"The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams."
— Oprah Winfrey
I'm turning fifty the year I begin writing this book. I have a wife, two daughters aged twenty and nearly sixteen, and a dog. My own adventures tend to revolve around ski touring and alpine skiing in winter, and cycling, paddling, and hiking in the warmer months. When I manage to get away, trips typically last a few days to a week (perhaps twice a year). I genuinely love moving through nature, but a week has always felt like the realistic limit given my family situation and five weeks of annual leave.
For the past fifteen to twenty years, I've been reading about people who go far beyond that: adventures spanning three months, a year, or even longer. I've followed their stories in books and on social media, and something in me responds to them every time. There's a pull, an inner longing for the kind of freedom I sense these people experience. Part of what draws me is the physical challenge (I love the feeling of moving forward under my own power), but that's not really the heart of it. What I'm most drawn to is discovering beautiful new places, unfamiliar food, different cultures, and unexpected encounters with people along the way.
That longing is what eventually led me to start interviewing people (a hundred of them) who had actually taken the leap. And the more I listened, the more I felt compelled to write it all down. The book is taking shape, but in the meantime I didn't want to wait to share what I'm learning. That's why this site exists.
We are all unique, and so are our circumstances, our dreams, and what drives us. If you've found your way here, chances are you carry a dream of your own and wonder how others have made space for theirs. I hope this is a place where you'll find both inspiration and something more practical: real stories from real people, and the patterns and approaches that helped them get there.
You'll hear from August, who at just over twenty years old set off on a five-month adventure despite having very little money. You'll read about Jessica and her family (her husband and three children) who completed their dream of hiking 1,300 kilometres through the Swedish mountains. And you'll hear from Mia, who, after a period of pain and depression following an accident, discovered the healing power of nature and set out on a long-distance cycling journey through France. Alongside stories like these, I'll be sharing the most effective approaches for making decisions, preparing, and carrying an adventure through, plus what those who've done it say it gave them in return.
I'm glad you've found this site, and I hope something here stays with you. Nothing would make me happier than knowing it played some part in helping you take a step toward your own dream. Research consistently shows that nature-based adventures can have a significant positive effect on mental health and wellbeing: reducing anxiety and stress, improving mood, and fostering a deeper sense of purpose and life satisfaction. (Lahart et al., 2021, SSM – Population Health)
And even if your dream stays a dream for now, that's not wasted. A study from Cornell University found that simply anticipating a new experience (the planning, the imagining, the hoping) can significantly boost our sense of wellbeing. So keep dreaming.