Endurance…or How Quickly Would Shackleton Call Me A Baby

 


As any good Adventurer does, I enjoy reading about others’ travels in the world. I often find myself daydreaming about how I would fare in these travels. Most of the time I realize I could probably do what this person was doing if I actually trained hard enough, or had a lot of money. If Bill Bryson can hike a good portion of The Appalachian Trail, I sure as hell can do just as much as he did, right? Then there are the times where I’m fairly certain I’d be dead within a short period of time. At the very least, I’d suffer some terrible injury. 

I recently finished Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage. This story is beyond the limits of Adventure-ish. Why would anyone want to explore Antarctica?! Especially in the early 20th century. They didn’t even have air-conditioning! Growing up near the Mississippi River, I’ve thought many times how fun it would be to travel down the river on a barge. A nice trip in the summer before it gets too hot but after all the potential issues like flooding. While the crew are tying up the barge, I like to think about all the fun I could have; enjoying a nice IPA at a local brewery, checking out the local, overpriced farmer’s market. What a sweet few weeks that would be. 

There’s no way I would’ve made it weeks onboard the Endurance. Traveling by possibly sketchy navigation charts, definitely not GPS. I can’t imagine the food would’ve been all that great. At one point on the journey, it’s mentioned a guy somehow snuck onboard the ship. Again, why? After a few days, I’d be trying to figure out ways to abandon ship. Shackleton would’ve been so fed up with me, there’s a good chance he would’ve tossed me overboard. 

Location: St Paul, MN, USA

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