Ed Stafford - Epic Expeditions: 25 Great Explorations into the Unknown

25 GREAT EXPLORATIONS INTO THE UNKNOWN

ED STAFFORD

I f the secret world of expeditions is locked behind a huge oak door for most of us, then equipment is the key that will grant us access. Sure, we need to know how to deftly turn that key, but the difference between thriving in Arkansas or the Arctic is largely down to the kit we choose to take with us.

In a lofty realm of visions, records and world-firsts, its often hard to pin down exactly what makes an expedition an expedition. Is it danger, moral courage or dogged determination? By its very nature, its ethereal. Whereas solid objects are tangible and real we can prod them and analyse them while we ponder these bigger questions. Perhaps they give us an insight into the explorer, their motives and mind. Perhaps they tell us something about their character that will challenge our own concepts of how we should live our lives.

If youve grown up geeking-out on equipment as I have, then, as you enter this world of expeditions, you may feel a strong urge to buy the very latest and best items available. Surely its the kit that enables you to climb higher and run further, right?

When I first led an expedition to Argentine Patagonia I knew that it was going to be chilly (not Chile), so I purchased enough Antarctic sleeping bags and down jackets that if Id stayed at home and flogged them on eBay could have raised a deposit for a small house. I obsessed over fabrics and technical details so much that, after one particularly unromantic night spent arguing about the properties of three-ply Gore tex, my partner left me.

The phrase all the gear but no idea was stuck to me with gaffer tape. But it was a necessarily awkward internship into a work arena that I now know and love. Today, as a grizzly forty-something, I take huge pleasure from embarking on an adventure without that level of preparation. Knowing that I can handle a situation without all the gadgets gives me a deep sense of confidence. Whether its wearing barefoot trainers up Ben Nevis or being deliberately stranded on a tropical island for sixty days naked, knowing that I can cope, irrespective of what I have to hand, is as reassuring as the silhouette of a Land Rover at the end of weeks of trekking.

But clearly, in most cases, its a balance. We need enough kit to keep us alive and relatively comfortable, but not so much that we are heavily burdened and therefore miserable. Careful selection of exactly the right equipment to get a job done is what we are working towards. If it doesnt have a vital purpose then its not coming just in case. Or perhaps it is... Once youre experienced enough, you might decide you can afford to absorb that luxurious handicap of taking an accordion into the Amazon rainforest as Percy Fawcett did on his expedition to discover the Lost City of Z.

To see the lists of kit in the pages of this book gives an insight into the explorer and how they think. How meticulous were they? How experienced? How amusingly blas?

The final entry in this book is a world-first river descent led by Laura Bingham (see ). The night before they were due to take a twin-propeller Cessna deep into the remote Guyanese jungle, Binghams expedition partner and room-mate, Ness Knight, meticulously laid out all of her kit on her bed. Knight needed the mental clarity that she had everything and knew where everything was before she packed it away something I completely get. Bingham (who happens also to be my lunatic wife) came in and, as a joke, pulled away the bed covers to tip all of the kit into a heap on the floor. Somehow the two continue to be the best of friends having subsequently kayaked the entire Essequibo together, but I know that I would have exploded if shed done that to me. Binghams intention was to cut the preexpedition tension I know she just wanted everyone to laugh but, when you play with someone elses kit, you are playing with fire.

Sometimes, a piece of kit comes along that enables a complete re-evaluation of what is physically possible and its very exciting. In 2006, I was introduced to the inflatable packraft in Patagonia. I immediately saw the versatility of this craft and an old dream expedition of mine started bubbling to the surface. Id dreamed about walking the length of the Amazon River for years but always drew a blank when it came to crossing the hundreds of tributaries. There were simply too many, they were too fast-flowing to swim with all my kit and building a raft every time with a machete was a ridiculous concept. Suddenly, technology evolved, and here was a boat that packed down to the size of an old sleeping mat and didnt weigh much more.