"Microadventures"
Adventures don’t have to be epic. You don’t have to go “into the wild," raise sponsorship dollars, or even take a day off.
While expeditions like The Lap require serious planning, logistics, and access, there is an alternative that anyone anywhere can do—even on a weekday. That alternative is the “Microadventure.”
The idea of microadventure was popularized by modern-day explorer and author Alastair Humphreys. He writes,
”A microadventure is an adventure that is short, simple, local, cheap – yet still fun, exciting, challenging, refreshing, and rewarding.”
You don’t even have to leave home: you could camp in your backyard or bivvy on your balcony. If you live in a city, you could ride public transport to the nearest hiking trail or do a long urban walk. A buddy of mine, living near Boston, goes canoeing with his dog after work—perfect microadventure.
Another approach is to take the most ambitious trip possible that still allows you to make it back to work on Monday. My favorite example of this is the ski film 55 Hours in Mexico. These guys took a weekend trip to climb and ski the 3rd highest peak in North America.
Most of my training for the lap consists of microadventures. I have to keep working to fund the expedition—including the biggest cost: covering the expense of not working while I’m on The Lap. I’ll take a couple of Fridays off for 3-day shakedown paddles at some point. But, for the most part, training will have to fit into life and family commitments.
And that’s the beauty of microadventures. You can do a lot of exploring early in the morning, after work, and on weekends.
On Friday, I got up at 04:30, drove the kayak over to Schull and went island-hopping in Long Island Bay. I stopped for coffee over a camp stove on Long Island with Jon Hynes who did The Lap in 2015 and is now kayaking the Cork coastline to raise money for local cancer support. After some banter and fielding my many questions about training, Jon carried on down the coast with a gentle following sea. I paddled back to Schull harbor and was home for work.
Have you done a microadventure lately? Drop your trip report in the comments. If you’re thinking about taking one but don’t know where to start. Here are some ideas.
Thanks for reading,
-Charlie
Thank you to Mike Jones for coaching and guidance.
Kokatat is the official gear sponsor of The Lap.
The lap will be fueled by Resilient Nutrition’s Long Range Fuel and bars.
Expedition coffee by 3fe.
