Former Edgerton men prefer challenging travel off the beaten path

Janesville Gazette (WI)

Apr. 25--There's nothing like clutching a capsized boat in the deep swells of the Indian Ocean with friends to discover their true nature.

Or racing across the unforgiving sands and mountains of Morocco on child-size motorbikes to discover inner strength.

Just ask Walker Richardson and Andrew Thompson.

The former Edgerton residents prefer epic journeys to rugged and faraway places with no backup, no support and no guides.

During the week, the thirtysomething men hold professional jobs. Richardson, who lives in Columbus, analyzes data for an insurance company. Thompson, who lives in Madison, works as a financial adviser.

But when it comes to travel, they don't want anything to do with exclusive resorts or sunny beaches.

Instead, bring on the challenging waters of the Zanzibar archipelago, the unknown back roads of Sri Lanka or the wild bears of Romania while traveling in hollowed out mango trees, rickshaws or on monkey bikes.

The men have been friends since fourth grade and graduated from Edgerton High School in 2005. While they were undergrads at UW-Madison, they discovered a travel group based in the United Kingdom called The Adventurists.

The group's founders create adventures with beginning and ending points, but they largely leave it up to the participants to find their ways in between. To make sure travelers are challenged, they use unsuitable vehicles prone to breakdowns.

Why?

Well, the founders explain it like this: Once upon a time, people had whole continents to discover. Now, satellites have scanned the entire Earth and shoved the contents into our smartphones. For some, life is too easy. People crave real adventure.

So, they offer the uncertainty of a trip that requires problem-solving with people who often don't share your language or culture but do share a common humanity.

Richardson explained:

"For us thirtysomethings, the world has been 'shrank' by the internet as we've mapped every corner of the planet, and information travels faster than ever. So the yearning is to try and find a gap or a hole in that system and get yourself lost for a little while."

He added:

"In my generation anyway, not many know what it is like to not have a cellphone telling them the answer to every question, or to have to leave a note for someone to buy milk, instead of just texting them, or to actually have to approach a stranger for directions or help."

Richardson and Thompson credit a college friend, Jake Gafner, for inspiring the merry band of adventurists.

Gafner started his own business called Lost Travel Co., which created the Driftless 250. The annual canoeing, biking and paddling trip through Wisconsin's Driftless Region is completely unscripted and unguided with sister trips across the U.S.

Thompson and Richardson pioneered the first "Drifty" in 2018 and have done other trips offered by the travel group.

"Andy and Walker are on our Board of Prospectors," Gafner said. "We invite them on all our new trips because we want their perspective on how it went."

Not your typical trip

Gafner, Richardson and another friend took their first leap into the unknown in the summer of 2016, when they went to Tanzania for a sailing race like no other across the Zanzibar archipelago.

They harnessed the wind in a traditional dugout canoe made from a mango tree during the Ngalawa Cup.

On the third day, huge waves capsized their boat in the Indian Ocean.

"All three of us were hanging onto the boat with waves crashing over us," Richardson said. "All of our stuff floated away in different directions."

Richardson called the incident "quite traumatic overall" and said that a rescue boat finding them was "like spotting a bean in a swimming pool."

Gafner called for help on his emergency radio while straddling the hull.

"We couldn't see land, and we weren't sure anyone would find us," Gafner said. "It's the closest I've ever come to thinking about dying."

Still, the men kept their cool, and Gafner complimented Richardson as "someone who doesn't get overly dramatic about anything. He's someone you can count on, particularly when times are stressful."

Eventually, rescuers picked up the men, dropped them off on a deserted island and promised to be back in a few days.

The adventures did not stop there.

In 2017, Richardson and Thompson drove monkey bikes across hundreds of miles of Morocco. Monkey bikes are small motorcycles that "make any regularly sized adult sitting on one look like a gorilla on a kid's tricycle," Richardson said. "They also are notoriously shoddy."

Consequently, the travelers were forced to fix flat tires with the help of local people. They also traveled up switchback roads in the Atlas Mountains in a blizzard after dark.

"The climate changed rapidly as we ascended up the mountain," Richardson said. "Going down the mountains, there were no guard rails."

Big world out there

In 2019, Richardson and Thompson made two trips with friends. One was across Sri Lanka in tippy rickshaws, and the other was around Romania and the Carpathian Mountains on the familiar monkey bikes.

Richardson always appreciates coming home to a place with a hot shower and clean tap water.

"It's good to hit the reset button once in a while and to remember how fortunate I am to live in a place like the United States," Richardson said. "It's fun to bring along people and take them out of their comfort zones to see what they learn from it."

The trips impact him professionally.

"If something goes wrong or someone doesn't like my idea, it really isn't a big problem when I remember there are people who have no drinking water in parts of the world," Richardson said.

Thompson shares his sense of discovery.

It is important to get out and "see how the rest of the world works rather than taking someone's word for it," Thompson said. "For me, it's always about expanding my comfort zone. I suppose it's a little testing of my mettle to see what I can handle. These trips are not for everyone."

He added: "I find more value in being on a motorcycle somewhere not in a travel magazine to see who the people are and how they live."

On every adventure trip, Thompson met someone who restored his faith in humanity. On every trip when something went wrong, he found people to help. When he remembers them, they bring a smile to his face.

"I try to carry their kindness forward," Thompson said.

He and Richardson were supposed to go to Mongolia for an epic mini-motorcycle race in September, but Thompson does not think it will happen because of the coronavirus pandemic.

When the world reopens, Thompson knows he and his friends will continue to see the planet in unorthodox ways.

He encourages people to get out and experience new places.

"Once you decide to do it, you will feel better," Thompson said. "There's a lot of world to see."

Anna Marie Lux is a Sunday columnist for The Gazette. Call her with ideas or comments at 608-755-8264 or email [email protected].

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