By: Adam Riley
One question I am often asked when talking about Matty (Clarke) and mine’s attempt to row the infamous Northwest Passage, (a 2,000-mile nautical journey across the top of Canada's Arctic Ocean) is simply “why?”
Most can’t fathom what would compel someone to do something so dangerous. Why would they risk their lives, empty their bank accounts, and leave their families and loved ones for months, just to attempt something so spectacularly useless?
It is a simple question with a not so simple answer. One that has stumped mountaineers, sailors and adventurers of all stripes. When asked in 1923 why he was attempting to summit Everest, legendary mountain climber George Mallory famously said, “because it is there.”
Having struggled to address this question myself, I usually answer in a similarly flippant manner, but it is worth deeper examination.
I have always been enamored with wild places. As a boy, I would read stories like “The Hobbit,” “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and “Treasure Island,” and dream of adventures to come when I was older. I was a bullied child and found my solace in the woods and fields behind my house. When I was finally old enough to get a job, I spent my summers saving for my first big adventure to the most exotic and far-flung place I could imagine – Madagascar.
Anyone Can Do It
Loading up a backpack full of gear and taking that first big leap back in 2003 put me on the long, winding road eventually leading to the Northwest Passage. It is simple to say, “anyone can do it,” but in reality, Matty and I had been preparing for this trip our entire lives.
Every time we stepped off a plane in a foreign land, disappeared into the forest or pushed off from shore, we were training our bodies and our minds to deal with the feeling of danger, discomfort or strangeness that comes with pushing boundaries. And, while I believe anyone can push the limits of their comfort zone and explore the horizon of their capabilities, we each have our own passage to travel. The important thing is you try.
Veteran Greenhorns
Matty and I had no rowing experience before the spring of 2023. I had a small rowing dinghy that I used to get back and forth to my sailboat, but I had never attempted to row more than a few miles. We spoke to several professional rowers and paddlers who had crossed thousands of miles of ocean on their own power. We wanted to know what we were getting ourselves into.
Some were incredulous at the audacity of our plan, but most were entirely supportive. The rowing itself would be the easy part. The exposure to risk, isolation and the physical toll on our bodies were the challenge.
But, those were challenges we had each faced before. Even though we were fledgling rowers we were experienced outdoorsmen and had confidence in our lifetime of preparation for being deep in the Arctic wilderness.
The Fleeting Wild
There are very few truly wild places left on Earth, and the Arctic is one of them. The Nunavut territory stretching over the top of Canada is vast. If it were its own country, it would be the 15th largest in the world. Yet, it is home to less than 35,000 people, roughly the size of Bentonville, Arkansas. For two guys whose lives have been spent pushing ourselves deeper and deeper into the unknown, there was nowhere left – more remote or inaccessible – for us to venture.
The unspoiled beauty of that untouched wilderness called to us. That is the “why.” Mallory was right. We went because it is there, and it is worth knowing. We weren’t chasing glory, or records or accolades. We simply wanted to go where almost no one had been before, and bring some cameras so that we could show everyone why it is worth protecting.
We hope you enjoy our film, and you see that while the land and sea of the Arctic may be “empty” of the things we’re comfortable with, it is full of life. It is a place of wonder and beauty and worth, and should be fought for, tooth and nail, to stay that way.
If only that we might always remember, a little bit of wild remains to be sought.