The Pursuit Zone

After a decade of being distracted by a career, a relationship, and home ownership; Loretta Henderson decided to stop dreaming about adventure and to start living it.  She left Alaska at age 36 to begin cycling around the world.  Starting in the United Kingdom, she left the bike shop on a Thorn Raven without a map and without any cycling experience.  Four years later she has pedaled across 30 countries on 5 continents and records her adventures at www.skalatitude.com.  Loretta Henderson welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

Ryan Wichelns and Gabe Messercola have spent the last half-decade in the Adirondacks. They have been fortunate to have this park in their backyard and have gained an appreciation for the wilderness through backpacking and climbing.  To raise awareness and support for Big City Mountaineers, an urban youth outdoor mentoring organization, Ryan and Gabe spent 20 days this summer traversing the Adirondack Park from South to North, blue line to blue line, a 205-mile adventure of cycling, canoeing, and hiking.  You can check out their adventure at adirondacktraverse.org.  Ryan Wichelns and Gabe Messercola welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

My next guest found himself at a crossroads after leaving his corporate job and splitting up with his wife.  Instead of taking the path of the stereotypical midlife crisis, he opted for the path less traveled and decided to take a walk.  Not just any walk, a really long walk - a 1305-mile walk across Turkey.  For 20 years, Matt Krause had something bigger in mind and this walk would be the first part of that bigger thing.  Check out Matt’s journey at heathenpilgrim.com or mattkrause.com.  Matt Krause, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

My next guest is Jordan Harvey.  Jordan studied in Havana, Cuba and spent more than three years traveling and living in South America.  While in Chile, he and his wife guided in Patagonia and throughout the country while building their company - Knowmad Adventures – a trip operator and travel consultancy specializing in South American travel.  He says starting and running an international travel business is the most challenging adventure of them all.  Jordan Harvey welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

At an early age Steve Knowlton knew he would run across America.  He completed his first marathon at age 13.  Since then he has completed 45 additional marathons and 7 ultra-marathons.  He completed his cross-country run in 2010 when he ran from Seattle Washington to Key Largo Florida.  A 3,717 mile run in 100 days to raise awareness for Chrohn’s disease.  In 2013 Steve set off on a second cross-country run, attempting to break the world speed record by running from San Francisco to New York City in 45 days to raise awareness for Asperger’s syndrome.  Steve Knowlton, welcome to The Pursuit Zone. You can learn more about Steve at StevesRun.com and SteveKnowlton.com

After college graduation my next guest jumped around from Central America to a Northern California Buddhist monastery to a year of law school before dropping out.  He then spent 8 years as Executive Director at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center – an environmental education center and farm in Connecticut.  In 2010 he founded Urban Adamah, an urban produce farm on an acre of land in Berkeley, California that has quickly grown into a thriving environmental education center and gathering place for the Bay Area Jewish community.  Adam Berman, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

At the beginning 2010, my next guest left her life as an Occupational Therapist in the United States and found herself as a lonely housewife in Lima, Peru.  But it didn’t take long to overcome the fear of a foreign city, catcalling men, and wild street dogs to become a marathon runner, a cook, an English teacher, and a Social-Media Marketing Manager.  Danielle Krautmann (DanielleLParker [at] gmail [dot] com), welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

After a job layoff, my next guest avoided the temptation to rush back to work and used the opportunity to thru-hike the Appalachian trail, south to north, over 24 weeks from May to October of 2012.  He managed to survive encounters with ticks, mice, snakes, feral ponies, and a storm that could have killed him.  Aaron Hushagen, or Hoosh as he was known on the trail, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

My next guest is Daniel Alvarez.  After completing four long-distance hikes including the 2,000 mile Appalachian trail and the 3,000 mile Continental Divide Trail, he traded his hiking boots for a paddle and traveled 4,000 miles in a sea kayak from Minnesota’s Northwest Angle to Key West, Florida.  It was a plan so audacious that Outside magazine awarded him a $10,000 grant.  It was a 9-month adventure he completed on March 9, 2013.  Now he has turned his boat around and is paddling his way back.  You can learn more about Daniel at his website www.predictablylost.com.  Daniel Alvarez, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

On April 4th, 2013, my next guests completed an 11,700 mile journey across North America by kayak, canoe, and dogsled.  It was a 3-year journey to gain support and protection for North America’s waterways and wild places.  During their adventure they actively engaged over 25,000 elementary and middle school students though live school assemblies and their website wildernessclassroom.com.  Dave and Amy Freeman, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

While in college at Iowa State University, my next guest teamed up to design and install a water valve for a rural Malian village.  It was a life-changing experience.  After graduation he volunteered for the Peace Corps in Nicaragua and while there co-founded Emerging Opportunities for Sustainability (www.eosinternational.org) – a not-for-profit organization dedicated to producing technology that is low-cost, promotes health and welfare, and minimizes damage to the environment.  In 2012, he was awarded the STATEment Makers honor from the Iowa State Alumni Association for his early personal and professional accomplishments.  Wes Meier, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

My guest today is Pete Marshall.  Pete has paddled over 7500 miles through Canada. In 2005 he and his brother canoed 2700 miles over 122 days from their home state of Minnesota to the Arctic Ocean.  On May 8th of 2012, Pete and 3 others began a 2600-mile, 130-day canoe expedition across the isolated regions of Canada’s northern territories from Skagway Alaska to the Hudson Bay.  You can learn more about this adventure and purchase a DVD of their expedition titled 2600 Above 60 at the website canoe2012.com.  Pete Marshall, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.

In 2011, my next guest surprised even herself by quitting an enviable office job, hugging friends goodbye, and leaving New York City after six years. She went home to California to regroup, wondered what she was doing with her life, and then got herself a work visa and an outlandishly expensive plane ticket for New Zealand.  She spent 12 months living and working on New Zealand’s south island, traveling Southeast Asia, and becoming the most hesitant extreme-adventure connoisseur in the world.  I guess you could say she did it all on a whim.  Jess, from jessonawhim.com, welcome to The Pursuit Zone.