The Adrenaline Junkie's Bucket List: 100 Extreme Outdoor Adventures to Do Before You Die

by Christopher Van Tilburg

Overview

The Adrenaline Junkie's Bucket List provides a heart-stopping and essential guide to the best extreme outdoor adventures on every continent.

Imagine kayaking the churning whitewater of Africa's wild and wet Zambezi River. Getting barreled in a wave surfing Fiji's legendary Cloudbreak reef. Trekking New Zealand's famed Milford Track through the lush, green fiords.

This book is the ultimate guide for the outdoor and sports enthusiasts seeking out the world's most fantastic adventures. It runs the gamut of water, mountain and hiking sports for all skill levels—from beginners to experts. Written by a veteran outdoor adventure expert, author and wilderness physician Christopher Van Tilburg, it presents readers with one hundred amazing and challenging voyages all over the world. Organized by continent, the book offers fifteen to twenty-five trips of a wide variety in each section, and also covers local lore and history, hotel and restaurant recommendations, and other relevant services. Sidebars throughout contain practical advice for the adventure travel enthusiast on health, safety, and outdoor life.

This is the perfect book for extreme athletes and armchair travelers looking for an adventurous read.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250020192
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	07/16/2013
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	25 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

CHRISTOPHER VAN TILBURG is the editor-in-chief of Wilderness Medicine. He also writes for National Geographic Adventure, Backcountry, Portland Monthly, and Outside Magazine's blog. He has written a dozen outdoor books, including Mountain Rescue Doctor which was shortlisted for the Pacific Northwest Bookseller Award. Van Tilburg is also a doctor specializing in wilderness and travel medicine.
Christopher Van Tilburg, M.D. is editor for Wilderness Medicine magazine and is a regular contributor to National Geographic Adventure, Backcountry, Columbia Gorge, among others. He is an emergency room and ski resort physician, and a member of the Hood River Crag Rats, the oldest mountain rescue team in the U.S. He has written several books on the outdoors, and lives in Hood River, Oregon with his daughters.

Table of Contents

Preface XI

The Scoop on this Book 1

Travel Smart 5

Travel Safe 15

Mainland United States 25

1 Whitewater Raft the Colorado River: Down the Grand Canyon (Arizona) 27

2 Run the Quintessential Ultramarathon: Western States 100 (California) 29

3 Windsurf and Kitesurf the Columbia Gorge (Oregon and Washington) 32

4 Mountain Triathlon: Ride, Run, and Climb Mount Rainier (Washington) 34

5 Run an Ail-Night Relay 37

6 24 Hours of Pedaling: Mountain Bike All Night 39

7 Ride Your Bike in the Mud: Cyclo-Cross 40

8 Road Ride the Fall Foliage (New England) 43

9 Compete in a Cycling Stage Race 45

10 Mountain Bike Moab (Utah) 48

11 Float the Middle Fork Salmon River: The River of No Return (Idaho) 50

12 Paddle a Million Acres: Canoe the Boundary Water (Minnesota) and Quetico Provincial Park (Ontario, Canada) 52

13 Fly-fish the Gallatin River: Tie, Catch, and Release (Montana) 54

14 Big-Wall Rock Climb El Capitan (California) 56

15 Skate Ski the Methow Valley (Washington) 59

16 Canyoneer Buckskin Gulch (Utah) 61

17 Climb Up a Waterfall: Ice Climb Ouray (Colorado) 64

18 Ski (or Mountain Bike) the 10th Mountain Division Huts (Colorado) 66

19 Climb the Grand Teton: Scale a Classic (Wyoming) 69

20 Climb or Ski All 54 Fourteeners [Colorado) 71

21 Take a Long Walk: Hike the Appalachian Trail (Georgia to Maine) 73

22 Take a Longer Walk: Hike the Pacific Crest Trail (Mexico to Canada) 75

23 Race Across America by Bike (Pacific to Atlantic Oceans) 77

Canada and Alaska 81

24 Ski or Mountain Bike Whistler (British Columbia) 83

25 Ski or Snowboard the Canadian Rockies: The Powder Highway (British Columbia) 85

26 Live in a Surf or Ski Town: Drop into Tofino (British Columbia) 88

27 Dogsled the Iditarod: Anchorage to Nome (Alaska) 90

28 Sail or Paddle the Inside Passage (British Columbia) 92

29 Climb Denali: The Seven Summits, North America (Alaska) 94

Hawaii, the Caribbean, and Central America 99

30 Swim, Run, and Ride the Ironman Triathlon (Kona, Hawaii) 101

31 Surf an Elephant or Rhino: The North Shore (Oahu, Hawaii) 103

32 Windsurf Ho'okipa: Kitesurf and Stand-up Paddle, Too (Maui, Hawaii) 105

33 Kayaking and Fastpacking the Na Pali Coast (Kauai, Hawaii) 107

34 Dive and Snorkel the Caribbean: 7,000 Islands 109

35 Sail the Virgin Islands 112

36 Drive the Baja Peninsula (Mexico) 114

37 Trail Run and Mountain Bike Copper Canyon (Mexico) 117

38 Surf Two Oceans (Costa Rica) 119

39 Kayak and Snorkel the Barrier Reef (Belize) 121

South America 125

40 Hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu (Peru) 127

41 Explore Darwin's Isles: The Galápagos (Ecuador) 129

42 Explore the Land of Giants (Patagonia, Chile, and Argentina) 131

43 Ride Frozen Waves: Ski and Snowboard (Chile) 133

44 Climb and Ski the Ring of Fire (Ecuador, Bolivia, and Mexico) 136

45 Paddle the Futaleufú (Chile) 137

46 Mountain Bike the World's Most Dangerous Road (Bolivia) 139

47 Climb Aconcagua: The Seven Summits, South America (Argentina) 141

Europe 145

48 Ski Mountaineer the Alps: The Haute Route (France, Italy, and Switzerland) 147

49 Ski the Glaciers: The Berner Oberland (Switzerland) 149

50 Climb Via Ferratta and Mountain Bike the Dolomites (Italy) 151

51 Circumnavigate the White Mountain: The Mont Blanc Circuit (Chamonix, France) 153

52 Run 26 Miles and 386 Yards: Marathon du Medoc (France) 155

53 Cycle the Tour de France: Alpe d'Huez (France) 157

54 Road Bike Through Europe 159

55 Mountain Bike Through Europe 161

56 Sail a Gullet: Turquoise Coast (Turkey) 163

57 Sea Kayak the Arctic Trifecta (Norway, Greenland, and Iceland) 165

58 Whitewater Raft or Kayak the Sjoa River (Norway) 167

59 Climb Mount Elbrus: The Seven Summits, Europe (Ukraine) 168

Asia 171

60 Trek to Everest Base Camp (Nepali) 173

61 Travel into Mongolia: Read About, Then Explore the Exotic 175

62 Trek Shangri-La in the Cloud Kingdom (Bhutan) 177

63 Cycle Through Indochina (Vietnam) 179

64 Backcountry Ski Hokkaido: Land of the Rising Sun (Japan) 180

65 Explore a Forbidden Land: Myanmar (Burma) 182

66 Climb Mount Everest: The Seven Summits, Asia (Nepal) 183

Africa 187

67 Whitewater Raft the Zambezi River (Zambia and Zimbabwe) 189

68 Trek the Great Game Parks (Kenya and Tanzania) 191

69 Surf and Ski Africa (Morocco) 192

70 Dive the Red Sea (Egypt) 194

71 Surf the Perfect Wave: J-Bay (South Africa) 196

72 Cycle the Continent: Tour d'Afrique 197

73 Climb Kilimanjaro: The Seven Summits, Africa (Tanzania) 199

Australasia and Oceania 203

74 Traverse the Milford Track: The Finest Walk in the World (New Zealand) 205

75 Do It All in Queenstown: The Birthplace of Outdoor Adventure (New Zealand) 207

76 Tour the Great Barrier Reef: The Largest Living Structure in the World (Australia) 209

77 Surf, Windsurf, and Kitesurf Margaret River (Australia) 211

78 Surf Indo, G-Land (Indonesia) 213

79 Surf the World's Heaviest Wave: Teahupoo (Tahiti) 215

80 Surf, Dive, and Sail the South Pacific (Fiji) 216

81 Climb Carstenesz Pyramid: The Seven Summits, Oceania (Malaysia) 218

82 Climb Kosciuszko: The Seven Summits, Australasia (Australia) 220

Antarctica 223

83 Backcountry Ski the Bottom of the World 225

84 Climb Mount Vinson: The Seven Summits, Antarctica 227

Toolbox 231

85 Take a Level 1 Avalanche Course 233

86 Complete Open Water Dive Certification 235

87 Build a Bike 236

88 Learn a Language 238

89 Save a Life with Wilderness First Responder 240

90 Learn to Sail 242

91 Learn to Fly 243

Volunteer 245

92 Build a Trail 247

93 Join Search and Rescue 248

94 Train a Search Dog 251

95 Ski Patrol for a Season 252

96 Staff a Park 254

97 Join a Medical Relief Team 255

98 Build a House 257

99 Remove a Fence 258

100 Work Overseas 260

A Final Note 263

Appendix A My Favorite Gear 265

Appendix B My Favorite Books 269

Acknowledgments 272

Editorial Reviews

Exhilarating take on the daily life of a unique brand of doctor.” —Kirkus Reviews on Mountain Rescue Doctor

“Any of Van Tilburg's accounts could be the stuff of a Sunday night TV movie.” —Booklist on Mountain Rescue Doctor

“Filled with adventure and good advice.” —Library Journal on Mountain Rescue Doctor

From the Publisher