Shouting from my shed

Get the latest news, updates and happenings via my shed-based newsletter.

field

The Summer Solstice Microadventure Challenge is Back!

Get Involved...
 

microadventure montage

It’s time for the fourth annual Summer Solstice Microadventure Challenge!

Enter the Summer Solstice Microadventure challenge and win great prizes from Mountain Equipment howies and Osprey Packs (see below for prizes). 

On the weekend of June 20/21, the longest day of the year, we want as many people as possible to try a microadventure.

If you have never wild camped before, this is your chance.

If you have never solo camped before, this is your chance.

If you have never slept on a hill with your friends, your family, your work colleagues, this is your chance.

Here is the Plan

What?

Head out and have an overnight microadventure. You can do it by yourself, with someone you love or with your friends. Or you can make some new friends through your local Microadventure Group and make a plan with them. It can be as long or as short as you like, just so long as you are out overnight and you use a bivvy bag not a tent. Sleep on a hill, swim in a river, have fun!

Tell the story of your microadventure. You might want to make a film, write a blog post, publish a photo essay, paint a picture, or just snap some cool photos on your phone. Do whatever you want to do. The main thing, of course, is to get out and enjoy the microadventure. Share your trip online, either via the Microadventures Facebook page or with the #microadventures hashtag on Instagram and Twitter.

I’mll keep an eye on it all and pick the winners. (The main winning, of course, is just the experience of getting out into nature and enjoying your microadventure.) There are two ways of increasing your chances of winning a prize: doing a really cool microadventure, and documenting it in a really cool way.

You may, of course, not care about sharing your story. That’s OK too.

How?

If you need help working out where to go, what to pack, or what happens if it rains, click here.

If you’re struggling to come up with an exciting idea, have a nosey around here.

Where?

If you’re doing the Year of Microadventure Challenge you should head back to the place you went for your equinox adventure back in March (unless you’d rather go somewhere else!). Otherwise, find somewhere wild and beautiful close to where you live. Try to choose somewhere that’s tricky to get to so that there is a degree of challenge involved (but not so tricky that you don’t actually bother beginning). Climb a hill. Pedal, paddle or swim somewhere. Head to the coast or the woods. Go somewhere you’ve never been. Go somewhere you haven’t been for years. Go somewhere you see every day but have never spent the night. Go where you like, just go!

When?

Ideally you’ll do this on the solstice weekend of June 20/21 (it’s also Father’s Day, by the way). It’s the longest, lightest weekend of the year, and it would be great to have a concentrated mass of people getting out and doing cool stuff that weekend.

However, I know people are busy, and there’s always a chance of terrible weather that weekend, so you can actually do your microadventure any time between now and the end of June to be in with a chance of winning a prize.

Why?

Having a focussed timeframe to do this microadventure makes it much more likely that you will actually commit to doing it. Seeing other people making their plans on social media helps encourage action too. And having a microadventure is a brilliant, fun thing to do.

And, if these are not motivation enough, you can win some great prizes too. (The companies who have kindly donated these prizes would love to see some pics on social media of you using their stuff, but that’s up to you really.) Prizes include:

Sleeping bags from Mountain Equipment (£270)

sleeping bags

Talon / Tempest rucksacks from Osprey (£85)

osprey

Helium / Shelium jackets from howies (£49)

A lightweight weather-resistant jacket. Packs down small enough to put in your back pocket and weighs less than your phone.

howies

Booby Prizes

prizes

OTHER STUFF:

Inspiration

Here are some winning entries from the past. Let’s raise the standard even higher this year!

Please do me a favour and share this post on your Twitter or Facebook page! Thank you.

Read Comments

You might also like

10500 Days (and almost as many words) “My thoughts first turned to adventure 10,500 days ago today. The idea of adventure for me at first was simple and uncomplicated. It was the prospect of excitement, fun, and novelty that were pulling me forward, and the push of […]...
Survey results: What direction shall I go next? I recently asked the wonderful readers of my newsletter for a bit of advice on what things I should focus my attention on for the next few months and years. I thought I’d share the results here, partly to show […]...
Embracing the Adventurous Spirit in Life and Leadership In the journey of life, we often find ourselves at crossroads, contemplating the path less traveled versus the familiar road. Drawing parallels from a life dedicated to adventure, we can extract profound lessons that not only motivate us but also […]...
 

Comments

  1. Zac Posted

    Solstice microadventure? Check! Parked at Glen Tanar and walked over Mount Keen to Glen Mark. Wild camped overnight and watched the dulling of the sun through thick cloud from 10pm. Watched it get lighter from 3am through thick cloud. Cooked bacon on an open fire and walked back along the ancient Firmouth Path. Midges were out in force, otherwise a great trip.

    Reply
  2. Steve Posted

    Im in…great trip down the Wye. Only got wet once! Thank rain.
    http://adventuresforthecommonman.blogspot.co.uk/

    Reply

 
 

Post a Comment

HTML tags you can use: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

 

Shouting from my shed

Get the latest news, updates and happenings via my shed-based newsletter.

© Copyright 2012 – 2015 Alastair Humphreys. All rights reserved.

Site design by JSummertonBuilt by Steve Perry Creative