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Adventure Travel: February 2005

Posted on: Monday, 21 February 2005, 03:00 CST

Forget the massages and 1,200-count sheets at pricey resorts. A growing army of travelers like Todd and Joselyn Miller want adventure-lots of it. And they will spend nearly $50 billion this year to climb mountains, dive with sharks and run rapids in exotic spots around the world.

October 2004: The Millers of Laguna Beach at sunset above the clouds at Bafranco Camp in Tanzania, Africa (12,750 feet).

October 2004: The Millers of Laguna Beach at sunset above the clouds at Barranco Camp in Tanzania, Africa (12,750 feet).

It's early November 2004 and Laguna Beach residents Todd and Joselyn Miller are bouncing along in an open-air safari vehicle in the heart of South Africa's big game country - Kruger National Park and Wildlife Preserve. Twenty minutes into the safari, a radio call directs them to the location of a lion kill.

The Millers are a bit apprehensive about their mode of transportation. "No protection whatsoever," says 44-year-old real estate investment company partner Todd Miller about the open-air safari vehicle. "Maybe if it were just monkeys and zebras, I'd be OK with it." But this is big game country. And although the ranger has a rifle, it doesn't seem easily accessible in its zippered case on the dash.

From a few hundred yards away they spot a full-grown giraffe carcass. Stopping 30 feet from the kill, they see a bloody lioness feasting on the giraffe's abdomen. She has her three cubs with her. "I was very scared,"Todd recalls about the encounter. "Every instinct I had was telling me you should not be here right now.

We were encroaching on the lion's food and cubs."

Breaking the two cardinal safari rules don't move and don't talk - Todd whispers to the guide, "Can you at least get your gun out?"

The lion turns around, hesitates for a minute, then charges.

Knowing that it would take the ranger at least 15 seconds to retrieve his rifle, Todd makes an instinctual decision. As the lion bounds toward them, Miller extends his left arm out of the vehicle and braces himself with his other hand in an effort to save himself and his wife. "I'm thinking, just give it the arm and maybe that would give the ranger enough time to shoot it," he recalls.

To Todd's stunned relief, the lion leapt past the jeep. The danger was over, but not the rush from adventure for Todd, his wife Joselyn and a growing legion of travelers who are opting for sleeping bags and adrenaline over Egyptian cotton sheets at five- star resorts.

Adventure travelers

In the CBS reality series, "The Amazing Race," teams of two are pitted in a global race where wits, smarts and cultural awareness are rewarded with a $1 million dollar payoff. During the most recent season, teams made up of spouses, fathers and daughters, best friends and dating couples have ice climbed and snowmobiled in Iceland, fished and harvested salt in Senegal, West Africa and bungee jumped in Budapest, Hungary. At no time, however, did they have to face a charging lion in the wild.

Todd in his tent at Lava Tower Camp (15,000 feet).

Joselyn with South African kids in the Langda Township, Cape Town, South Africa.

Todd and Joselyn Miller aren't in any race. But they could certainly be competitive in one if given the chance. Compared to a charging lion, what is a little ice climbing or bungee jumping?

You see, when it's vacation time for the Millers, you won't find them on a Caribbean cruise or a trip to Disney World. Although such vacations certainly are enriching and rewarding for many families, vacation for the Millers means adventure travel.

"Adventure travel typically is described as travel that takes a person outside of what they are accustomed to," explains Shannon Stowell, president of the Adventure Travel Trade Association, a membership-based organization that educates the public about adventure travel opportunities and assists its member-businesses. "It involves an element of cultural or physical environmental immersion, such as viewing a tribal cultural ritual or experiencing an outdoor sport like climbing, trekking or diving."

Adventure travel is a $40-50 billion a year industry that comprises about 10% of the total travel industry. Growing at 10% a year, it's the fastest growing segment of the industry. And contrary to stereotypes, it isn't primarily college-age people doing adventure travel anymore. "The demographic has widened dramatically as people tire of the same old travel patterns," Stowell explains. "People want a challenge, and while sitting on a beach is fine for some vacations, many want to have more excitement in travel."

The Millers are very much a part of the adventure travel trend. They have explored the Galapagos Islands, that home to giant tortoises where Darwin first conceived of his theory of evolution.

They have ridden elephants among the ancient temples of Angkor Watt in Cambodia. They have bicycled the rugged western back roads of Ireland. They have had adventures in Russia, Alaska, Vietnam, Cuba and the Ecuadorian rain forest- often with their two children in tow. Most recently, the Millers spent three weeks this past fall in Africa where they climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest peak on the continent, dove in a cage surrounded by great white sharks and went on safari in Tanzania and South Africa. Their vacations may not be amazing races, but they are certainly amazing.

Climbing on day two. From right: Joselyn Miller, Todd Miller, Guy Kornblum, Thorn Niederkofler.

The start of the climb at Machame Gate (5,900 feet) in the rain forest. From left: Guy Kornblurn, Todd Miller, Joselyn Miller, Thorn Niederkofler.

Family safari

During the early years of their marriage, with Todd working 60 hours a week for a real-estate development company and with two young children at home, adventure travel took a backseat to family and career. "We didn't want to take them when they were tiny," full- time mom and community volunteer Joselyn, 41, says about her children Mychaela and Rex, now 16 and 14, "and we didn't want to leave them." But, she and her husband were always dreaming about more adventurous travel.

The source of those adventure travel dreams? The Millers developed their desire for adventure travel, they say, from their Semester at Sea experience as students at USC in 1984. The university study-abroad program takes university students around the world on a cruise ship. While at sea, students attend classes accredited by the University of Pittsburgh. During the 50 days when classes are not in session, students are able to travel independently in the port countries.

Todd and Joselyn first met on their Semester at Sea voyage that spring nearly 21 years ago. Their first date was dinner at a sushi bar in Kobe, Japan. Another of the ports they visited was Mombasa, Kenya, where they first laid eyes on Mt. Kilimanjaro. Although Kilimanjaro lies completely within Tanzania, it's located at the Kenyan border. "It was absolutely beautiful," Joselyn says. "We thought at the time, 'some day we're going to climb Kilimanjaro.'That was our goal."

Kilimanjaro, one of the so-called Seven Summits (the tallest mountain on each of the 7 continents), is the highest mountain in Africa. It's also considered the tallest mountain in the world, as its base starts at 3,000 feet and rises 16,000 feet to the summit at 19,340 feet. Although Mt. Everest is the highest spot on the earth at 29,035 feet, the base of the mountain (Everest base camp) is at 18,000 feet.

"We like setting a goal," explains Joselyn about their adventure travels. "And working toward it." She enjoys the preparation process. "I get on the Internet and try to find out everything I can about a certain place," she says. When considering a travel destination, the Millers also do a lot of reading.

Some of the research and reading comes fromTodd's collection of adventure books accumulated through an adventure book club he started 12 years ago. AmongTodd's favorites are: "Endurance," the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated 1914 expedition to be the first to cross Antarctica on foot; "The Maneating Leopard of Rudraprayag"byjim Corbett; and "Frontiersman" by Alien Eckert, a history of our country's westward expansion. Two other books - "No Picnic On Mount Kenya," about climbing 17,000 foot Mt. Kenya; and Rick Ridgeway's, "Shadow of Kilimanjaro," about his trek from the summit to the Indian Ocean - provided additional inspiration for their most recent adventure.

Aiming for summit

Traveling with a couple of 2O-somethings they met through Semester At Sea in the fall of 2002, the Millers summitted Kilimanjaro at the end of October last year. "It took us 20 years," Joselyn says about their Kilimanjaro goal. "But we did it."

Although the Kilimanjaro climb is technically not that demanding, only about half of all climbers reach the summit. The lack of oxygen poses the biggest obstacle. Above 19,000 feet there is less than half the oxygen than at sea level.

The total hike from base camp to the summit then back down on the Western Breach route is about 75 miles. The climb is done over eight days - six days up, two days down. Although Kilimanjaro climbers can opt for shorter routes, according to the Millers, the Western Breach route is the most scenic. There also are fewer climbers, and the longer route allows climbers more time to acclimate to the altitude.

Because of the physical difficulty of the climb, the tour operator (Thomson Safaris: www.thomsonsafaris.com) provided the Millers with a 40-page manual on what gear to bring and how to train. "They want you to be fit,"Todd say\s about the preparation manual's recommendations. "They want you to get your boots six months in advance. They want you concentrating on hill climbing with a 10-20 pound pack and hiking poles."

Being triathletes, the Millers had a head start in their fitness training. After a USC Volleyball career, Todd gained a lot of weight when he stopped working out to focus on his career. Although he didn't have a background in swimming, he started doing triathlons to get back in shape. "I loved it," he says. "It's one of those sports where with the right kind of training, you can continue to improve as you get older." A few years ago, Joselyn started racing triathlons with much success as well.

The Millers try to incorporate the sport in some of their travels. Last April they competed in the Las Vegas Triathlon where Joselyn finished fifth in her age group and Todd fourth. After that race, Kilimanjaro training - hiking and running in El Moro Canyon, and even climbing some 13,000 foot peaks in Colorado - took priority over triathlons.

They were very fit. They had assembled the necessary gear and supplies. They were in good hands with an experienced tour operator and knowledgeable local guides with over 100 summits of the mountain. However, they almost didn't make it to base camp.

Todd getting last minute instructions in the shark cage before he goes under for some viewing in "Shark Alley" off shore from Gansbaai South Africa.

Joselyn taking her turn in the shark cage , with a hunrgry 15- foot, 2,000 pound great white a few feet away.

On the 33-hour journey from Los Angeles to Tanzania, Joselyn's botched leg waxing became infected. Because no showers would be available during the climb, she thought waxing - which she had never done before - would be a good idea. Landing in Tanzania at night, Joselyn was rushed to a local medical clinic by the tour operator. "I thought we would have to cancel and return home," says Todd.

Although Todd was concerned about the quality of medical care in Tanzania, the doctor turned out to be an expatriate American from Riverside. Fortunately, the recommended antibiotics healed the infection, and they were able to start the climb after a twoday delay.

The route up

The Western Breach route starts at nearly 6,000 feet at a place called Londorossi Gate. The beginning of the climb runs through a tropical rain forest thick with wildlife, including exotic birds, colobus and blue monkeys, and chameleons. The Millers were excited and fresh and started much too fast. "We just hammered up the mountain at first," says Todd. The guides had to continue to remind them: "pole pole," the Swahili word for slowly.

Despite much "pole pole,"Todd was hit hard by the nausea, dizziness and headaches of altitude sickness before they reached the first camp at 12,200 feet. Their two climbing partners experienced difficulties during the ascent as well. Guy Kornblum got food poisoning at 15,000 feet at Lava Tower Camp. According to Todd, Thorn Niederkofler was "bullet-proof" up until 18,000 feet. Then he developed a nosebleed and became disoriented.

"You've got to be prepared," say both Todd and Joselyn, summing up an important adventure travel principle. "You've got to be very flexible. Whatever comes your way, you have to deal with it."

Deal with it they did. With more "pole pole," rest and in Kornblum's case, antibiotics, the climbing party was ready for the hardest part of the climb, 2,500 feet up the Western Breach ridge to 18,750-foot-high Crater Camp. "Up until that point, it's just a hike," saysTodd about their climb. "The Western Breech is technical climbing that takes five hours to get up."

The Western Breach is a sheer rock face with icy scree. There are no ropes. "There are probably three or four places where if you slip you fall thousands of feet," says Todd. "I would look at Joselyn and say be very careful." The payoff, however, is breathtaking views of the crater and surrounding glaciers.

After negotiating the Western Breach they reached Crater Camp in the early afternoon of their sixth day. The usual plan from here is to spend an overnight at this final high altitude camp before summiting very early the next morning.

The night before at Arrow Glacier Camp at 16,100 feet, however, was the coldest by far during a very cold week of climbing in which the group endured rain, sleet, hail and snow. At Arrow Camp,Todd and Joselyn were forced to wear four layers of clothing - all the clothes they carried - and sleep in a sleeping bag rated to zero degrees. They still shivered, and their water bottles froze solid.

An overnight at Crater Camp, nearly 2,000 feet higher than Arrow Glacier, would likely be colder by 15-20 degrees. Because the entire climbing party felt good physically at that point, and to avoid another cold night at high altitude, they asked their guides about the possibility of summiting that day.

The porters and guides started cheering. No one wanted to spend a freezing night at Crater Camp.

Reaching the summit - and swimming with sharks

The Millers climbed the final 600 feet and reached 19,340 Uhuru Peak on October 27 at about 2:30 in the afternoon. After days of dreary, overcast skies, the Kilimanjaro summit greeted the climbing party with sunny, blue skies. "We got up to the top and the heavens opened," says Joselyn.

Because they didn't do an overnighter at Crater Camp, summit day was a long one. "We left Arrow Glacier Camp at 7:30 in the morning and returned at 9:30 at night," Todd recalls. "A 14-hour day at that altitude was much harder than the half Ironman Triathlon that I did."

The Millers not only savor their summit experience but also the relationship they developed with their Chaga porters and guides. They consider them more like friends than workers.The porters are the Tanzanian equivalent of Nepalese Sherpas who carry all expedition gear in 60-pound baskets on their heads with little difficulty. They learned some Swahili from their Chaga friends. Many views were "Poa" or "cool." The "Yahe" greeting, meaning "What's up?" was used every morning and whenever a climbing party member was moving more "pole pole" than usual.

"When we travel we try to get to know some of the people we meet along the way," says Todd. "We like to understand and learn a little bit about their culture." Joselyn agrees. "Why go unless you get to learn something," she asks, "and get to know the people?"

Or get to know the local wildlife? After Kilimanjaro the Millers traveled to South Africa where a is-minute boat ride from Kleinbaai Harbor in Gansbaai took them to Dyer Island, a breeding ground for 50,000 cape fur seals. Gansbaai, a small resort town on the coast about two hours southeast of Capetown, is touted as the Great White Shark capitol of the world. Near Dyer Island the Millers experienced a great white shark cage dive.

"I've spent a lot of time in the water," Todd says, referring to his 15 years of diving and spear fishing in Mexico's Sea of Cortez. "I've always wanted to do the great white shark viewing." In South Africa, chumming the water with blood and fish heads is allowed. So, unlike similar operations in the United States, in South Africa attracting great whites is almost guaranteed.

The Millers weren't disappointed. A cage with bars no thicker than a coat hanger was lowered beside their boat, anchored in 30 feet of water. Donning only wet suits (seal costumes, Joselyn calls them), shark viewers entered the lidless cage from above. "Within 15 minutes," says Todd, "three great whites were circling our boat."

The operators used fish heads on a line to lure the circling sharks near the cage. 15-foot long, 2,ooo-pound great white sharks banged into the cage, shaking the entire boat. "It was a rush of adrenaline," says Todd of the experience. "I've seen a lot of different sharks, but never a great white. So I wasn't that afraid. I was more interested by it."

Although Todd was more intrigued by the educational aspects of the shark viewing, it had a different effect on Joselyn. "It was the scariest thing I've ever done in my life," she says. "I just tried to curl up in a little ball in the center of the cage."

Back to the lion

Todd had no bars and could not curl up into a ball when he encountered the bloody lion a few days later. "I climbed Kilimanjaro," he said to himself. "I got in the water with great white sharks. And now I'm going to be killed by a lion at a game park."

The lion charged. Todd's left arm dangled out of the back of the open-air safari vehicle. In two blinks of an eye, the lion missed the back of the vehicle and Todd's arm by about a foot. It ran past the vehicle and toward a pack of hyenas 50 yards behind them. Even though the Millers hadn't seen or heard the hyenas, the lion sensed the scavengers approaching. To protect her food she attacked the hyenas to drive them away.

The fact that the lions at the preserve don't perceive humans as a threat, according to the ranger, was little consolation to Todd. "You still look like food," he says. "I was very uncomfortable."

Because the 2005 adventure travel plans for the Millers contain no lions or sharks, the Fear Factor should be considerably lower. But the Amazing Race factor remains high. This year they won't be climbing any mountains on foot, but they will still have to crest a few mountain passes - only this time on bikes in the French Alps. Todd and Joselyn plan to do a tour this summer where participants not only get to view the Tour de France multistage bicycle race, but also ride some of the same course as the racers.

And next December the Millers will travel to Antarctica to visit Elephant Island. Todd says Antarctica has been one of their adventure travel goals for quite some time. Elephant Island, site of an old whaling outpost, is where Shackleton left his Endurance crew in 1916 while he and five of his best sailors miraculously rowed a 22-foot lifeboat 800 miles through the stormiest ocean i\n the world. As the adventure story goes, the navigational equipment on the lifeboat consisted only of a sextant and compass. Given that the skies were perpetually overcast, their chances of. obtaining an accurate sextant sighting to plot their position was very remote. Against all odds, Shackleton eventually returned to Elephant Island with help.

As the Chaga porters would say, "Poa!" And very amazing.

ADVENTURE TRAVEL

Who is Doing it?

Forget sitting by the pool with an umbrella-topped drink; today's vacationers are looking for more stimulating ways to spend their leisure time. From hard adventure seekers to those who want easier experiential escapes, what was once a niche market for the travel industry is now exploding.

Q: Who is the adventure travel enthusiast?

A: 64% of Gen Xers and 56% of Baby Boomers are heading outside to take on both "hard" and "soft" adventure travel destinations.

Q: How big is the adventure travel industry?

A: $40-50 billion and growing.

Q: How fast is the industry growing?

A: At a rate of 10% per year.

Q: Who is doing what? Soft, hard, both?

A: 67 million seek soft adventure, 6.1 million thrill to hard adventure and 25 million cross over, doing both.

Q: What activities are considered "hard" adventure?

A: White water rafting; snorkeling and scuba diving; mountain biking and climbing; backpacking; spelunking; skate and snowboarding; hot-air ballooning; hang gliding; parasailing; windsurfing; skydiving; bungee jumping; mountain climbing; and hunting.

Q: Who is into "hard" adventure?

A: Male, single, college-educated, young, from Western, Southern and Mid-Atlantic States.

Q: What is "soft" adventure travel?

A: Camping; biking; hiking; bird and animal watching; sailing; horseback riding; snow and water skiing; canoeing; visit to cattle/ dude ranch; wilderness tour in off-road vehicles; safari.

Q: What is the "soft" adventure profile?

A: Women, Boomers and mature seniors from the West and Northeast U.S.

Q: Traveler Internet users?

A: 76.6 million

Q: How many book trips on the Internet?

A: 6.7 million

ADVENTURE TRAVEL

Getting Ready to Go

How does one choose a destination or a particular type of trip? Budget is one consideration. Then, says Stowell of the Adventure Travel Trade Association (www. adventuretravel.biz), ask yourself what you are dreaming about doing. Hiking in Nepal? Boating the South Pacific? Fishing in Mongolia? With adventure travel, he says, we encourage people to pursue their real dream because there probably is an operator who can help them fulfill it. "Then it comes down to locating a reputable tour operator that has experience with that specific region or sport," he explains. "Make sure the operator is a member of a good trade organization and is insured. Ask for customer references."

In addition, a good tour operator will provide you with an extensive training or preparation schedule, Stowell says. "If they can't provide one, they probably are not the right company for you," he says. "Depending on your travel destination, specific immunizations or medications maybe required. If the trip is rigorous, a health evaluation should always be required by the operator."

Preparation varies for different trips, says George Deeb, CEO of iExplore (www.iexplore.com), a one-stop search engine for adventure and experiential tour packages. "The more physically active the trip, the more exercise you should do to prepare," he says. "So for an Inca Trail hike, which is four days of hiking at elevations as high as 13,000 feet, we would recommend lots of cardiovascular training and climbing activity with some running for endurance and bike riding to build up hiking muscles."

Iexplore.com, partially owned by National Geographic, has been named the best adventure travel website by Forbes Magazine. Its top ten world travel destinations determined by its adventure travel users in 2003 follows:

1) GALAPAGOS

2) PERU

3) EGYPT

4) CHINA

5) CUBA

6) ALASKA

7) ANTARCTICA

8) AUSTRALIA

9) BELIZE

10) NEPAL

Renne Gardner is OC METRO Magazine's OC Outside columnist. Letters to the editor go to: Feedbacfe@ocmetro.com.

Copyright Churm Publishing Jan 20, 2005

Source: OC Metro

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