Running the Sahara

by Erik Olsen on

How’s this for ballsy (I filed this one under “hiking”, tho that seems to be an understatement). A couple of guys decide to do their part to help the world, in this case to bring better water conditions to Africa and Africans, and look for what would seem an impossible goal. One that would capture the attention of the world, or at least of the good folks at National Geographic, who can then help them get noticed.

Well, Kevin Lin, Ray Zahab, and Charlie Engle set out late last year to run…that’s right to RUN across the entire expanse, west to east, of the Sahara Desert. Never mind that they had a big film crew with them and gobs of support, that is still a massive and jaw-dropping undertaking.

Charlie, Ray and Kevin touched the Red Sea, back in February, bringing the epic trip to an end. It lasted 111 days and took them through 6 countries: Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Libya, and Egypt. By their own GPS log, they covered over 4,300 miles. Yow.

Of course, all these guys are hard core mega-endurance types. Engle himself, the team leader is said to be one of the best ultra distance marathon runners in the world today, And as you might expect (and as I mentioned above) there will be a film on the effort (Narrated by Matt Damon), and the Web site had got gobs of lovely info including pictures, bios and an overview of the effort. What would Lawrence of Arabia have said?

Interview With “Lightning Layne:” Adventure Gear Tester

by Willy Volk on

For more than a decade, Layne Oliver has tested adventure gear ranging from headlamps to tents to climbing gear. Known in the industry as “Lightning Layne,” Oliver is a professional field tester whose job is to help gear designers make only the changes that significantly improve a product’s performance. Layne ain’t no bells-and-whistles kinda guy.

An avid outdoorsman, a National Guard reservist, and an electrician by trade, Layne seems like he’s living a sweet life. In this 9-minute interview, SNEWS quizzed Layne about how to break into the industry and how he got his nickname. The answers to both questions are fascinating.

[Via Adventure Travel]

SoundAboutPhilly’s Awesome Audible Tours/Google Maps Mash-up

by Willy Volk on

Recently, we told you about the [murmur] project, an audio archive of the stories of Toronto. It turns out that SoundAboutPhilly is undertaking a similar project for the City of Brotherly Love. SoundAboutPhilly’s free, customizable sound-seeing tours are told by “real” Philadelphians, and provide an insider’s look at the city. Moreover, since it’s mashed with Google Maps, the site lets you plan an interesting, detailed trip from wherever you are.

Featuring dozens of audio clips, SoundAboutPhilly lets people browse by subject (History, Unplugged Philadelphia, Flavorhoods, My Philly, Philly Noir, Once Upon A Nation, Vintage Philadelphia) and even lets users create and upload their own tours. For example, I just finished listening to Aaron’s Haunted/Eerie Philly tour. (The Mütter Museum sounds creepy!)

SoundAboutPhilly allows you to save your favorite tours (and their associated waypoints), so you can create your own personal audio tour/map of the city. Perfect for that upcoming trip, just download all the portions of your custom Philly trip, print your map, and listen to the tours as you explore. If you go by yourself, just don’t get scared when you reach the Edgar Allan Poe house.

Outside Magazine Launches Podcasts

by Neil Woodburn on

One of our favorite magazines here at Gadling, Outside, is finally getting into the podcast game.

Instead of sitting down to read the magazine, I can now download portions of it onto my iPod and listen to it on the fly. The whole magazine isn’t available in podcast form, but select articles are.

The first I listened to was a little disappointing for technical reasons. It was a live telephone interview with John Harlin III, an adventurer who sought to climb the Eiger 40 years after his father died on the mountain. Unfortunately, it was easy to tell that the interview was over the phone as the quality bore the telltale muffled sounds of a landline. There was no editing, just Harlin gabbing away for almost 20 minutes. Sure, it was interesting, but a rookie production.

Things got better, however, the deeper I dug into the podcasts. The majority tend to be readings of Outside articles by their authors. I listened to a couple by columnist Eric Hansen and my faith was restored in Outside. Very cool.

Check out the (slowly) growing selection here. But be advised, podcasts are great but they lack the ability to display the wonderful photographs which accompany Outside’s articles. So you might want to still pick up the magazine on occasion.

Podcast of Lonely Planet Founders

by Neil Woodburn on

While some people hate Tony Wheeler for bringing travelers to undiscovered lands and ruining them as a result, others herald him as a travel god who has provided reams of knowledge about obscure locations people wouldn’t have visited otherwise.

Tony Wheeler is, of course, the brains behind the Lonely Planet empire. He and his wife began the publishing company after a backpacking trip through Europe and Asia during which they discovered a dearth of information for travelers exploring the region. Like any good entrepreneur, the husband and wife duo sought to fill this niche and Lonely Planet was born. Since their first publication, Across Asia on the Cheap, the publishing house has expanded to cover nearly every country in the world and has become one of the most trusted brands of guidebooks on the market today.

Simon Calder, a regular columnist for The Independent, recently caught up with Tony and his wife Maureen and recorded a nifty podcast of their discussion. To listen in and learn more about these travel gurus, click here.