Polish Adventurer to Attempt New Speed Record for Iceland Traverse

A Polish adventurer by the name of Rafal Bauer is preparing for a very big adventure in July. That is when he will travel to Iceland to embark on an attempt to set a new speed record for traversing that country north to south on foot. He'll also be making the journey completely solo and unsupported.

The trek will start in Rifstangi, the northernmost part of Iceland, and will continue south until reaching the ocean in Kotlutangi. All told, the route will cover approximately 560 km (348 miles), a distance that Raf hopes to cover in just 13 days. That means he plans to cover more than 43 km (26.7 miles) each and every day, while crossing over rough terrain and carrying a pack that weighs 25kg (55 pounds). No easy task to say the least.

Raf is no stranger to adventurous endeavors. In the past he has hiked the length of Scotland along the Cape Wraith Trail, and has spent a lot of time backpacking through remote regions of Northern Europe. He has also participated in ultramarathon events, which will likely serve him well on this journey too.

One of the more challenging sections of the trek will take place when he passes through Iceland's volcanic desert. For roughly two days he will have no available sources of fresh water, so he'll be forced to carry plenty with him on that leg. Additionally, since he hope to complete the expedition in an unsupported fashion, Raf won't be able to accept outside aid of any kind from anyone he meets along the way.

Bauer is still a few weeks away form launching his Iceland traverse attempt. Once it does begin however, you'll be able to follow his progress on his official website, his Facebook page, Link to Poland, and National Geographic Traveler.

Incidentally, the record he looking to beat is 19 days, which was set back 2007 by our friend Louis-Philippe Loncke. If successful, Bauer will complete the trek 6 days faster. Good luck Raf!

Polish Explorer Planning Trans-South American Expedition via The Amazon

Polish explorer Marcin Gienieczko has announced a bold new expedition that will get underway on May 1 of this year. The adventurous photographer and journalist intends to cross South America by bike, canoe, and on foot, with his route that will take him to the very heart of the Amazon Rainforest and along the mightiest river on the planet.

Marcin is calling his expedition the Solo Amazon (site in Polish and Spanish), and he will begin the journey with a 750 km (466 mile) bike ride from Lima, Peru to the small town of San Francisco. From there, he'll begin an epic canoe journey that will eventually cover more than 6130 km (3809 miles) beginning at the Apurimac River and the very headwaters of the Amazon itself. He'll then proceed downstream to the Enge, Tambo, and Ucayali before paddling out onto the Amazon. He'll follow the river until he reaches Belem in Brazil, at which time he'll complete his journey to the Atlantic Ocean on foot, running all the way while carrying the Polish flag.

Passionate about photography and exploration, Marcin is no stranger to long distance adventures. His previous expeditions have taken him down the Yukon River in Alaska and the Lena River in Siberian Russia, as well as several other long distance floats in those locations, as well as Canada. In 2009 he even crossed Siberia on foot in temperatures that routinely plummeted to -50ºC/-58ºF. Crossing South America will be an entirely different challenge however, as the unique environments of the Amazon will create obstacles that he hasn't seen on his previous journeys.

While the expedition is called "Solo Amazon," Marcin will have a guide for part of the excursion. In the most dangerous section of the trip – when he'll be passing through a region mainly under the control of drug lords – he'll be joined by Gadiel "Cho" Sanchez Rivera, who accompanied Ed Stafford on his historic expedition to cross the Amazon on foot a few years back. Cho has become the "go-to" guide in the Amazon since those days, and he'll help lead Marcin through some perilous parts of the route.

Marcin says that he is looking forward to the start of the expedition, although he knows that it will be a physical and mental challenge. The journey will be a long and difficult one, but his past experience will help him survive in the wilds of South America. We'll see how he fares when he gets underway in a few months time.

Good luck Marcin!