Adventurers Exploring the Unknown

July 7 -- What is left to explore on the Earth? Plenty. Heights, depths, limits — you name it.

"The idea that everything's been discovered and everything's known just isn't true," says Hal Espen, editor of Outside magazine. "A lot of the superlatives, the longest yardsticks and furthest distances have been reached and attained, but there's still plenty of stuff out there."

Espen would know. His magazine helped fund an expedition of kayakers to the notorious Tsangpo River in Tibet, a river that features some of the highest —and fiercest — whitewater rapids in the world. More than a few adventurers have died trying to negotiate the rapids. Until this past April, no one had been known to make it through. But the Outside team picked their way through steep snowcapped mountains to reach the river's edge, slipped their kayaks into the roiling water, and somehow managed to keep from being swallowed up in the thousands-feet-deep rapids.

"Well worth the effort," marvels kayaker Steve Fisher as they completed their journey. He stood on a point of the Tsangpo Gorge high above a backdrop of steep, jagged mountains etched out against a stunning blue sky. "An amazing place."

Fisher and his team are among thousands of professional explorers across the globe who have dedicated their lives, for now, to pushing the boundaries.

Karl Bushby is another such person; his path, however, takes him not along rivers — but along continents. He is "forging the longest unbroken footpath in human history." Bushby started his trek in Chile in 1998. He has made it to Las Vegas — and along the way faced treacherous cold, vicious heat, and more than a few South American warlords. Still, Bushby says he has never thought about giving the adventure up.

'If I Didn't Do It, Someone Else Would'

"I would sit and dream about this," says Bushby of the three years spent planning the trip. "It's an emotional thing," he says, chuckling. "It's about the challenge. This is something that human beings do. It's in our nature. If I didn't do it, someone else would."