american adventure

T H E G R E AT
AMERICAN
ADVE NTURE
Whether it’s cliff camping, wild horse-riding, paddling through
swamps or chasing storms, the USA is no stranger to rugged,
raw and often terrifying adventure experiences.
Take a deep breath and dive right in...
IMAGE: GETTY
WORDS: Aaron Miller
74 National Geographic Traveller | April 2015
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AMERICAN ADVENTURE
AMERICAN ADVENTURE
M U S TA N G M O N U M E N T
N E VA DA
76 National Geographic Traveller | April 2015
can spare US tax payers up to millions of dollars a year, while
allowing the horses to remain free and enabling tourists to
connect with this iconic symbol of the American West.
I couldn’t wait to take a look.
The resort itself is glamping on diamond-studded flysheets
— authentic reclaimed wood cabins, and enormous hand-
IMAGES: AARON MILLER; KRISTI JOHNSON
There’s no time to run. In the cold amber of dawn, I’ve crept
out alone to a band of wild mustang horses, stealing between
scratches of sagebrush and swaying crests of ryegrass until,
without me noticing, I’m surrounded by the herd, close
enough to see the muscles flexing on their legs and the sweat
beading on the back of their necks. Suddenly, a mare charges
— eyes flaring, snorting angrily — stopping a few feet from
my trembling hands to raise her head in defiance. Later, Clay
Naninni, a local cowboy whose friendly swagger could have
charmed John Wayne out of town, laughs it off: “She was just
playing,” he says. But I’m not so sure.
The wild rights of some 40,000 mustangs are under threat.
For more than 400 years, these horses have wandered the
Great Basin of America’s western range, an unfathomable
emptiness of grasslands and salt beds, stretching from Utah
across Nevada and into California and Oregon. But in this
water-poor, cattle-rich region, free-roaming horses are
increasingly seen as a threat. Ranchers claim that without a
natural predator, their presence is unsustainable and the
Bureau of Land Management — charged under federal law
with maintaining an ecological balance of grazing rights
— has, more often than not, agreed. As a result, round-ups
of wild horses destined for holding pens or worse, illegal
poaching and slaughterhouses, have become a regular
occurrence. In 2013, nearly $50 million (£33 million) was
spent keeping almost 50,000 wild horses in captivity.
But there may be a solution. Businesswoman and
philanthropist Madeleine Pickens — a glamorous billionaire
so beautiful, she could have stepped out of the pages of a
Jackie Collins novel — has built the world’s first wild horse
eco-resort: a 900-sq mile sanctuary for up to 1,000 mustangs
who have been forcibly removed from the land. By negating
the need for expensive holding pens, she believes her ranch
painted teepees, lavished with rustic chic interiors, artisan
throws and hand-carved rocking chairs that gaze out to the
herd. Home-cooked communal banquets are served every
night. Cocktails are served at every opportunity. Staying here
is like being in a Vogue editor’s daydream of the Wild West:
sensual, stylish, but with just the right amount of dust and
grit to make it real.
Six hundred of Madeleine’s herd wander freely across her
lands, but a select few have been trained for guests to ride. On
my first morning, I helped Clay round up our horses,
watching him driving a band of two dozen across the range
with swirling lasso cracks, jaw clicks and whistles. We
corralled them, chose our mounts and kicked higher into the
Spruce Mountains — one of three ranges encompassed by the
property — the scent of broken sagebrush filling the air. “That
smell is the number one thing I love about Nevada,” Clay said.
“Well, number two; the bars don’t close.”
Later that day we explored ghosted 19th-century gold
mining settlements, tracked wild horses from watering holes
to grazing meadows, and feasted on a picnic of cheeseboards,
salads and fresh baked cookies bussed up to meet us with
dining tables, armchairs, wine and hot coffee. If Downton
Abbey went west, I thought, this would be how they’d do it.
Still, I wanted to get closer. Experienced equestrians can
ride alongside the wild herd, but it can be dangerous: the
ground is uneven, the horses unpredictable and your mount is
liable to bolt. Thankfully, there is another way. Anticipating
the need to branch out from traditional, ranch-style
experiences, Madeleine, with the kind of intoxicating lack of
frugality one would expect from a billionaire, purchased two
of the highest-powered, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) known to
man, and an ex-Navy Seal to drive them.
The next morning we tore deep into the ranch’s grazing
grounds, sliding to tipping point on every corner, joyous
terror emanating from every orifice. And then we saw them:
a herd, 40-strong, cutting through the high desert in a dust
storm of galloping hooves, muscle and grace.
“To be near them,” Clay had said earlier, “is like thunder.”
But it felt more than that too. As we matched their speed,
pulling up alongside them to hear the beat of their hooves on
the open ground, it felt like I was somehow connected, for just
an instant, to that wild spirit they represent.
On my last morning we roped up two enormous draft
horses, Pat and Duke, to a hay wagon and rattled down to
feed the herd. Once again I found myself surrounded, though
not by a small band — 600 wild stamping hooves and darting
black eyes circled us nervously. Yet, I wasn’t afraid. There
is something harmonious about seeing the mustangs in this
landscape as they seem to be a living symbol of that free,
untamed spirit that helped build the American West.
Then they were running again, circling us in a mist of
bleached white dust. I watched them in awe, willing them to
always roam free.
How to do it: Mustang Monument Wild Horse Eco Resort,
outside of Wells, Nevada, costs $1,000 (£650) per tepee per
night and $1,500 (£970) per cottage per night for two,
including full board and all activities.
mustangmonument.com
Alternative: Ride out with a herd of 2,500 bison at Zapata
Ranch, Colorado. Six nights with Ranch Rider costs from
£1,495 per person, based on two sharing, including
accommodation, meals and activities. Flights not included.
ranchrider.com
Previous page: Hiking along a red rock trail at sunset.
This page clockwise from top left: Mustangs being rounded up; local
antelope; ranch hand Clay Naninni; Mustang Monument tepees
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AMERICAN ADVENTURE
AMERICAN ADVENTURE
YELLOWSTONE
N AT I O N A L PA R K
YO S E M I T E N AT I O N A L PA R K
WYOM I NG
CALIFORNIA
This October marks the 125th anniversary of the iconic wilderness
Twenty years ago this January, wolves, having been hunted to
near extinction, were reintroduced to Yellowstone in an
attempt to cull the escalating elk numbers and halt the
detrimental effects of over-grazing. Their impact on the
entire eco-system was dramatic, helping to regenerate
devastated valleys and restore the habitats of numerous
smaller animals. Go and see for yourself on a wolf-watching
adventure in Yellowstone, now one of the most reliable places
in the US to see this remarkable alpha predator in action.
Details: Yellowstone Wolf Guides offers six-day, expert-led
wolf-watching trips in Yellowstone from $1,670 (£1,080) per
person including accommodation, transport, equipment and
most meals. Flights not included. yellowstonewolfguides.com
destination of Yosemite National Park. But it can get busy. Escape the
crowds, with a catered camp-to-camp, long-distance hike through its
undiscovered backcountry. The bunkhouse-style tents are basic, but the
locations deep in the glacier valleys and granite domes of the High Sierra
Mountains — accessible only by boot or saddle — are sublime.
Details: Open June-September. Advance reservations are granted on
a lottery basis. From $180 (£118) per person per night including dinner,
breakfast and dorm. Expect 6-10 miles of walking per day.
yosemiteexperience.com
G R E AT C A LU S A B LU E WAY
FLORI DA
From left: Coyote, Yellowstone National Park;
camping in Yosemite Valley
78 National Geographic Traveller | April 2015
IMAGES: GETTY
For thousands of years the Calusa Indians thrived in the
warm waters of southwest Florida, establishing a network
of canals and a fishing industry which, at its peak, supported
as many as 50,000 individuals. It’s now possible to experience
this indigenous history first hand on the Great Calusa
Blueway: a 190-mile network of paddling routes through
the mangrove swamps and tropical islands that the Calusa
once made their home. Discover enormous shell mounds
used as burial sites, and share water with wild manatees
and Atlantic bottlenose dolphins — this is one of the best
places for viewing them in the country.
Details: Downloadable trail maps, accommodation, kayak
and canoe outfitters, guides and more at calusablueway.com
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AMERICAN ADVENTURE
ESCALANTE
U TA H
Put 127 Hours (the movie of the true story
of Aron Ralston who was forced to saw off
his own arm after becoming stuck in a slot
canyon) out of your mind. Canyoning — the
art of scrambling, sliding and smearing
through narrow rock gorges — is adventure
at its most raw, remote and rewarding.
Spend three nights exploring the spiralling
stone ravines of Escalante, returning to
base camp each night for home-cooked
meals and unrivalled stargazing.
Details: Excursions of Escalante has
canyoning trips from $1,180 (£760) per
person, including equipment, guides and
meals. excursionsofescalante.com
From top: Hiking in Escalante canyon; jumping into the waters
of Lake Superior, Michigan
Next page: Catamount Trail, Vermont
I S L E R OYA L
N AT I O N A L PA R K
Isle Royale, on Lake Superior, may be one of America’s
smallest, and least visited, national parks but it’s filled to the
brim with wolves, moose and some of the finest wild camping
in the country. It also holds a little-known secret: beneath
its cold, clear waters is some of the best shipwreck diving in
the world. Spend a few days on a live-aboard yacht exploring
sunken wrecks and submarine treasures with plenty of time
to discover the island scenery along the way. nps.gov/isro
Details: Isle Royal Charters offers five-day live-aboard
shipwreck dives in various locations. isleroyalecharters.com
Superior Trips offers four-day shipwreck and alternative
live-aboard diving trips in the area. superiortrips.com
80 National Geographic Traveller | April 2015
IMAGES: GETTY
M IC H IGAN
AMERICAN ADVENTURE
AMERICAN ADVENTURE
C ATA M O U N T T R A I L
VERMONT
Deep in the snowy heart of Vermont’s Green Mountains is the
300-mile, inn-to-inn Catamount Trail, the longest ski-touring route in
IMAGE: CATAMOUNT TRAIL
the US, which stretches across the length of the state from Massachusetts
to Quebec. If the end-to-end challenge is too intense (even with warm
inns and hot cocoa at the end of each day), try the four-day Bolton Valley
to Stowe route instead, 27-miles of stunning scenery, with a wonderful
mixture of groomed and backcountry skiing throughout.
Details: For guided and self-guided itineraries, lodging, events and
more, go to catamounttrail.org
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AMERICAN ADVENTURE
L A K E TA H O E
N E VA D A
The Tahoe Rim Trail is 165 miles
of mountain biking paradise
looping around the high mountains
of Lake Tahoe. And with the first
direct London to Reno flights
scheduled to start later this year,
there’s never been a better time to
check it out. Expect lightning quick
descents, steep summit climbs,
waterfalls, wildflowers and open
country on every bend. Don’t fancy
peddling? Try hiking or horse
riding the trail instead.
Details: Certain sections are
off-limits to mountain bikers.
For further information, maps,
bike rentals, shuttle services
and accommodation options,
IMAGE: GETTY
go to tahoerimtrail.org
Right: A man biking along the Flume Trail overlooking
Lake Tahoe, Nevada State Park
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AMERICAN ADVENTURE
AMERICAN ADVENTURE
R O C K Y M O U N TA I N
N AT I O N A L PA RK
I am standing on the edge of a cliff and a man is telling me to
jump. It’s the middle of the night, my hands are shaking, and
common sense is screaming at me to go home. But somehow I
take my first tentative steps backwards down the vertical drop,
until I’m surrounded by an abyss of darkness. There will be no
home, no safety tonight for me. I am cliff camping and I have
never been so scared in all my life.
The concept, pioneered by Kent Mountain Adventure
Center, based just outside Rocky Mountain National Park, is
as simple as it is terrifying: vertical virgins, in the hands of
experienced climbing guides, will spend one bucket-list night
dangling 10,000ft high, and 500ft above solid ground, on a
professional mountain portaledge — one of those flimsy
portable cots mountaineers sleep on during multi-day, big
wall ascents.
But that makes it sound relatively banal. Imagine instead
bedding down on a park bench, with no sides, suspended at
knee-trembling heights by nothing more than bolts, rope and
an optimistic sense of the future. Extreme sleeping may have
once sounded like a contradiction in terms, but not anymore.
Our day began with a practice session ascending fixed lines
at a nearby crag. No climbing experience is required, but it’s
not easy — more like climbing a rope ladder, as steady as a
surfboard, which you build yourself rung by rung.
Accompanying me is my wife, Gillian. She is as graceful as
flowing water; I am as awkward as bad dancing. Then the
mystery of portaledge pee etiquette is revealed: a funnel-like
contraption called a she-pee for the girls and an empty bottle
for the boys. Anything more than that, you just don’t go.
Then we were off, hiking to the base of our cliff, ominously
named Deville, as chipmunks chirped through pine trees and
a herd of elk lazed by the side of the trail. The cartoon
conditions weren’t to last; just as our guide Buster Jesik, the
climbing equivalent of Jason Bourne, set up the portaledge
— an alarmingly miniscule dot, high on the cliff face above
— dark clouds rolled over the mountains, assailing us in hail,
high winds and deep drum rolls of thunder. We waited it out
and then, as dusk fell, I began to scale the 160ft vertical ascent.
Just as I reached the top, a flash of lightning exploded in
blinding, deafening power by our side.
“Move fast!” Buster shouted, roping me up to an emergency
abseil, my giggly anxiety transforming to quiet terror.
We descended shaking and drenched, our dalliance with
death-defiance temporarily dashed by the weather. But Buster
had other plans: we were going to wait out the storm,
bushwhack up the backside of the mountain — in the dark, in
bear country — and then abseil down to the portaledge for
the night. For a while, surprisingly, it went smoothly. We even
had time to admire the flickering lights of the town far below.
Then we reached the crevasse. Three feet is not a long way
to jump, you could step over it with a stretch. But with 500ft
of darkness beneath you, three feet is a hop of Olympic
standards. Buster skipped backwards and forwards like a
mountain goat. Gillian went without so much as a sniffle. And
then me. I would like to say that time slowed, that I reached a
state of heightened awareness in which all fear evaporated.
But I stalled, I swore, I talked tactics. Eventually, like so
86 National Geographic Traveller | April 2015
many things in life, it became scarier to stay where I was than
to make the leap. Landing that jump was like scaling my own
personal Mount Everest.
I reached the portaledge, tied in and lay down. The stars
were out now, spirals of the Milky Way deepening in a
moonless night, but I barely noticed. While Gillian and
Buster laughed, sipped flasks of wine and, eventually, drifted
off to sleep, I gripped the portaledge like a drowning man to a
raft. Wind rattled our bed. Vertigo, insidious and dizzy, dilated
my pupils to a steady panic. But then I remembered something
Buster had said: “Your mind will tell you you shouldn’t be
there,” he had warned. “The secret is controlling it.”
When dawn finally broke, flooding colour onto the treetops
and shadows of the Rocky Mountains, my courage finally
emerged too. “Only a handful of people ever get to see this,”
Gillian said. In the distance, hundreds of feet below, we
watched people getting in their cars, going to work.
“It’s good to get scared sometimes,” Buster had said.
“It stretches the limits of who you are.” Well, I have never
been so terrified in all my life. When my feet touched solid
ground again, I shamelessly kissed the dirt.
How to do it: Kent Mountain Adventure Center offers cliff
camping for £520 ($800) per person, based on an overnight
tour for two, including mountain guides, equipment,
transfers and meals. kmaconline.com
Alternative: Scared of heights? Try backcountry camping in
the Rocky Mountains. nps.gov/romo
From left: A mountain hiker; cliff camping in a portaledge
IMAGES: DAN GAMBINO; MATT INDEN/MILES
COLORADO
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AMERICAN ADVENTURE
HELLS CANYON
OREGON
Hells Canyon — straddling the border of
Oregon and Idaho — is the deepest river
gorge in North America, and with a name
like that you can be sure the rapids won’t
scrimp on screams. Spend five days rafting
along Snake River, navigating powerful class
III and IV whitewater, catching your dinner
and stopping to explore ancient Native
pictographs along the route.
Details: Winding Waters Rafting has allinclusive, five-day rafting trips, MaySeptember, from $1,555 (£1,000) per person.
Suitable for ages seven years and over. Flights
not included. windingwatersrafting.com
From top: Hells Canyon rapids; a stormchaser watches a supercell
thunderstorm in Tornado Alley
88 National Geographic Traveller | April 2015
TORNADO ALLEY
OKLAHOMA
Few adventures get the heart beating faster than facing down
the vortex of an onrushing tornado. Join a team of expert
stormchasers in Tornado Alley, stretching across Oklahoma,
Texas, Kansas and Nebraska, for some up-close meteorological
mayhem and dinner table anecdotes to last for years to come.
Details: Storm Chasing Adventure Tours has six-day trips
from $2,800 (£1,800) per person including accommodation,
transportation and expert guides. Flights not included.
stormchasing.com
IMAGES: KENDRICK MOHOLT PHOTOGRAPHY; GETTY
American pit houses, rock shelters and