Need some good adventure reads or fun films to watch? You can always check out Doom’s blog, here. It’s chock full of history from some of his earliest rides. He originally published on blogger, but that mysteriously disappeared (along with many photos). Luckily we transferred most of the posts to this website a few years ago! In other news…
Wet Alders and Still Frozen Toes
“From Pakistan to the desert Southwest, Tajikistan to Alaska, we’ve been through it. Trust me when I say, if this pack could talk – it would certainly have more than a few bad things to say about me. But since I’m the human with a voice and opposable thumbs, I’ll take the floor and recap a particularly memorable tour.
For me, nothing conjures up memories of cold feet and endless wilderness exploration like a conversation about our 49th state. I’ll admit these generally take place with hardened Alaskan veterans, while either preparing for, embarking on, or debriefing from trips to “The Last Frontier.”
These conversations tend to be a bit rowdy and filled with characters that a writer of my ability could only dream of creating. Stories of harrowing rescues, bad mistakes, forced bivies, tents catching fire – the latter could be the result and cause of the former. I’ve been spared the worst of these mishaps, but a trip from Nebezna to McCarthy with some friends last summer had its moments….” Read more @ Hyperlite Mountain Gear (September 2019)
FREEDOM: Paddling & Pedaling the Pamirs
“August 1, 2018—I found myself alone in an abandoned mud hut on the border of Tajikistan and Afghanistan. I was only three days into my nearly month-long bikerafting tour, and I had already shit my pants as many times. Soiling my only chamois was the final straw, causing me to “swallow the bomb” and begin a course of parasite-killing antibiotics called Azithromycin. To say I hadn’t yet hit my stride in Tajikistan would be a gross understatement…” Read on @ Bikepacking.com (Spring 2019)
Exploring Bears Ears & Escalante National Monuments : w/ Rebecca Rusch and Steve Fassbinder
Rebecca Rusch and Steve Fassbinder go on an epic adventure – bike packing, climbing, canyoneering, hiking, and rafting their way through Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. Check out this short video that @roam put together highlighting the trip. Full story coming soon!
“As many of you know, @republicofdoom and I took a 6-day bike packing expedition to a couple of cherished National Monuments in Utah in May. It is our job to speak up about #LandConservation. Although conservation messaging, organizations, and results have been gaining some headway around the world, the fight to preserve America’s natural and unique landscapes cannot relent. @patagonia, @conservationalliance, and dozens of other organizations/companies with conservation at the heart of their mission have sacrificed their time and money (among a long list of other things) to help ensure that humanity and wildlife alike retain these sacred areas. . My journey was an amazing expedition, but also an awakening that we have to do more to preserve our wild places. These escapes heal. These escapes forge thoughts and feelings unmatched by any other activity. These escapes rejuvenate the mind and the body. It is deeply important to take breaks in life, to explore, to mend, to evolve. If you cherish our public lands like I do and want to protect them for us and future generations, please make your voice heard before it’s too late. Video shot by @trentonpasic of On the Road Films, produced by @adventurescoutmedia, and edited by @roam. Check out everyone on Instagram and Facebook!” ~Rebecca Rusch
Epidose 13 – Steve Fassbinder: The Bicycle Story
Steve “Doom” Fassbinder is a bad-ass adventurer who combines mountain biking, rock climbing, and pack rafting to explore deep into desert, mountain, and coastal wilds. His trips require the sort of endurance and suffering that tend to either leave you in awe or scratching your head wondering why. Steve and I talked about his motivations to keep pushing his personal limits, as well as how he got into this sort of adventuring in the first place, his proudest moments, balancing risk and reward, teaching the next generation of adventurers, and a whole lot more.
