From Biking Down a Volcano to A First-Time Rock Scramble at Age 58, I Look Forward to Adventures When Traveling
Action and adventure need to compose some part of a trip — interspersed with some well-earned downtime. My answer to July’s Globetrotter Challenge.
I never thought much about our adventures while traveling. And I suppose that is because my husband usually plans that part of the trip. After I pick where and when we are going, and find the hotel and transportation reservations, he gets busy and looks for something extraordinary to do on our trip.
A prime example is this trek we took with our three boys biking down Haleakala Volcano on Christmas Day in 2015. We had to get up at 2:30 a.m. on Christmas Eve to drive to the departure location for the bus that would take us to the summit on Haleakala to see the sunrise.
That, in itself, was an adventure as we got stopped by the police at a roadblock where they were testing each car for drunk drivers!
“No problem officer,” said my husband when he apologized for stopping us en route to an adventure on the side of the volcano. And we were on our way again!
This experience was one of our family’s most fond vacation adventure memories.
And in fact, we have more adventures that involve the Hawaiian Islands — from Sugar Cane Irrigation Ditch Tubing on Kauai in 2013 to snorkeling off the Molokini Crater on New Year’s Day 2010, we’ve had some exciting and memory-making adventures on those islands!
Hiking has become a favorite vacation activity that naturally lends itself to a feeling of adventure if the right place is picked. On Kauai, the same year we drifted down the sugar cane irrigation tunnels, we hiked to a beach on the Napili Coast (think Jurassic Park) that was only accessible by traversing a narrow (> 12 inches wide) trail through the jungle. It took several hours to go from Kee Beach (the end of the road) to reach Hanakapiai Beach.
Our youngest son still remembers this hike as harrowing! But, aside from the narrow trail perched on a red dirt edge next to exotic jungle plants that grew on the cliff that descended a hundred or more feet to the ocean, it was gorgeous! We saw pods of dolphins and views of the pristine beach below.
When you reach Hanakapiai Beach there are signs warning visitors about not swimming in the ocean there — for it is where the locals say, “The water is confused” — meaning there are many riptides that will take you under.
Those that don’t heed the warnings risk their lives. And some lost that gamble. Hanakapiai Beach is also where you can see freshwater meeting ocean (salt) water. It is amazing but also what contributes to the water’s confusion. Water is powerful and despite being adventurous, we heed all warnings when it comes to this natural element.
Other memorable actions on hikes include my very first rock scramble at the age of 58 in Sedona’s Faye Canyon. After a hike to the end of the canyon, a large red-rock precipice awaits those brave enough to climb up it. There are no ropes or chains, and granted, this is not Zion but still, it was a climb where one had to be sure of your footing.
Following my husband, and truly doing so I could get a photo or two, I performed my first rock scramble. Surprisingly, I wasn’t really afraid — just careful!
This led to more rock scrambles at South Bubble Mountain at Acadia National Park the following year.
The view that awaited us on top of South Bubble Mountain of Jordan Pond was worth it! I would scramble up the rocks again to reach this view over and over!
Don’t know what a rock scramble is? Check here:
For me, being adventurous on a trip is taking part (action) in an activity that I normally wouldn’t. This started when we went snorkeling on a boat off the coast of Bermuda on our honeymoon in the summer of 1985!
I can swim but am not a strong swimmer and being adrift in the middle of the ocean (doesn’t matter which one) is unnerving but I’ve found myself doing this several times in my life to please those I am with. If that isn’t being adventuresome, I don’t know what is!
On that Bermuda trip, we also went helmet diving where (at the time) a large cement, open-bottom helmet was put on your shoulders as you descended the stairs of a boat. The helmet had air piped in so you would breathe as you would normally. It was scary and fun at the same time.
My husband had his helmet implode when we went into the water and had to fight to resurface. Luckily, he did and was unharmed. We still got in the water with the helmets after that incident. Adventuresome? Yes. Stupid? Probably.
We’ve since snorkeled again in Bermuda, Hawaii, Mexico, and the USVI (my husband only). If I can get out of it — I do. It’s not something I really enjoy.
What else have I done that could be considered adventuresome?
Well, I took my two youngest sons horseback riding in Estes Park, CO. I had only been on a horse a few times in my life and my guys had never been on horses. It was definitely an adventure — especially when there is a lot going on with the horses — like smelling the horse in front of you!
It wasn’t a favorite adventure, but no one fell off, no one got hurt, and no one flipped out with fear — so in my book, that’s a successful adventure!
Caving
We’ve visited caves several times when our boys were growing up. Mostly these were day trips to caves in Minnesota. I have some claustrophobia and mistakenly went down into these caves when I was very pregnant — I had to be escorted out!
But, I went back in the future, just to show that I could. And I did!
Fast forward twenty years and I was working at a local Land Trust as the Education and Outreach Program Manager and had to organize cave tours in Wisconsin. This involved going to the caves, checking, and prepping them for visitors. I had to check the lighting, step through water, and go to the very end of the cave to make sure we could run tours in the caves.
These caves are conserved property, now owned by the land trust. They are only open to the public when the Conservancy runs tours. Luckily, the caves were damp but open enough that I did not experience claustrophobia. No one told me about the caves or even the responsibility of organizing the tours when I was hired. If they had, I might not have taken the job!
Hiking in the Dark
But the most adventuresome thing I think I’ve ever done is to hike a National Park in the dark! In the fall of 2021, my husband and I went to the American Southwest to visit some of the National Parks located there. We started in Arches National Park which is in Moab, Utah.
To beat the crowds and ensure a parking spot, we arrived at the park at 5:15 a.m. on a dark October morning. We were the third car in the parking lot and started our hike at 5:30, donning headlamps.
Had we ever been to Arches? No.
Were we hiking with a guide? No.
We took off in the dark, following the trail from the trailhead in the parking lot. Our destination goal was to get to Delicate Arch in time to see the sunrise which was at 7:12 a.m..
But soon we lost the trail. We found ourselves stranded on a dome of rock, not knowing which way to go. Other “early” hikers soon caught up to us, asking US where to go — they acknowledged that they were following us!
We told them we couldn’t find the trail — we had “lost” it.
Soon enough there were a dozen people all wandering in the darkness of Arches National Park. The group split, some following someone who claimed the trail was to the right. We were told by a young woman using her GPS the trail was to the left— we followed her voice — but never saw her again!
Luckily, we arrived at Delicate Arch just before sunrise that morning, along with thirty others — hiking in the dark was an adventure worth remembering!
The experience of hiking in the dark was so positive that we did it again on our second day in Arches. We got to the park again before dawn and hiked the windows segment.
Adventure is a relative word. As JoAnn Ryan put it, what might be adventurous to some people — like visiting a quiet park or botanical gardens or stargazing— might not seem that way to others.
In my way of thinking, if you believe you had an adventure — then, you did!
Please check these fellow Globetrotters out for their adventure posts for this month’s challenge! I’m off thinking up my next adventure!
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