|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
On Newsstands Feb. 18
ADVENTURE MAGAZINE
MARCH 2003
THE WILD HEART OF THE WEST: FOUR CORNERS, TWENTY-ONE TIPS—Combine the standouts of Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico, and you've got the Four Corners, the most adventure-rich region in the United States. Adventure magazine publishes a guide to the best of the best—the top slot-canyon hike, desert rafting run, alpine backpacking trip, and more—from the red rock of Canyonlands to the alpine summits of the San Juans. Page 64.
GHOSTS OF THE WILD HORSE MESA—You can see Utah's Kaiparowits Plateau from a hundred miles away, but few places in the lower 48 are so little known. Does the mesa—flanked by cliffs and cut by canyons—shelter Anasazi ruins, wild stallions, a stolen gold statue of Jesus? There's only one way to find out. Contributing editor David Roberts heads to the region to discover what's really up there. "I reached Navajo Point, where I stared out over one of the most spectacular prospects in the Southwest. I felt a serene contentment in the knowledge of how few people had ever sat where I sat." Page 52.
ADVENTURE GEAR: BACKPACKS—Adventure reports on the best go-anywhere, do-anything bags on the market. Page 92.
FOUR EASY STEPS TO PACK PERFECTION
- Measure your torso. Suspension systems can be adjusted only so much. To get a correctly sized pack, you need to gauge the distance from the C7 vertebra in your neck, which sticks out when you lower your chin, to the L3 vertebra, which aligns with your hips.
- Bring your equipment to the store … and start stuffing. Make sure it all fits and that the pack rides comfortably when loaded.
- Get each model adjusted by a trained salesperson. The process may entail a half dozen tweaks. Until that's done—correctly—you won't be able to choose the right pack.
- Donate your old pack to a group such as Big City Mountaineers, which takes disadvantaged teenagers on wilderness trips. In fact, the final step in nearly any gear purchase can be to donate your old stuff.
THE LAST CAIRN—Adventure writer Chip Brown reports on the heartrending fate of climber Johnny Waterman, who sealed his reputation as the "crazy genius" of Alaskan climbing with his audacious solo ascent of Mount Hunter in 1978. But instead of satisfaction, it brought him sorrow, which would ultimately drive him to the slopes of Mount McKinley, alone in winter, on a "suicide line" for the summit. Page 84.
THE IMPOSSIBLE JOURNEY—The goal was straightforward enough: to sea kayak 800 miles of the Vietnamese coast, from the limestone islands of Ha Long Bay to the beaches south of Da Nang. But straightforward or not, the journey was something that had never been attempted. And in Vietnam, the unknown is sometimes unwelcome. Contributing editor Jon Bowermaster shares his six-week experience: "It is a scene straight out of Waterworld: Scratchy rock music blares, lights flash, fireworks explode, boats zoom in and out, nearly splitting our kayaks in two. Punks in a stripped-down metal boat circle round and round, a wild —drunken?—look in their eyes." Page 74.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE—New columns from Tim Cahill and Robert Young Pelton; bringing home the best hot sauces; adventures in the wild Mediterranean; and the best hiking base camps.
Adventure magazine, winner of two 2002 National Magazine Awards, for General Excellence and Personal Service, was launched in spring 1999 to serve an audience of active, adventurous readers and to propel the National Geographic Society's mission of exploration and discovery into the new century. Published 10 times a year, the magazine is available by subscription (800-NGS-LINE) and on newsstands in the United States ($3.95) and Canada ($5.95).
Adventure's Web site is at www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure; AOL Keyword: NatGeo.
###
CONTACT: Caryn Davidson
+1 212 790 9032
cdavidso@ngs.org
|
