In just a few short months, I will board a plane with my bicycle and fly to the one of the northernmost towns in Alaska. After cycling through Alaska, Canada, and the U.S., I will proceed south through the Americas and all the way to the southern tip of Argentina while backpacking in natural areas along the way.

“It is all right to do good to others and lead upright lives, but there is time for that later; and there are other things, for which the time is now or never.” – L.Tolstoy, Family Happiness

This journey might seem crazy when compared to the lives most people live, but I don’t think it’s so ludicrous. Rather than the cement cityscapes and physical comfort that underlie much of modern life, I need nature and new experiences to be the bricks and mortar of my consciousness and actions. Not everyone can or should go on a long bike tour, but I believe that a relationship with the natural world, travel, and adventure are vital to living a mindful and fulfilling life.

The natural world, on a physical level, is the very foundation of life. Wetlands cleanse our drinking water of pollutants, and insects pollinate our crops. The oxygen we breathe was once exhaled by trees and is soon to be inhaled by them and recycled.

There are also proven links between greenery and emotional health; nature’s gifts extend far past the mitochondria and alveoli of the physical realm. Renowned primate researcher, Jane Goodall, said she learned to keep the peace of the forest within, something I have noticed in myself. I can’t quantify it or even measure it, but I feel it even when I venture into the concrete jungle.

I’m a much calmer and healthier person than I once was.

For all its physical and emotional gifts, nature is almost never the paradise it is oftentimes made out to be. There are jaw-dropping vistas and more stars than you can count, but there are also armies of bloodthirsty mosquitoes, thermometer-breaking temperatures, and the dangers inherent to venturing away from humanity. Yes, the challenges are formidable, but because of their magnitude, the rewards for facing them are ample: physical ability, self-sufficiency, a lucid mind, escape from crowds, and freedom of body and soul. For me, the juice is worth the squeeze.

In addition, being able to enjoy life without comforts like climate control helps me realize that so many modern inventions that make life easier are not necessary for happiness or health. Many of the students that I teach, not ever having lived without a TV, find it almost unthinkable that I don’t have or want one!

Travel, whether to Alaska, Guatemala, or the next city over, has its own challenges. It’s entirely natural, rational or not, to fear what we don’t know, and even when the drive is there, it’s still difficult to find the time and money to get up and go. I’ve had enough ambition, time, and money for my trip, and preparing continues to test me. The proverbial suitcase I will live out of for the next 18 months has to have everything I need to survive bears, snow, dirty water, remote areas, pickpockets, extreme heat, injury, and everything in between. Oh, and I’ll be carrying it the whole time, so I’ve got to pack light! Again, the juice is worth the squeeze, for traveling endows countless rewards.

One of the sites to be seen on this journey.

Meeting new people and seeing new perspectives are key to understanding the world and how we fit into it. Throughout my journey, a priceless education awaits: in foreign cultures, in the Spanish language, in the glory and fury of the wilderness, and in my own mental and physical limitations. I will also have the chance to strengthen – and surely, at times, strain – my own relationship, for my wonderful girlfriend Tamara will be accompanying me. The initiative for this challenge has been as much hers as it has been mine. After 18 months of being squashed in a tent together, we’ll either love or hate each other a lot.

Might I fail? Maybe.

But seeing as I’m young and able, and that I may never have another opportunity to do something as original and challenging as this, I’m going to attempt to cycle and backpack from Alaska to Argentina. The real failure would be to never try, and that goes for everyone. Of course, each person’s individual fears and desires dictate what adventure means to them; for all of us it’s about leaving our comfort zones behind. This is no easy feat, but when we challenge ourselves through nature, travel, or something else, we come out stronger on the other side. New experiences are worth the pains and perils. Get out there!

Follow my journey starting June 2014 at bikesandbackpacks.blogspot.com

At High Trails Outdoor Science School, we literally force our instructors to write about elementary outdoor education, teaching outside, learning outside, our dirty classroom (the forest…gosh), environmental science, outdoor science, and all other tree hugging student and kid loving things that keep us engaged, passionate, driven, loving our job, digging our life, and spreading the word to anyone whose attention we can hold for long enough to actually make it through reading this entire sentence. Whew…. www.dirtyclassroom.com