I Want to go on an Adventure

Have you ever wanted to do something amazing? Have you ever wanted to do something so cool that you could look back on it for years and years and be proud you did it? Have you ever wanted to do something so “off the wall” that would be able to amaze people with the tales for years to come?

I definitely do. My inner adventurer is screaming to be let out. I have been daydreaming and thinking about various adventures I want to go on for years now. Some are here in Japan where I live, but most are not. Many are in Canada and elsewhere.

There are really only two things that don’t allow me to run off and be an adventurer at the moment. The first is the fact that I have two small children. I try to help out as much as I can at home and I love being with my kids. An adventure that takes a few days would be ok. An adventure that would take months or weeks might be another story.

The second thing holding me back from running off into the great outdoors and doing something incredible…money. Big adventures don’t tend to come cheap. You need to pay for transportation, equipment, food and what about lost income. I am the breadwinner in my family and if I am off trudging through a forest, running through a desert or kayaking down a river, how do the bills back home get paid?

Before I talk about overcoming these obstacles, lets take a look at some of my recent “adventure ideas.”

The Arctic Marathon: that’s right! Every year there is a marathon at the North Pole. It seems like a pretty cool event. I have run many full marathons before, but this one would be an amazing race to take on. This would also make for a great story to film (thinking about making documentary about any adventure I make). I’ve researched it a bit and it is REALLY expensive to take on. Even the recommended gear to wear is REALLY expensive.

Les Marathon des Sables: Known as one of the toughest foot races in the world, this is a stage race that takes place over a week in the Moroccan desert. I have been seriously dreaming and planning this one for about four years now.

Hiking the Appalachian Trail: I have been thinking about hiking America’s most famous trail ever since I read the book “A Walk in the Woods” by Bill Bryson when I was in university. Hiking all the way from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine would be a dream.

Hiking Ontario’s Waterfront Trail: Hiking from Cornwall to Windsor along the Great Lakes. The Waterfront Trail is almost 1,400km of hiking and exploration goodness. What I like about this trail is the fact that I have family members who live in towns along the route (I can visit them). I also like the fact that I’d be having an adventure in Canada.

Walking Across Japan (or part of it): What an amazing time that would be. It would take months, but the experience would be worthy of a book or documentary or both! There are so many amazing places to see and so much culture to learn about. Taking on a challenge like this and for a good cause would be a pretty cool thing!

Racing the Planet: This is a race series that sees runner doing stage races across 4 of the world’s biggest deserts. It looks amazing. It looks like the adventure of a lifetime.

Some of these adventures I’m dreaming of are more doable than others. A Racing the Planet run as well as the Marathon des Sables would only take a few weeks out of my life. Some of them would involve months.

If I were to take on an adventure I’d have a few solid goals from the get go. First, I would choose a charitable cause and fundraise for it. I would use this adventure as a way of raising my fundraising profile.

Next, I would upgrade my camera equipment and film my adventure. I would record lots of footage as well as my thoughts. I’d later take all the footage and turn it into a documentary style film.

How the heck would I get the money to buy “adventure gear”, travel and take part in the adventure, keep my family financially secure while I was on my adventure and buy the proper equipment to make my documentary?

There are basically two possibilities. First, I could pursue sponsorship. I could approach various companies and ask them to help fund my adventure and in return give them more exposure and advertising. This might be a possibility since I do have some decent social media clout due to my YouTube channels and friends within the YouTube community.

The second way to raise fund is to crowd source it. I would come up with my idea. Map it out and plan it in a very detailed way. I would make budgets and then start getting creative with my filming and editing. I would need to make a “pitch” video and then start a Kickstarter or maybe search for funding on Indiegogo. With my social media reach this might be a possible way to go.

Honestly, I would probably take both approaches. I’d seek sponsorship and the crowd source it as well. In order to make this more appealing to both companies and people (so they will part with some money/equipment) I would need to make my adventure exciting. Something people would find cool. Something people would really get behind and be excited about. I would then have to clearly show folks how I will “bring them along” on my journey and let them share in it. Once my adventure is complete, I’ll need to produce something great. A short documentary and or a book would be ideal. Making sure people know that if they support me they’ll get those cool end products for no additional charge might make the proposition more appealing too!

Time to get serious and start planning my adventure. Are you going to back me up? ;)

You can find me on Twitter: @jlandkev