can be an inspiration to others through my expeditions, pictures and other work”

We as hikers, explorers, and adventurers have the absolute duty to respect and protect our Wildernesses. Nobody else will do it for us. Take ownership!

 

 

The End.

 

Safe Hiking.

References and Acknowledgements

From the book: Faces of Exploration – Joanna Vestey

Photos:  ©Willem Pelser

Compiled by:  Willem Pelser

Mashai Pass - Garden Castle Reserve - Drakensberg

 “ALL THAT AN OBSTACLE DOES WITH BRAVE MEN IS, NOT TO FRIGHTEN THEM, BUT TO CHALLENGE THEM.”

 WOODROW WILSON

Mashai Pass

Garden Castle Reserve

Drakensberg

A few days ago I returned from the magnificent Garden Castle Reserve in the Southern Drakensberg. I had it all, daily thunderstorms, gale force winds and snow in the middle of November! Above all, I had a magnificently beautiful and wild wilderness all to myself.

The Mashai Pass route which eventually leads to the Rhino Peak is one of the most popular walks at Garden Castle Reserve. The path sometimes looks like a traffic jam on a national highway! Be it as it may, it is a beautiful route up to the escarpment and well worth the effort. And effort it does take as there is a continual altitude gain all the way to the top of the escarpment and from there to the summit of Rhino Peak.

So, let us take a photographic journey up this magical valley.

Dust off your hiking boots and go and visit an extraordinary beautiful place. And remember, Mashai Pass is not the only route to walk in that wild wilderness. 

We as hikers, explorers, and adventurers have the absolute duty to respect and protect our Wildernesses. Nobody else will do it for us. Take ownership!

 

 

The End.

 

Safe Hiking.

References and Acknowledgements

From the book – From my notebook

Photos:  ©Willem Pelser

Compiled by:  Willem Pelser

WHAT TO EAT WHEN MULTI-DAY HIKING

 "AVOIDING DANGER IS NO SAFER IN THE LONG RUN THAN OUTRIGHT EXPOSURE. LIFE IS EITHER A DARING ADVENTURE OR NOTHING”

HELEN KETLER

WHAT TO EAT WHEN MULTI-DAY HIKING

How to stay energized and hydrated throughout a long day in the Wilderness is down to more than personal taste. With a little thought you can ensure your body is firing up ready for the strains you are about to put on it.

   It is tempting to start the day with just a cup tea and a cereal bar, but overnight, your body will have used up much of its glycogen store (that’s your primary energy source) so, unless you replenish it properly, you’ll run out of energy by mid-morning.

   Eat a balanced breakfast of whole cereal, juice and meat that’s not too fatty. This will supply a healthy dose of carbohydrates, which your body breaks down into glucose and stores in your muscles as glycogen, providing a readily available source of energy. It also provides fibre, which delays the uptake of sugar into the blood so you’ll get a sustained energy boost rather than an instant surge. Protein sources such as nuts and eggs will supply amino acids to rebuild and repair your body during periods of hard exercise.

   For normal daily walks, if you are packing lunch, make up sandwich rolls with whole-meal bread. Mashed banana and honey is an excellent filling. Take a couple of extra pieces of fruit too and make sure you have something palatable to drink. A lunch like this will deliver a second super-hit of carbohydrates to provide further sustained energy. The fibre in the bread will help to control the sugar-rush from the chocolate you’re likely to snack on later, too. In addition to carbohydrates, the fruit contains valuable liquid: so this’ll help keep you hydrated (an orange is 86 per cent water and surprisingly even the humble banana scores an impressive 71 per cent.

   For a longer term wilderness plan, base your food diet on these staples, and then add a little of whatever else you fancy. All will survive a few days in your pack and offer a good energy source – although a few earn their place for their taste.

  Don’t underestimate how much energy you’ll need: walking in mountainous terrain uses two and a half times the calories of walking over level ground.

   Where you get that energy from is important too. Aim to get the bulk from carbohydrates: your diet should consist of 60 per cent carbs, 20 percent protein, and 20 percent fat. This high percentage of carbohydrates will keep your body fuelled with readily available energy – and by choosing starchy as oppose to sugary carbohydrates, you’ll get a steady stream of energy, rather than an instant high followed by a draining low.

   Fat provides energy too, but it takes far longer to digest, and actually slows the absorption of the carbs, so keep the high-fat foods for the end of the day, rather than while you’re walking. And the protein is essential for muscle repair, to ensure you’re fit for the following day.

Good Foods

Quick cook pasta – easiest dinner to prepare and goes with anything.

Dried sliced onions – instant meal upgrade.

Tomato puree – add taste.

Salami sticks – decent 20 per cent protein.

Whole-meal pitta bread – packable, stackable staple.

Rice cakes – 80 percent carbohydrates providing a serious energy boost.

Cheese spread – purely taste purposes.

Oatcakes – provide sustained energy, good for lunch.

Muesli – Mountain breakfast of choice. Will get your day of to an energetic start.

Beef jerky – Perfect for repairing your battered body overnight.

Peanut Butter - for its protein content. Use in the evening for maximum benefit.

Dates – pack the highest energy boost of all fruits.

Raisins – for an instant pick-me-up. Use as a surge of energy when required for that last stretch to the top.

Dried fruits – sustained energy benefits.

Cereal bars – transportable tanks of energy.

Bananas – the Superman of foods.

Nuts – good for evening refueling and they also provide magnesium, which helps to guard against muscle-burn from lactic acid production.

Pocket Fuel

   Flagging on the hills? The fastest way to beat fatigue, boost your blood sugar levels, and top up your muscle glycogen store is to eat carbohydrates – as soon as possible. But although you might think sugary foods will release their carbohydrates into your system faster than starchy ones, it’s not quite that simple.

   In fact, the glucose from some starchy foods is absorbed more quickly than others – for instance, the starch in white bread is digested more quickly than the starch in baked beans. Also, sugars that occur naturally in fresh and dried fruits are absorbed more slowly than the highly processed starches used as thickeners in many soups and pasta sauces.

   Such differences in the speed of sugar absorption are measured and rated according to the glycaemic index (GI). Foods with a high GI produce a rapid rise in blood glucose: foods with a low GI are much slower.

   So, when you’re walking across the hills, it’s best to eat foods with a high GI as your body can make good use of the energy. However, if you load up on high GI foods such as chocolate, cakes, and biscuits when you’re just sitting around, your blood sugar and insulin levels will rocket, then rapidly fall. This is known as the ‘rebound effect’ which can make you feel lethargic.

   The glycaemic index should only be used as a guide since the values refer to single foods. In practice we eat a mixture of foods. Other food components – fibre, fat, and protein – interact with carbohydrates and tend to slow down its digestion and absorption.

Foods that make you go zoom……

(In order of saintliness)

1)    Bananas

2)    Dried fruit

3)    Oatcakes

4)    Chocolate.

Remember, what you pack, you have to carry!

We as hikers, explorers, and adventurers have the absolute duty to respect and protect our Wildernesses. Nobody else will do it for us. Take ownership!

The End.

Safe Hiking.

References and Acknowledgements

From the book: The Ultimate Hiking Skills Manual – Trail D&C

Photos:  ©Willem Pelser

Compiled by:  Willem Pelser