Hiking to the North Pole…in the Dark

by Erik Olsen on

Here’s a great story for extreme fans everywhere. Two adventurers, Børge Ousland and Mike Horn,
will very soon embark on an epic trip the likes of which has never been attempted, or at least completed, before (and
there are very few of these types of accomplishments left). On or around January 16, these two guys will head out to
walk to the North Pole…in the dark. Yes, they will do it in the heart of winter, when the sun is as scarce as
elephants and giraffes in that part of the world.

National Geographic
Adventure has got a long piece on the trip and the dudes themselves.  These are not warm cuddly characters.
these guys are, to use the parlance du jour, extreme. Each is broadly experienced in cold travel and a bit sick in the
head. Take Horn, "one of the most revered explorers in Europe".

Over the last ten years, he has crossed the length of the Amazon River with a boogie board, he followed the Equator
around the globe sans motorized transport, and perhaps most amazing of all, completed a 12,400-mile continuous
circumnavigation of the Arctic Ocean by foot, ski, mountain bike, kayak, monohull sailboat, and catamaran. Dude, you
are hard core.

Anyway, this is a fine piece of writing and a nice way to make yourself feel really unaccomplished in life.

Best Travel Blog: Vote for Us!

by Erik Olsen on

Hey, there’s nothing like a
shameless pitch. This site called the Travel Bloggers
Network is holding a "Best Travel Blog" contest where readers can select the best site out there…or at
least among the ones listed.

Gadling is one
of the listed sites and we’d be mighty grateful if you could feel it in your hearts to go there and vote for us. Why?
Because every day we work our fingers down to the cuticle to bring you the best news and recommendations for travel.
Travel is something we are passionate about, and we hope it shows.

So do us a favor if you are able and go
over and vote. From all of us here at Gadling: thank you!

The Year of Outdoor Alabama

by Adrienne Wilson on

Last year Alabama was all
about rolling up the sleeves and digging into good, old-fashioned, down home, in the back woods Alabama food as well as many nuevo cuisines. Must
have been an extreme amount of good eating going on because now they want you to work it off in the great outdoors.
2006 has been declared the year of ‘Outdoor Alabama’ by Gov. Bob Riley
according to this piece from the Mobile
Register. After a visit to the Alabama tourism site it’s very clear why the decision was made to make the focus on
being out and about. Any type of outdoor enthusiast is bound to find an activity or environment perfect for their
needs. Check out the beaches on the Gulf Shore or spend a day in Northern Alabama’s caves. Hang out with the birds, on a hunt, campground,
trail or with your
camera on some of the state’s most scenic drives.

As a child I loved getting lost in early afternoon
strolls through woodsy trails near the house. Red clay mounds and small hills were an added bonus when I either wanted
to get dirty or tuck myself into a ball and tumble down the soft earth from a rolling hill nearby. They existed mostly
in the neighbors yards and spending hours on their property without getting caught was the adventure. Thanks for all
the swell memories outdoors Alabama!

Adventure Sports Festivals in 2006

by Kelly Amabile on

The Independent featured a brief overview of some of the best adventure
sports festivals to be held around the world this year. They mention the Icarus Cup held in southern France each September, a high-flying air
sports spectacle. Daredevils may also want to drop in on the World Freefall
Festival, to be held in Quincy, IL in late July. If you prefer your adventure closer to the ground, why not
consider a trip to the Giro del Trentino mountain-bike festival in Riva
del Garda, Italy in late April. Or in the US, at the Sea Otter Classic Bike
Festival, which brings over 10,000 bikers to Monterey, CA. The article also offers up suggestions for ski and
snowboard festivals in Whistler, British Columbia and Mayrhofen, Austria, andsome kayaking and mountain sport options
too. It’s a great roundup piece to help get you planning an adventure trip for the new year.

Lonely Planet Blue List Review

by Erik Olsen on

I
got my hands on a copy of another book out from Lonely Planet, the guidebook
publisher who has lately been churning out all manner of new titles related to travel. Now, I have to say up front that
I am biased. I LOVE Lonely Planet. I love everything about the company (well, except for Tony Wheeler’s Web
site), and was gleeful about my own fortune in doing a podcast months ago with Don
George, one of my travel writer heroes. 

Well, one of the newest titles out from LP is a kind of
encyclopedia of opportunity, a sprawling tome of life-experiences that will make your head whirl and will have you
reaching for your credit card to book the next flight out of dodge.

The idea behind Bluelist is simple, and certainly well-known
to anyone who has been on the road for a while. As LP puts it, “to Bluelist something is the travel equivalent of
‘you should see my guy, he’s the best’. It’s the act of recommending a travel experience. Any travel experience.”
In this case, these experiences and places are suggested for you by the editors and writers at LP…who should
know.

And so the book is loaded with page after elegant page of tips, suggestions and recommendations from
nooks and cities all over the world. It’s good, and the kind of book you’d keep on your coffee table and
thumb through while half-watching a football game or something.

Now, if I have anything negative to say
it’s that some of the entries are sparse and much of the book lacks depth…at least the kind of depth you
expect from Lonely Planet. Now that may be the point, but when you read about a great trip like Overland Track in
Tasmania, you want o know more. I suppose they
expect that you will go to the (impressive) Bluelist Web site, or will Google the place on your own. Anyway,
that’s my gripe. Otherwise ,it’s a nice addition to the LP oeuvre.