AN ADVENTURE A DAY KEEPS THE

AN ADVENTURE A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY

Text: Anna Kernell / Illustrator: Jorie Einarsen

When does a trip become an adventure? That's a very individual question. Where exactly you draw the line depends on your previous experiences, or perhaps when your fears take over. In any case, you know you're doing it right when you feel you're breaking new ground, when your stomach flutters with excitement, and when you want to give up but instead grab the bull by the horns.

You don't have to climb Everest or throw yourself down wild rapids to chase excitement. Small adventures in everyday life are the building blocks of bigger ones. Also, they're cheaper, less time consuming and more doable. You just have to look a little closer to home. Try to look at normal things slightly differently. An adventure can be doing something ordinary in an extraordinary place or at an unusual time. Something that shakes up established routines and challenges old thought patterns.

We've cooked up some ideas for challenges and everyday adventures that will get you out of that rut and make life a little more fun. Don't sit and wait for a lottery win, vacation or when the stars align. Challenge yourself and your friends – right now!

Fill in the gaps

We’ve become blind to the delights of our home turf. We think we know our city inside and out, that we’ve been everywhere and seen everything worth seeing. Does this sound familiar? Maybe it’s given you something to think about. Go out and explore your city’s forgotten corners and quiet streets. It’s important not to miss a single small backstreet, side passage or alley. It’s even more fun if you take a paper map and mark the completed streets while you go, so you can follow your progress in black and white. No matter how clichéd it sounds, you never really know what you might fi nd around the next corner, unless you actually look.

Become friends with cold water

You don’t have to wait for summer to go swimming. Give an icy dip a chance, you’ll be pleasantly surprised – we promise! Does it feel daunting? Prepare a fi re (or crank up the heating) for when you get back, brew some steaming-hot tea and have some warm pajamas to change into. Nothing gets your endorphins going like doing something your brain doesn’t want you to do!

Get up with the sun

Watch the sunrise from a mountain top. If you don’t live near the mountains and you haven’t booked a holiday to somewhere with impressive views, it’s at least as fun to choose the highest point near you. Check what time the sun rises and calculate how long it’ll take to reach the top so that you get there just in time for the sunset. And pack some breakfast, it’s lovely to enjoy it while you witness the beauty of a sunrise. Afterwards, you still have the whole day ahead of you.

When darkness falls...

…the adventure begins. At night even humdrum activities are more exciting. Your daily run will take on a whole diff erent character when it’s still dark out, with shadows and dark shapes to stimulate your imagination. Buy a headlamp and plan your runs for the wee hours, or schedule a ski trip with a full moon lighting the way.

Happy hour oʹclock

Why wait till the weekend? Get the most out of your weekdays instead. Get away straight after work. Get on a train, on your bike, or go on foot. Just go out into nature. Find a nice place to pitch your tent or sleep in the open air. Fire up your camp kitchen and enjoy a meal that wouldn’t taste as good if you were in your kitchen and let nature’s noises wash away the stress of your working day. The next day, wake up with the sun, take an invigorating morning dip and return to work again. Maybe your body will feel sore and stiff during the day, but you’re guaranteed to be happy.

Let your back rest and your brain work

Make it hard for yourself. Put away the large hiking backpack and bring out a daypack for weekend hiking instead. It won’t fi t everything you usually bring on multi-day trips, so you’ll be forced to think diff erently. Maybe that means only a sleeping mat, light jacket and mosquito net, instead of a tent and sleeping bag. Or you can replace your camp kitchen with timehonoured fi re making techniques. No matter how you pack, the limitations will force you to think creatively, making it a fun project even before you go. One tip is to take your fi rst minimalist steps a reasonable distance from home or from a bus stop. If it doesn’t work out, you can just go home and try another time.

Roll the dice for a new lake

Tired of the same old swimming spots? Time to roll the dice for a lake lottery. Open up your map app or get a paper map of a local area with plenty of lakes. Select six lakes of the desired size and number them 1 to 6. Roll the dice to see which lake you should swim in. Set a goal for the number of lakes you can tick off within one year and let the dice show you where to swim. When it gets cold, just dig out your wetsuit.

Line hike

This is a fun way to make the same old forest walk more fun, make your hikes more challenging and work on your compass and map skills. Make a map of the area you plan to hike or walk in. Draw a line from point A to point B. Next, follow the compass course and walk along the line as straight as you can. Does your line cross a lake or large boulder? If yes, then go over the lake and the boulder, not around them.

Seven (nearby) summits

Climbing the highest mountain peak on each continent (there are seven) is a prestigious achievement in mountaineering circles. You can gain inspiration from that, but skip the trips around the world and set the bar to your own level. Climb the highest mountains, hills or high points in your city or landscape and join the unoffi cial ’seven summits’ club where everyone is welcome.

Remix your festive routine

Weekends. Big meals at the dining table and then straight to the sofa for a nap. Why not celebrate the birth of Jesus, or resurrection for that matter, in a slightly more unconventional manner? Drop a pin on the map and let your guests navigate to a Christmas dinner over an open fi re. Paddle through the endless light of a midsummer night. Gather your friends, dress up as father Christmas, gingerbread men or elves and get out running along the trails, or skating on some frozen lakes (if the ice can take it!) The only limit is your imagination.