2064699
home,paged,page-template,page-template-blog-compound,page-template-blog-compound-php,page,page-id-2064699,page-parent,paged-7,page-paged-7,bridge-core-3.1.2,,qode-content-sidebar-responsive,qode-theme-ver-30.1,qode-theme-bridge,wpb-js-composer js-comp-ver-7.1,vc_responsive

The Joy Trip Project

#BlackLivesMatter, Adventure Activism, Alaska, American Rivers, Black Lives Matter, Climate Change, Commentary, Destinations, Diversity, Environmental Journalism, Environmental Protection, Fly Fishing, National Parks, On Assignment / 22.07.2022

This week in Alaska’s Gates of the Arctic National Park, I landed a two and half-foot Northern Pike, the biggest fish I’ve caught in my life. As a small group of anglers, all of African descent, our team on the BlackWaters Expedition was delivered by floatplane to a narrow beach on the banks of the Kobuk River. Led by Chad Brown, founder of the environmental engagement nonprofit Love Is King, this adventure into the least visited of all the national parks aimed to reimagine the face of Arctic...

Black Lives Matter, Books, National Geographic, National Parks, Outdoors For All, PBS / 08.07.2022

Thank you SO much for continuing to follow along on The Joy Trip Project. After 14 seasons of production, I am very grateful for the support and encouragement of readers, viewers and listeners like you. It’s hard to believe that the summer of 2022 is more than half-way through. You’d think that after trek toEverest BaseCamp back in April I’d have enough adventuring for the year. But this weekend I’m heading back to Alaska for a new film project in the Gates of the Arctic National Park. The film...

#BlackLivesMatter, Diversity, Environmental Journalism, Environmental Justice, Interview, PBS, Podcast / 04.07.2022

When the folks at the Public Broadcasting Service went looking for a charismatic personality to host their latest documentary film series on the natural world, they reached out to a man with just the right skills to bring the outdoors into every home in America. Baratunde: My name is Baratunde Thurston. I am a multimedia storyteller operating at the intersection of race, technology, democracy and climate. Because I love this planet. The wild. There's nothing quite like the feeling of stepping outside. And breaking free from the modern world. I'm in...

#BlackLivesMatter, Climbing, Diversity, Everest, Full Circle Everest, National Geographic, Podcast / 30.05.2022

On May12, 2022, history was made as the first team of Black American climbers successfully ascended to the summit of Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world. Known as the Full Circle Everest Expedition, this group of six men and one woman, all of African descent, made it safely to the top of the mountain and back to Everest Base Camp. The team included an array of climbers from across the United States and one native of Kenya. They ranged in age from 26 to 62. And...

Black Lives Matter, Diversity, Everest, Full Circle Everest / 25.05.2022

Early this month the Joy Trip Project Reported that seven members of the Full Circle Everest Team successfully summited the highest mountain in the world. On Thursday, May 12, the group including Manoah Ainuu, Eddie Taylor, Rosemary Saal, Demond “Dom” Mullins, Thomas Moore, James “KG” Kagambi, and Evan Green made it to the top of Mount Everest and in doing so their achievement stands to redefine the cultural landscape of outdoor recreation and the environmental conservation movement of decades to come. The team, led by outdoor educator Philip...

#BlackLivesMatter, Climbing, Everest, Full Circle Everest / 27.04.2022

This is not Ngima Tenji. But this photograph of an unnamed Sherpa climber was inspired by the man who was the first known casualty of the 2022 Mount Everest climbing season in Nepal. The Full Circle Everest Expedition had begun with the trek to BaseCamp just a few days earlier when we heard reports of this tragic death. On April 14, Mr. Tenji was carrying loads from Camp 1 to Camp 2 above the Khumbu Ice Fall. He was found in a seated position still wearing his backpack....