The Ultimate Bucket List of Epic Adventures!

I heard one time that having a long bucket list meant you were a very optimistic person. Or, that you’re silly and delusional, I forget which. But the gist is that if you have a long bucket list, you are imagining a future full of life and experiences. And, while a 370 item (plus an extra 42 mountains to summit and 28 long trails to hike/run) bucket list is…more than a bit excessive…I like to think that this list is an aspirational guideline for when I need inspiration.

I think I wrote my original bucket list sometime in late middle school or early high school. It was on some paper printed with the 1997 USPS World of Dinosaurs stamp design (yep, I was a dino nerd as a kid and no, I didn’t grow out of it). It was the size of standard printer paper (8.5 x 11 inches) and I filled it margin-to-margin front and back. I’ve still got that original bucket list tucked away in a notebook somewhere, but I keep a digital copy now and added to it extensively about two years ago. I still add items to it (perhaps at an unsustainably faster rate than I check items off), but like I said, this bucket list is more adventure inspiration.

And because I haven’t written a blog post in a long while, and because it’s the end of the year and I’m reflecting on 2020 and looking forward to 2021, I figured it might be a nice opportunity to share my ultimate bucket list, note what I’ve achieved this year, and what to plan next.

So! Without further ado, I present to you:

The Ultimate Bucket List of Epic Adventures!

• Write a book

• Get an advanced degree (Master’s or PhD)

• Complete yoga teacher training

• Hike the Appalachian Trail (AT)

• Hike the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT)

• Hike the Continental Divide Trail (CDT)

• Hike the Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST)

• Run a marathon on all 7 continents

• Run the Polar Bear marathon

• Run the Big Five marathon

• Run Big Sur marathon

• Kayak along Alaska coast

• Explore ice caves

• Take an award-winning photo

  ✓ Rock climb inside

  ✓ Rock climb outside

  ✓ Lead climb

  ✓ Lead climb outdoors

  • October 2020 (RRG)

• Trad climb

• Rock climb a desert tower

• Climb Devils Tower

• Climb sea cliffs/deep water solo

• Go ice climbing

  ✓ Run a half marathon

  ✓ Run a marathon

  ✓ Run an ultramarathon (50K)

  ✓ Run a 40 miler

  • February 2020

• Run a 50 miler

• Run a 100K

• Run a 100 miler

• Do a 24 hour race

• See Machu Picchu

• See Egyptian pyramids

• See Chichen Itza (Mexico)

• Backpack through Patagonia

• Hike Everest base camp

• Climb Kilimanjaro

  ✓ Hike in the Alps

• Climb in the Alps

• Do a Via Ferrata

• Hike the Jurassic Coast

• Hike the Camino de Santiago

• See the Acropolis

• See the Monaco Formula 1 race

• See the Baja 1000 race

• See a rally race

• See Red Bull Rampage

• Go skydiving

• Raft the New River

• Raft the Nantahala River

• Cowboy camp/Sleep under the stars

• ✓ Go to an active paleontology or archaeology site

  ✓ Study abroad

• Live abroad

• Spend a month in Australia

• Spend a month in New Zealand

• See Lake Wanaka

• Explore Croatia

• Explore Dolomites

• Visit Lake Garda

• Hike Cinque Terra

• Hike Scotland

• Hike Ireland

• Visit Berlin

  ✓ Visit Paris

  ✓ Visit London

  ✓ Visit Rome

• Visit Venice

• Visit Morocco

• Visit Amsterdam

• Visit Santorini

• Visit Dublin

• Visit Edinburgh

  ✓ Go to a medieval city

• Hike/explore Petra

• Run Wadi Rum Ultra (now called Ultra X Jordan)

• Do an adventure race

• See Ellora Caves

• See a boiling lake (Dominica)

• See the Iditarod

• Do the human Iditarod

• Visit Prague

• Visit Nairobi

• Visit Beijing

• Visit Shanghai

• Visit Bangkok

• Visit Chiang Mai

• Visit Phuket

  ✓ Go snorkeling

• Scuba dive

• Swim with manta rays

  ✓ Swim with sharks w/a cage

• Swim with sharks w/o a cage

• Swim with jellyfish (Jellyfish Lake, Palau)

• See flamingos at Laguna Colorada (Red Lake)

• See Andean flamingos at Chile’s Altiplano

• See flamingos at Lake Nakuru (Kenya)

• See Lake Hiller (pink lake)

• See Lake Natron (Tanzania)

• See Plitvice Lakes (Croatia)

• See Lake Bled (Slovenia)

• See Lake Baikal (Siberia)

• See Door to Hell (Turkmenistan)

• See Centralia burning coal seam

• Climb K2

• Hike 14ers

• Visit the Amazon

• Eat something really weird

• Go skiing

• Go snowshoeing

• Go luging

  ✓ Go dog sledding

• Go horseback riding in wilderness

  ✓ Bushwack with just a map and compass

  • 2020 x 2! Ruben Mtn summit and NRG, WV

• Get wilderness first aid training

• Sail around the world

• Sail the Mediterranean

• Sail the Caribbean

• See an oasis

Climb at Yosemite

• Climb at Hueco Tanks

• Climb at Joshua Tree

  ✓ Climb at New River Gorge, WV

  • June 2020

  ✓ Climb at Red River Gorge, KY

  • October 2020

  ✓ Climb a 5.10 outdoors

  • October 2020

• Climb a 5.11 outdoors

  ✓ Learn German

• Learn French

• Learn Italian

• Learn Spanish

  • In progress 2020

• Learn Chinese

• Learn Japanese

• Learn Swahili

• Learn American Sign Language

  ✓ Donate to charity

• Build something

• Live zero waste

• Save a life

• Change a law

• Change someone’s mind

• Share experience with someone in need of mentorship

• Backpack through Europe

✓ Go whitewater rafting

• Go on a safari

• Visit a European Christmas market

• Visit Japan

• Visit Fiji

• Visit Borneo

• Visit Turks & Caicos

• Go to Costa Rica

  ✓ Go to a bioluminescent bay

• Go cliff jumping

• Go to Norway, stand on edge of Trolltunga and Preikestolen

• Go to Iceland

• See the Northern Lights

• Spend a night in an igloo

• Spend a night in an ice hotel

• Spend a night in a yurt

  ✓ Spend a night in a houseboat

• Spend a night in a tiny house

• Spend a night in an airstream

• Spend a night in a treehouse

• Spend a night in an over-water bungalow

  ✓ Spend a night on a swamp platform

• Go to Giant’s Causeway

• ✓ Get close to a volcano

• Get reeeeeeallly close to a volcano

  ✓ See a volcano erupt

• See a volcano explode!

• Go volcano boarding!

• Walk on lava!

• ✓ Swim in the Atlantic Ocean

  ✓ Swim in the Pacific Ocean

• Swim in the Indian Ocean

• Swim in the Arctic Ocean

• Swim in the Southern Ocean

  ✓ Swim in the Mediterranean Sea

• Swim in the Red Sea

• See Grand Canyon

• Run R2R2R

• Raft the Grand Canyon/Colorado River

• Raft the Ocoee

• Raft the Chattooga

• Hike Angel’s Landing

• Hike Cotopaxi

• Hike Na Pali coast

  ✓ Go to a coffee farm

• Learn how to roast coffee beans

• Learn how to make latte art

• Go to a pineapple farm

• Mountain bike in Moab

• Explore Badlands

• Bike across America

• See a coconut crab in the wild

• Trail run Art Loeb Trail

• Trail run Shut-in Trail

  ✓ Go to a luau

• Attend High Tea

• Attend a traditional Chinese tea ceremony

  ✓ Attend a Native American Pow Wow

• Visit Galapagos

• See baby turtles hatch

• See Old Faithful erupt

• See Grand Prismatic Spring

• See Blue Grotto

• See Marble Caves (Chile)

✓ See a castle

✓ See Biltmore Estate

• See Neuschwanstein

  ✓ See a black sand beach

• See a green sand beach

• See a pink sand beach

• Go to the equator

• Go to the South Pole

• Go to the North Pole

• See Nazca lines

• Hike in a bamboo forest

• Feel zero gravity

• See wolves in the wild

• See a snow leopard

• Walk on a frozen body of water

  ✓ Do an overnight backpacking trip

  ✓ Do an overnight paddling trip

• Do an overnight climbing trip (sleep on the wall)

• See the Great Wall of China

• See terracotta soldiers (Xi’an)

• Climb the Stairway to Heaven

• Mountain bike in Whistler

• See Angkor Wat

• Go bungee jumping

• Go base jumping

• Jump into a cenote

• Slide down a waterfall

• Go canyoneering

  ✓ Go spelunking

  ✓ Go spelunking in Mammoth Caves

• Go spelunking in Carlsbad Caverns

• See an atoll

• See a ghost town

• See the running of the bulls

• See a BPL soccer game

• See a German Bundesliga game

• See a La Liga game

• See an All Black game

• Bike through Tuscany

• Bike through Provence

• Bike the Danube Bike Trail

• See lavender fields in Provence

• See tulips in Amsterdam

• See Holi

• See Diwali

• See an eagle huntress in Nepal

• Go hang gliding

• Go skateboarding

• Hike a knife edge ridge

• See Watkins Glen

• See Thor’s Well

• See Erawan waterfalls

• See Multnomah Falls

• Touch a dolphin

• Touch a whale

• Touch an elephant

  ✓ See a lunar eclipse

  ✓ See a meteor shower

  ✓ See a solar eclipse

  ✓ Feel an earthquake

• Drive the Blue Ridge Parkway during peak fall foliage

• See synchronized fireflies

  ✓ Touch a glacier

• See Glacier NP

• Hike in Yosemite

• Hike in Alaska

• See a wild Komodo dragon

• See a spirit bear

• See grizzlies catch salmon

• See a narwhal

• See a mustang round-up

• Explore Dominica

• Explore Reunion Island

  ✓ See Mont Blanc

• See Matterhorn

• Run UTMB

• Run Hardrock

• Run Leadville

• See where oceans converge

• Go to the top of a lighthouse

• Go glamping

• Collect honey from a beehive

• Forage wild mushrooms

• Stomp grapes

• See wild chimpanzees

• See wild mountain gorillas

• Kayak the Everglades

• Explore the coast of Maine

• Go surfing

• Follow the Tour de France

  ✓ See a Women’s World Cup game in person

• See the Olympics in person

• See a Wimbledon game in person

• ✓ Visit Pompeii

  ✓ Visit the Vatican

  ✓ See the Coliseum

• Visit the Sagrada Familia

  ✓ Visit Notre Dame cathedral

• Visit MOMA

  ✓ Visit British Museum

  ✓ Visit Louvre

• See glow worms!

• See Mont-Saint-Michel

• See Forbidden City

• Hike Haiku Stairs

• Hike in the Black Forest

• Visit Medina

• Float in the Dead Sea

• Explore Greenland

• Bathe in a hot spring

• Summit a high mountain

Mountains to Summit:

• Aconcagua

• Andrews Tarn

• Annapurna trek

• Aoraki/Mt Cook (New Zealand)

• Carstensz Pyramid (Indonesia)

• Cerro Chirripo (Costa Rica)

• Cotopaxi

• Denali

• El Capitan

  ✓ Flatirons

• Fuji (Japan)

• Half Dome

• Kilauea

• Kilimanjaro (Tanzania)

• Kirkjufell (Iceland)

• Longs Peak

• Maroon Bells

• Matterhorn

• Mauna Kea

• Mauna Loa

• Mont Blanc

• Mount Saint Helens

• Mt Mitchell

• Mt Elbrus (Russia)

• Mt Hood

• Mt Katahdin

• Mt Kosciuszko (Australia)

• Mt Logan (Canada)

• Mt Temple (Banff, Canada)

• Mt Toubkal (Morocco)

• Mt Whitney

• Mt Washington

• Pikes Peak

• Presidentials

• Shasta

• Snowdonia (Wales)

  ✓ Table Rock

• Torres del Paine (Chile)

• Vinicunca (Peru - rainbow mtn)

• Vinson Massif (Antarctica)

  ✓ Wilson Ridge (Grayson Highlands)

• Zhangjiajie (China)

• See Great Barrier Reef

• See African Rift Valley

• Explore Marieta Islands, Mexico

• Hike the rainbow mountains

• Hike Antelope Canyon

• See Niagara Falls

• See Victoria Falls

• See Kaieteur Falls

• Hike in Sahara

• Hike in Death Valley

• Hike in Kalahari

• Hike in Gobi

• Hike in Sonora

• Hike in Namib

• Visit every state in USA

• Run a marathon in every state in USA (aka 50 States/50 Marathons)

• Run an ultramarathon in every state in USA (aka 50 States/50 Ultras)

• Run all the World Majors marathons

• Do an Ironman

• Run a 5:30 mile

• Go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans

• Go to Carnival in Venice

• Go to Carnival in Rio de Janeiro

• Go to Oktoberfest in Munich

• Go to Dia de los Muertos in Mexico

• Drink absinthe

  ✓ Drink Pernod

  • January 2020

• Go to a burlesque show

  ✓ See a Broadway musical

  ✓ See Wicked

  ✓ See Hamilton

• See a space shuttle launch

• Chase a tornado

• Ride Amtrak across America

• Go fly fishing

• See the red crab migration at Christmas Island

See the Seychelles

• See the Redwoods

• See the Taj Mahal

• See Christ the Redeemer

• See Stonehenge

• Visit Easter Island

• Explore Turkey

• Visit a Tibetan monastery

• Visit the Wailing Wall

• Explore Iguazu Falls

• See salt flats

• Skinny dip

• Learn archery

• Learn sabrage

• Learn how to lockpick

• Learn jumpers (on a horse)

Long Trails to Hike:

• Appalachian Trail

• Pacific Crest Trail

• Continental Divide Trail

• Mountains-to-Sea Trail (NC)

• Long Trail

• Lost Coast Trail

• Ice Age Trail

• Foothills Trail

• Benton Mackaye Trail

• Wonderland Trail

• R2R2R

• Camino de Santiago

• Allegheny Trail

• Art Loeb Trail

• Bartram Trail

• Colorado Trail

• Florida Trail

• Iditarod Trail

• John Muir Trail

• Long Path

• Oregon Coast Trail

• Ouachita Trail

• Ozark Highlands Trail

• Ozark Trail

• Palmetto Trail

• Tahoe Rim Trail

  ✓ Uwharrie Trail

• Virginia Creeper Trail

Conclusion

So what do you think of the list? Okay, yes, this list is very excessive, but like I said, it’s more aspirational/inspirational than achievable, lol. But out of this list, what have you done? Or, what did I miss?! Let me know in the comments!