Epoch Expedition: 10,000-Mile Human Powered Adventure

A few days ago I received a note from Chris Crane, a member of Team Epoch, which is about to launch new expedition that will send the four person team on a 10,000-mile long odyssey completely under their own power. Chris, and his teammates, will mix in some of our favorite activities along the way, including rowing, cycling, paddling, and hiking.

The journey will begin with a row across the Atlantic Ocean as part of the Woodvale Challenge, which gets underway in early December. That race begins in the Canary Islands and ends in Barbados, roughly 2933 miles.

That would be enough of an adventure for most folks, but at that point, Team Epoch will be just warming up. From there, they'll get on their bikes and ride to Alaska, which they'll follow up by kayaking the Inside Passage. Finally, they'll cap the entire expedition with a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, which is considered one of the true classics of long distance trekking. The PCT is more than 2600 miles in length and can take months to complete on its own.

All and all, a very ambitious adventure to say the least. Be sure to stop by the Team Epoch website to read about their preparations leading up to their departure and following their progress along the way.

Good luck!

12,500 Mile 'All-In Trek' Is Underway

Way back in September I told you about Samuel Gardner and his "All-In Trek." It was around then that Samuel first announced his plans to hike the North Country Trail, Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail and Pacific Crest Trail, all back-to-back. On January 1st of this year, he set out to do just that, and now, a month and a half in, he's started to receive a great deal of attention for his efforts.

If successful, Gardner will cover more than 12,500 miles (20,117km) on his adventure. He began his journey on the North Country Trail, which stretches 4600 miles from New York to North Dakota. At the moment, he is 45 days into that march, and when you consider that it is still deep winter in the states he's crossing through, you begin to have an appreciation for what he has undertaken. In fact, the weather has been down right awful for him on the trail thus far, but he was well prepared for that and has made solid progress thus far.

Once he finishes off the North Country Trail, Gardner will move on to the 2650 mile (4264km) Pacific Crest Trail, which he'll travel south to north, ending at the Canadian border. Then it's off to the Continental Divide Trail (3100 miles/5000km) which he'll tackle going north to south, before finally heading over to the Appalachian Trail, which is 2175 miles (3500km) in length, and will cap the expedition. The plan is to complete the journey in just one year, which means that Sam will have to average roughly 34 miles per day to achieve that goal.

National Geographic Adventure recently did a brief interview with Gardner, which you can now read on their Adventure Blog. In the interview, Sam talks about his inspirations for the trek, what weather conditions have been like so far, as well as his favorite trail foods. You can about his thoughts on those subjects, and a whole lot more, by clicking here.

You can also read daily updates on Sam's progress on his website's Journal section, which offers plenty of great insights into what it is like on the trail.

Good luck Sam!

Blind Hiker Preps For Continental Divide Trail

This was my story over at Gadling.com this morning, but definitely worth sharing here as well. The current issue of Expedition News reports that blind hiker Trevor Thomas will attempt to thru-hike the entire length of the Continental Divide Trail, covering more than 3100 miles (5000km) from the Canadian border south to the Mexican border.

The trek is set to begin in June, when Thomas will set out with three companions who will assist him through some of the more challenging, harder to navigate, sections of the CDT. As the name of the trail implies, the route runs along the Continental Divide, the line from which rivers on one side of the Rocky Mountains head east, while those on the other side travel west. The trail passes through five states, including Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico.

The CDT makes up one third of the "Triple Crown" of thru-hiking in the U.S., with the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail rounding out the list. Those trails are 2175 miles (3500km) and 2650 miles (4264km) in length respectively, and Thomas has already covered both of them. He went solo on the AT back in 2009 and had some assistance through deep snow on the PCT in 2010.

Find out more about Trevor and his team at TeamFarsight.org and expected updates on that site once the expedition officially gets underway in a few months time.