view issue - Adventure World Magazine

I remember being a young boy siftingthrough countless articles ofthe National Geographic magazinereading about amazing journeys ofexploration to untouched places inthe world. I could spend hours lookingthrough the maps and picturesimagining myself hanging from thetreetops, hiking through the junglesin search of some lost species or insearch of a new cure. What I didnot think about was the countlesshours spent preparing for theseexpeditions, or the overwhelmingstress that the leaders of the expeditionsmust have felt trying to putsuch a huge trip together.With some key strategic planningand preparation you will be readyto go from day hikes or adventureracing sprint distances to multifaceted life changing expeditionsand expedition length races. In thecoming months I will break downPlanning For An ExpeditionBy Branndon Bargoeverything that it takes to preparefor and plan your own expeditionincluding choosing a team, logisticsof an expedition such as food,equipment and permits, Physicaland mental conditioning, sponsorshipand media, and lastly takingexpeditions for a greater cause.First, we must know exactly whatconstitutes an expedition comparedto an everyday adventure. A simpledictionary definition of an expeditionis a journey or voyage madefor a specific purpose. Anothermore detailed definition would bean adventure that requires permits,dealing with local customs andregulations, medical requirementssuch as vaccinations, several daysof air travel, followed by land travel,and then spending multiple days,weeks or months climbing a mountain,kayaking or sailing an ocean,running a river or reaching the finishline of an expedition race.In this installment I will discusschoosing the right expedition foryou. You may already have a bigtrip in mind. A childhood dreamthat you have always wanted to accomplish,but you first have to askyourself some important questions.First, what is the goal for this expedition?Is your objective to doresearch, raise money, to climb amountain, to win a race, or a combinationof objectives? Do you havea backup plan in case the objectivehas to change due to bad weatheror a situation with group dynamics?After determining the goalsfor the trip you must ask yourselfa second question, which will bemy focus in this article, and that iswhen choosing the right expeditiondo you have the skill set to keepyourself out of trouble as well asyour team?Adventure World Magazine is a GreenZine 29