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Historical Badass
Harbo and Samuelson Rowed Across the Atlantic And Right Into Obscurity
In 1896 they rowed an 18-foot boat from New York to France, expecting fame an fortune. They found neither.
Mau Piailug, One of the Last Wayfinders, Followed the Stars to Tahiti
Mau Piailug helped spread the ancient art of wayfinding—navigating by swell, winds, and currents—to Hawaii and the modern world.
Pioneering Pakistani Climber Amir Mehdi Was Betrayed and Left to Die on K2
He had the skills and strength was and was in position to make the first summit attempt. Instead, he was…
Tommy Godwin Rode Three Laps of the Planet and Just Kept Going
Godwin rode a double-century for 500 consecutive days, racking up 100,000 miles, just because.
Don Starkell Paddled 75,000 Miles Before He Found His Limit
Don Starkell paddled a canoe from Canada to the Amazon, then kept right on paddling.
Don Flickinger Became a Jungle Adventurer to Save Crashed WW2 Airmen
When a transport plane crashed in the Burmese jungle, Dr. Don Flickinger and a team parachuted in and marched the…
Ralph Plaisted and the Least Likely North Pole Adventure Crew
Ralph Plaisted took up a bar challenge to drive a snowmobile to the North Pole and sledded right into history.
Jack O’Neill Made The Real Endless Summer Possible
Wetsuits are so incredibly cool. Tough, even. Not so much the thin, brittle wetsuit tops you might wear above trunks…
Bernard Moitessier, the Fastest Vagabond Sailor the World Ever Knew
In the summer of 1968, nine sailors began sailing from various ports across Great Britain in the The Sunday Times…
12-Year-Old Donn Fendler Survived Nine Days Lost on Maine’s Katahdin
Gary Paulsen’s book Hatchet, about a kid who survives an airplane crash deep in the woods and has to survive…
The Strange Grand Canyon Disappearance of Glen and Bessie Hyde
On November 18, 1928, Glen and Bessie Hyde said goodbye to brothers Ellsworth and Emery Kolb, left the Kolb’s house…
Ian Hibell Rode His Bike Enough to Circle the Earth Ten Times
Riding from Antarctica to Alaska, Bangkok to Vladivostok, Ian Hibell got on his bike and never really got off.
Mary Roberts Rinehart, Mystery Novelist, Adventure Tourism Pioneer
The “American Agatha Christie” was no stranger to early backcountry exploration.
How ‘Frankenstein’ Is Based on Real-Life Adventure Travel
Mary Shelley traversed glaciers, sailed Alpine lakes, and climbed peaks, taking notes every step of the way.
Euell Gibbons Was So Much More Than Cereal
Best known for pitching cereal, he was the country’s preeminent forager and decades ahead of his time.
Alpinist Riccardo Cassin Was Doing Push-Ups Until Age 95
In the 1930s, most of the great mountaineering problems of the Alps had been solved, and climbers’ attention turned toward…
The Hard-Partying, Big Water-Running Walt Blackadar
In five short years, he went from learning to paddle to redefining the outer limits of whitewater.
Major Frederick Russell Burnham Es Más Macho
At 2, his house burned down around him. At 10, his had first gunfight. Badassery was his destiny.
Claire Marie Hodges, First Female National Park Ranger
In the summer of 1918, toward the end of World War I, pickings were slim for able-bodied, non-deployed men to…
Historical Badass Jim Bridwell—Paisley, Yes…Reckless, Not Really
The climbing legend was said to have ‘the head of a 70-year old, body of a 25-year old, and the…
Harvey Butchart, Pioneering Grand Canyon Explorer
Most hikers today won’t set foot in the Grand Canyon without first researching their trips online, downloading GPS coordinates, and…
The Abernathys Were the Original Free-Range Children
Their first adventure was horseback riding from Oklahoma to New Mexico at ages 5 and 9. They went a whole…
Badass? This Guy Was the Real-Life Inspiration for Indiana Jones
How does someone go from being the janitor of the American Museum of Natural History to the director?
Activist, Singer, Writer, and “Desert Goddess” Katie Lee Dies at 98
Lee fought against the Glen Canyon Dam and for the preservation of our rivers until her death.
What Do You Really Know About Jacques Cousteau?
He was more than just the storyteller of the sea—he was a revolutionary who changed the way we think about…
Meet Mardy Murie, the Grandmother of the Conservation Movement
Got kids and going on an expedition? Why wouldn’t you bring them along, she said.
The Strange Complexity of Historical Badass Sir Francis Younghusband
He thirsted for mountain beauty, killed a lot of people in the name of imperialism, and then lobbied for free…
The Abernathys Were the Original Free-Range Children
Their first adventure was horseback riding from Oklahoma to New Mexico at ages 5 and 9. They went a whole…
Hero of Everest Tragedy Was Climbing Prodigy
Anatoli Boukreev saved 3 in 1996 debacle, while a certain famous writer ‘slept in his tent’
David Thompson Was an Original Western Badass
Not only did he not get attacked by a bear (take that, Leo), he mapped two million square miles of…
Historical Badass: Explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton
An explorer, spy, swordsman, snake-handler, master of 29 languages, and practicing yogi, Burton wrote the book on being a badass.
Historical Badass: Climber David Brower
Before becoming one of America’s most accomplished conservationists, Brower was simply a climbing bum.
Historical Badass: Mountain Renaissance Man Chuck Kroger
From pioneering big wall climber to building a via ferrata, there was little in the mountains that didn’t call to…
Historical Badass Grigori Rasputin, Thru-Hiker
A legendary wildman and mystic, he walked across Russia several times–the equivalent of lapping the Appalachian Trail.
Grand Canyon River Guide Kenton Grua
At the nightly campfires on Colorado River trips through the Grand Canyon, stories make their way into legends, passed down…
‘Accidental Adventurer’ Barbara Washburn
On June 6, 1947, a few steps below the summit of Denali, a team member urged Barbara Washburn to take…
Harvey Butchart, Pioneering Grand Canyon Explorer
Most hikers today won’t set foot in the Grand Canyon without first researching their trips online, downloading GPS coordinates, and…
President Theodore Roosevelt
Just before a campaign speech in Milwaukee on October 14, 1912, a man named John Schrank shot candidate Theodore Roosevelt…