Miksi, oi miksi?

Seikkailukaveriltani Greg Maudilta on kysytty lukemattomia kertoja “Why?”

Kysyjät ihmettelevät sitä, miksi hän,  huippuyliopistoista (mm. MIT) valmistunut kahden lapsen isä lähti juoksemaan kanssani Kalaharin autiomaan ja Grönlannin jäätikön halki.

Tai kiipeämään Everestin huipulle ja soutamaan Atlantin halki.

Tässä on Gregin vastaus:

“A lot of people ask why I set out on these often crazy trips and to be honest, I don’t know.

They take me away from my precious family and I miss them every second I’m away. And I know they worry about me when I’m gone. So why? Are they fun? It depends how you define fun, I guess.

Adventures aren’t really adventures unless there’s some element of danger. They can be gruelling. Mentally and physically they can grind you down until all you can think about is just putting one step in front of the other. You’re either freezing in sub-zero temperatures or your skin is blistering from the heat even when you’re in the shade.

They push you far beyond limits you never knew existed. It can be heart-breakingly lonely and there have been a few times when I thought I’d never get home. But the call of adventure is so strong that it’s a need. Fulfilling that need makes me feel blazingly alive.

Some people have to travel beyond the known horizon every now and then.

I’m one of them.