Video: Dropping Epic Waterfalls with Dane Jackson

To shoot this video, pro kayaker Dane Jackson traveled to Veracruz, Mexico where he discovered amazing rivers to paddle, and some of the most epic waterfalls on the planet. As you'll see in the clip, he goes to great lengths just for the opportunity to kayak through this amazing setting. How far exactly? At one point he even leaps off a very tall cliff just to get into the water. This is two and a half minutes of pure adrenaline, and a good jolt to start the week.

Video: Paddling the Jura Mountains on a Rainy Day

Located in the Western Alps, the Jura Mountains are known for being remote and rugged. The region falls into the watershed of both the Rhine and Rhône Rivers, making it an excellent place to go kayaking, particularly on a rainy day. That's exactly what the team of paddlers in this video found when the set out to explore some of the waterways there. The discovered some epic drops – including some beautiful waterfalls – and great whitewater to test their skills. The four-minute video is filled with some excellent action, set in a beautiful location. What more could you ask for?

Just another rainy day in the Jura mountains from No Travel Without Kayak on Vimeo.

Kayakers to Paddle 9000 KM From Canada to Mexico

A trio of adventurers from Canada has embarked on an epic journey that will take them from Montreal to the tip of the Yucatan in Mexico by sea kayak. Along the way, they expect to cover more than 9000 km (5592 miles) as they spend up to a year completing the expedition, which they call the Go Fetch Challenge.

Luc Labelle, Nika De Jocas-McCrae and Julien Granger are preparing to set out on their journey in the next few days as they have now reached the northernmost location of their route. From here, they'll be southward bound, as they paddle along the eastern coasts of Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. They'll kayak along the Atlantic Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico, before ultimately reaching their goal at the Yucatan Peninsula. 

The boys say that they are undertaking this expedition at a crucial time in their lives, and it will help set them on a course both personally and professionally as they move forward. This is a journey that is as much about the adventure they find along the way as it is reaching a destination. The three friends have known each other for more than 10 years, and have been planning to undertake a challenge of this scope for some time. Now, they're ready to get underway at last, and it should be fun to see what they discover about themselves along the way.

You'll be able to keep up with their progress at the Go Fetch website, which features GPS positional tracking, a frequently updated blog, and more information about the team, and their goals. They have quite a journey ahead of them, and it will interesting to see it unfold. I wish them luck as they begin paddling south at long last. 

Video: Trailer for The Great Shark Hunt - Climbing in Greenland

Last August, a trio of climbers – Matteo Della Bordella, Silvan Schüpbach and Christian Ledergerber  – traveled to Greenland to attempt a new route on a peak called the Shark Tooth. Prior to their expedition, the 900 meter (2952 ft) rock face had only been climbed one other time, and this team hoped to do it in alpine style without fixed ropes. On August 18 they managed to reach the top of a route that they named "The Great Shark Hunt."

The video below is a trailer for an upcoming documentary of that expedition. As you'll see, the men had to travel on foot, and by kayak, just to reach the mountain itself. Then, they faced a challenging climb on a sheer face that required skill, strength, and daring to overcome. The views along the way are spectacular, the climbing phenomenal, and the outcome inspirational. Everything you'd want out of a good adventure film.

Freya Hoffmeister Completes Circumnavigation of South America by Kayak

One of the major events that took place in the world of adventure while I was away in Egypt was Freya Hoffmeister's completion of her attempt to circumnavigate around South America by kayak. The German paddler reached Buenos Aires, Argentina on May 1, bringing to conclusion at long last her nearly four-year long effort to become the first person to accomplish that feat.

Freya originally set out from Buenos Aires back on August 30, 2011. Traveling south along the Atlantic coastline, she eventually navigated through the treacherous Strait of Magellan and around the infamous Cape Horn, to reach the Pacific Ocean. At that point, she turned north and paddled all the way up South America's Pacific Coast before turning east to pass through the Panama Canal. From there, she managed to return to the Atlantic, and started the long arduous journey back to starting point.

Regular readers of this blog will know that this isn't Freya's first circumnavigation of a continent. She also managed to paddle completely around Australia back in 2009, becoming just the second person to do so. But that epic journey wasn't enough to keep her off the water for long, and she soon hatched an idea to circle her second continent by kayak. The South American journey got underway two years later, and now it is finally finished.

Upon arrival at the finish line last week, Freya was met by an array of Argentine dignitaries and will-wishers. Several ships escorted into the harbor in Buenos Aires, where a small crowd was on hand to welcome her.

It is unclear if this will be the end of Freya's waterborne adventures at this point, but I wouldn't put it past her to be planning another epic journey in the future. For now, I'm sure she's happy to have completed this expedition at long last, and is enjoying a bit of rest and relaxation.

Congratulations to Freya on a job well done. She is an inspiration to many.

Video: Rey Del Rio Waterfall World Championships - Kayaking Competition at its Most Extreme

Kayaking competitions are nothing new, nor is paddling over massive waterfalls. We've certainly seen both over the years. But when you combine the two, you get the Rey Del Rio Waterfall World Championships, an insane event in which pro kayakers run three massive falls in Chiapas, Mexico, pulling tricks and stunts as they go. The video below captures the insanity of this competition, where some big names in the world pro paddling gathered to take on the waters of the Agua Azul. As you'll see, it was quite the event.

Major Carolina Rivers Expedition Set to Begin April 29

Explorer Julian Monroe Fisher's many travels have taken him to some of the most remote places on the planet where he has had the opportunity to observe indigenous cultures and map little-known landscapes. But with his next project he wants to show that you don't have to go to the ends of the Earth to be an explorer. In fact, you can find plenty of adventure and exploration right in your own backyard.

The Costa Presents Carolinas River - Education and Preservation Through Exploration project is scheduled to get underway later this month. It will consist of a series of ambitious expeditions that are meant to explore the waterways of the Carolinas while documenting the history and cultural heritage of the region. Over the next two years, Julian plans to explore 32 individual rivers in North and South Carolina, both overland and on the water. Through his travels, he hopes to also hopes to bring attention to the environmental threats that these rivers now face.

Over the course of his journey's, Julian will travel by kayak, canoe, and stand-up paddleboard, as well as on foot. When he isn't paddling one of the 32 rivers, he'll be hiking along North Carolina's Mountain to Sea Trail or South Carolina's Palmetto Trail. He'll be joined on these excursions by a documentary film crew from Blue Car Productions that will capture the settings, communities, and ecosystems that he encounters along the way.

One of the more crucial aspects of the project is the role education will play. Julian believes that through education, these threatened Carolina rivers can be saved. To that end, he is establishing ties with a number of schools to create a learning tool that can be used in classrooms. By engaging students in the Carolinas River project he hopes to get the next generation invested more fully in the environment, which in turn will help spread the word about the importance of protecting these waterways. Updates of the journey will be shared via social media as well, giving students an even deeper connection to what is happening.

The first stage of the Carolina Rivers project will launch on April 29 with a special media event at the Highland Brewing Company in Asheville, NC. By that point, Julian will have already started to paddle the French Broad River, considered the third oldest in the world, and will make a stopover to meet with press and the public.

This will be a major project to watch unfold over the next couple of years. Paddling 32 rivers over that period, while also hiking through the Carolinas backcountry, should be extremely interesting to follow.

You can learn much more at CarolinaRivers.com.

Freya Hoffmeister Approaches End of Kayak Journey Around South America

German paddler Freya Hoffmeister is approaching the end of her epic journey around South America in a kayak. According to her most recent updates, she is now less than 350 km (217 miles) from reaching the finish line in Buenos Aires, the city she set out from nearly four years ago.

According to her own estimates, it should take Freya about 18 more days to complete her expedition. That seems like a conservative estimate however, as she has been making good time recently, and is likely to finish ahead of that schedule. I'd expect her to press on to the end in a little more than two weeks, as she wraps up what has been one incredibly long and difficult journey. By the time she is done, she'll have circumnavigated the entire continent – including passing around the treacherous Cape Horn – by kayak, covering some 24,000 km (14,912 miles) in the process.

Freya is no stranger to long distance journeys by kayak. Previously she has paddled around Iceland and New Zealand, and even became the first woman to circumnavigate Australia as well. After completing that massive challenge back in 2009, she started looking for other places she could paddle as well. Somewhere along the way she came up with the idea of traveling completely around South America, and in August of 2011 she set off to do just that.

In her original estimate she expected it would take about 24 months to complete her expedition, beginning and ending in Buenos Aires. It has taken considerably longer than that however due to logistical challenges, taking some time off to go back home, and overcoming personal obstacles along the way. But now, the end is in sight, and Freya is poised to make history once again.

Normally I would have waited until she was a bit closer to the finish line to post an update on her progress, but at the end of the week I'll be leaving the country once again, and it is likely that Freya will finish her impressive journey while I am away. So, with that in mind, I'd encourage everyone to follow her progress at FreyaHoffmeister.com. Her final journal entries should prove memorable, as will the dash to the end.

It is always interesting to see these long expeditions wrap up at long last. I've been following this one since Freya set out all those many months ago. I'm glad that she is closing in on the end at long last. I'm sure the sense of relief and accomplishment that she'll feel will be overwhelming.

Video: Exploring Africa in a Kayak

This video is the first in a new series from the U.S. National Whitewater Center which will focus on the very human need to explore the world around us and uncover the unknown. In this first chapter professional paddlers Cooper Lambla and Tyler Allen travel to Africa to paddle some of the wild rivers there. There journey took them across Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda, producing this wonderful six-minute clip of the adventure. It is a whitewater excursion like no other, in places where much of the landscape remains largely untamed and unexplored.  

EXPLORE. Chapter One from USNWC on Vimeo.

Video: Paddling Ingram Creek in Alaska

Over the past two summers, pro-kayakers Todd and Brendan Wells, along with Matt Peters, have turned Ingram Creek in Alaska into their own personal playground. As you'll see from this video, this river, which runs through the spectacular Kenai Peninsula, has a little of everything to offer paddlers, including some excellent whitewater and a 35-foot waterfall for that extra rush of adrenaline. This is three minutes of pure paddling bliss that I'm sure you'll enjoy.

The Best of Ingram Creek from Mountain Mind Collective on Vimeo.

Video: Kayaking the Stikine River with Rafa Ortiz

Canada's Stikine River is sometimes called the "Everest of Kayaking." Remote, wild, and difficult, it is often seen as the ultimate whitewater destination. In the video below we travel to that amazing river with pro-paddlers Rafa Ortiz and Isaac Levinson as they take on the Class V rapids that the Stikine is so famous for over a multi-day expedition through a very remote region of British Columbia.

Freya Hoffmeister Reaches Rio in South American Circumnavigation Kayak Expedition

It has been far too long since we last checked in on the progress of Freya Hoffmeister, the German paddler who has spent the better part of the past four years kayaking around South America. A few days ago Freya reached a major milestone on her quest to circle her second continent when she reached Rio De Janeiro in Brazil. She is now ready to start the final leg of the journey, which will return her to her starting point in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

Freya reached Rio on February 8 and has already returned to the water as she continues her slow, methodical march towards the finish line. So far she has spent 775 days on this expedition, of which roughly 550 have been spent out on the water. To date she has covered approximately 24,400 km (15,160 miles), averaging roughly 45 km (28 miles) per day. It has of course been grueling at times, with plenty of unique challenges, but the latest leg of the journey has seen improved conditions. She now finds herself with beautiful beaches to camp on most nights, and the heat and humidity has dropped in recent days as well. 

You may recall that Freya became the first woman to kayak around Australia a few years back, completing that expedition in record time no less. She was able to complete that voyage in 322 days, of which 245 were spent paddling. That journey included a 575 km (371 mile) open water crossing across the Gulf of Carpentaria that managed to shave days and kilometers off of her time. The only other person to have completed a circumnavigation of Australia is New Zealander Paul Caffyn, who did it 361 days.

After wrapping up that impressive expedition, Freya took some time off before deciding what she wanted to do next. She didn't stay at home for too long however, and in August of 2011 she set out on her attempt to circumnavigate South America. The journey first took her south along the Atlantic Coast, where she eventually rounded the treacherous Cape Horn. From there, she passed into the Pacific and turned north, eventually passing through the Panama Canal. She has since been making her way back along the Atlantic side of the continent as she pushes towards Buenos Aires once again.

At this point, she is approximately 2300 km (1430 miles) from the finish line. If she maintains her average speed, she should return to her starting point in early April. We will of course keep an eye on her progress as she nears the end of what is turning out to be yet another impressive padding expedition. 

Video: Altai - The Road and the River

This past summer, expedition kayaker Chris Korbulic traveled to the Altai Mountains of Russia to explore the wilderness and paddle the rivers found there. This short film shares that adventure with us, delivering some amazing images from that remote place, mixed with some impressive paddling on rivers that are seldom seen by outsider. Chris and his team discovered some epic whitewater along the way, with massive waterfalls, narrow canyons, and some truly wild destinations. This is a truly great piece of filmmaking with some breathtaking shots on and off the water.

Altai - The Road and the River from chris korbulic on Vimeo.