My guest for this episode hiked, paddled, and skied the entire Trans-Canadian Trail connecting three oceans. She created a spectacular documentary film “500 Days in the Wild” from that adventure, naming the film before she realized her journey would actually require 6 years! Listen to this episode to hear why.

Here’s a dynamic, fascinating individual who picked up photography in his 30’s and has now had three National Geographic magazine cover stories. He’s roamed the Arctic and so many other far-flung places, capturing the essence of wildlife, scenery, and the indigenous cultures. If you think it just takes being a guru behind a camera lens to make it big with Nat Geo, listen in to this episode to hear the real story.

I recently returned from my own Antarctic adventure – not of the “roughing it” type since I was aboard a National Geographic icebreaker ship rather than hauling a sled and pitching my tent in the snow. But the staff were an eclectic mix of polar explorers with a fascinating mix of backgrounds and polar experiences. I interview several in this episode. The scenery and wildlife in Antarctica were amazing. You can find some photos on my website https://gocarpediemnow.com/

Ann Bancroft has a lifetime of amazing firsts in the world of polar exploration: first woman to reach the North Pole, first woman to reach both the North and South Pole, first woman to ski across the Antarctic continent, and many other big adventures. She has also accomplished so many other achievements in her life through her curiosity and determination. Hear about them in this episode.

Here is a professional endurance athlete with adventures in 100 countries, including a 500-mile trek across the mountains of Bhutan. She is the author of Dirty Inspirations: Lessons from the Trenches of Extreme Endurance Sports among other books, and the sports psychologist who coached the 4 women in my podcast episode #39 who rowed across the Atlantic Ocean. In this episode, she shares her perspective on training your mind to keep up with your body.

Smoke jumping is an adventure disguised as a job. Afterall, who jumps out of airplanes to live a week or two in the wild fighting a forest fire with little more than a pulaski and the clothes on their back? It’s an occupation few of us know much about – until you listen to this episode where my guest explains the lingo, techniques, and experience of smoke jumping.

The Badwater 135 ultra-marathon is viewed as one of the toughest running races in the world, starting in Death Valley in 120 degree F temps and including 14,000+ feet of elevation gain. This 2-guest episode was so fun to record with both the youngest person and oldest person ever to finish the race. While they each describe the same race from very different perspectives, they are equally inspirational.

Rafting expeditions on white water rivers can be addictive – or so says my guest in this episode. His repertoire of rafting adventures was built over a decades-long habit of an expedition every year or two and includes dozens of rivers around the world, including Zambia, India, Bhutan, Peru, Chile, Siberia, China, and Ecuador to name a few. What a great way to see the wild places of the world while enjoying friends and family!

This episode is a conversation with Scott Shawyer, the President and Skipper of the Canada Ocean Racing team, shortly after he and his team completed the 5,000+ mile Ocean Race Europe in their IMOCA 60 foiling ocean racer. That race was just a warm-up for Scott’s ultimate ambition of being the first Canadian to complete the Vendee Globe solo, non-stop, around-the-world race.

Do you ever have an itch for adventure? To explore? To try something new? My guest for this episode literally wrote the book on why that is (or isn’t, for some people). He also wrote the book on human endurance. What a fascinating combo of topics that helps explain what's behind the accomplishments of my various podcast guests.