My answer to this email was simple and direct: “You lost motivation and you hadn’t prepared enough!”

Mikael: “Resting and eating are vital to your success.”

His email was similar to hundreds I have received in the last 25 years. After reviewing all of them at length, I realised these failed expeditions often had three things in common: Explorers had lost motivation, and they had failed to understand the need for good sleep, and the benefits of good food.

Why not try these simple solutions to make your Expedition a success?

When the going got too tough, they proved not tough enough to keep on going! Key to any successful expedition is understanding why you go through all these hardships – at the most difficult of moments remember what it is that drives you, and draw on this, it can be your motivation.

Good sleep and good food are the two most important pillars of a successful expedition. If you don’t know how and where to pitch your tent, you will eventually fail due to lack of sleep.

The tent is your fortress and your home, where you spend most of your exploring life. This is where you rest, feed and recuperate. Don’t set off on an expedition until you can sleep very well in your tent. I have spent over 2500 nights in tents – many of them before even setting off.

As important, is being able to cook a great meal. You need energy and rest to be able to make the right decisions. So don’t leave before you know how to cook a gourmet meal on your petrol stove!

That said, you could just get out there! Trust me, this advice is only complementary; you really need to be out on the ground learning the lessons of exploration, if you want to succeed.

The camp on the rim of the escarpment overlooking Wadi Ghul

Aaah, great being back in Oman again! Question is, for how long?

Yesterday I spent my first night in a tent since the beginning of January 2007 when I slept high up on a mountain in a snow storm in Grövelsjön, Sweden. Two and a half years is far too long a time! Even though I have have slept more than 2500 nights in a tent throughout my life, I have forgotten how good it was. Fresh air, a sense of total freedom -I just miss this feeling and state of being so much- and just…pure happiness! I had initially difficulties to sleep. I don´t think I slept at all really…I just lay there in the full moon, camped on a very steep escarpment overlooking the Grand Canyon of Oman – Wadi Ghul, enjoying life. First my thoughts drifted of to the Bedu of before, who had a life free of consumerism and obstacles to feel completely free, I wondered if that would be possible today? A slight wind pushed the tent on and off and a bunch of goats went through the rubbish left next to the smoking fire most of the night and I spent my night looking back on the life which had kept me away from sleeping in a tent for such a long time. Sometimes life just takes a different route than wished for but at the end of it, the new, unknown route could well be the better one! In my case, I know it is! Two and a half years ago I had no idea that I once would prepare for an Expedition bigger than the Siberian one. It seemed impossible. But here I am today, in Oman, trying to get ready for the trip through the Arab world. Together with one of my three partners to come, P. Nasr and Salim are working at the airport and in the military and won´t join us until things have been sorted out regarding when to start the Expedition, which still seems way off. Until than P and myself, we will get ready for the Expedition to come. Right now, doing research and training physically.

View over the camp where the trek start, called W 6....

Until yesterday we have just walked the beaches of Muscat in the heat of the day to acclimatize since we arrived here 10 days ago. However, both of us, have trained at least 3-4 times a week for the last two years, me at gyms, P a variety of physical training. But, yesterday we decided it was time to test how far we still have to go before we are ready to leave. So we decided to climb Omans highest mountain, Jebel Shams, 3075 meters above sea level (9872 feet).

Before I get into a brief description of the climb, I´d like to say that when it comes to preparing for a big Expedition physically, I have changed my training from like for example a Facebook-pal of mine, Ripley Davenport, who right now prepares for his journey by dragging tires plus having a 20 kg rucksack on his back -amazing!- like I did before the Siberian journey, since I ain´t that young anymore, I have to be careful not over training, e.g getting injuries which never heals, and therefore have to use the first face of the Expedition in itself as preparation physically. I just have to keep my body in good shape, but not more. Or less. Anyway, back to the trek:

We got a late start after a reasonably failed breakfast and left a tourist camp at the start of the hike at around 08.15, with the words from the caretaker that the climb to the top was 3 hours up and three hours down. In total six hours. I didn´t trust his assessment a lot, since he was a mountain Bedu. A sign at the entrance just said 5 hours. One way or both ways? We would find out. It took us 5 hours to get just below the military camp located on the peak itself, just half an hour away, before we decided to return, due to total lack of water. Since I have been away for such a long time from anything even resembling trekking, I did so many mistakes. Not enough water, forgot my knife, utensils to eat with, a compass, altitude meter and watch. It was a rough scramble through sharp rock all the way up, but a spectacular trek due to the amazing scenery overlooking Wadi Ghul. I have enjoyed the scenery over Wadu Ghul before, I have even been inside it, visiting an interesting village of mountain Bedu at its end, but hiking up along all its rim is just amazing! It just has to be done!

Hiking down the trail overlooking Wadi Ghul

The route to the top was marked irregularly with a red, white and yellow flag painted on rocks and at times we had difficulties finding them and that is another thing which happens when you haven´t been doing this for awhile, you kind of loose your sense of direction initially and can´t see the overall picture, so therefore it took some time to get to the top. Or, just below it. We decided to abort the mission in strong heat just after one o´clock, to get down to camp before darkness. Even though the climb up was demanding, going down on sharp rock, through a very dry bush landscape, was demanding in its on way. No water, strong sun and continuously concentrated not to do a mistake by stepping on a loose stone and  fall and brake something vital, took a lot of energy and when arriving back at camp at 16.15 we were really tired. Knees, ankles…..we hike in trainers, since we need to strengthen feet, heels and ankles…heels and thighs where burning as the facial skin. But it was a good first test and as a whole, we are not far off being ready.

A view over Jebel Shams from the road leading up to the start of the trek.

The hike in itself was one long scramble, but really well worth doing. The only animal life seen was the odd skink or lizard and of course goats and donky´s plus their whistling herders. The people who live here are mountain Bedu. And yes, I did see a pair of ravens….I hope it is a good sign. And it sure was a good Pepsi at the end of it!

And it is really good being back in Oman again, with the great people here and the enormous amount of possibilities for the outdoor life!

I am a very, very privileged human being and enjoy life more than ever!

…and he will travel the world.

That is what my sister said when she was pushing me around in a stroller 47 years ago, when she met a neighbor and briefly stopped and talked to her. I learned that yesterday when I visited my American sister Sarah and met the neighbor. Since than I have traveled to 113 countries and spent more than 2500 nighs in a tent, many of them in a tent which you see to the right here. Photo is taken in the Sinai desert and this was one of the scariest nights in my life. Soon I will pass here again and I will worry less. Since than I have already met the worst demon of all.

As you can see, if you click on the photo to enlarge it, I have even been able to get my bicycle in, the one I used when I cycled from New Zealand to Cairo 1994-96, The reason was that i had been attacked the night before and was worried beyond belief. And trying to sleep then, isn´t easy. I just lay there in the dark, shivering, frightened, listening to every movement, just in case, somebody had spotted me leaving the main road and hiding behind this set of rocky outcrops, coming there to rob me, kill me…well, that is how the mind goes. Eventually i fell asleep, probably an hour before the arrival of dawn. Suddenly it happened!

Somebody attacked me, hit me hard in the right eye, I screamed and yelled, kicked and fought back against the attacker, and I shouted:

“You shouldn´t have done that!”

The attacker turned out being…..my bike. Strong wind had arrived and the bike just fell over and I got the end of my handlebar in my right eye….I did manage to brake a spoke and make life even more complicated, since I still, after almost 90 000 km:s and 7.5 years on a push bike, I still didn´t know how to adjust a spoke properly.

Another voice from the past also turned up yesterday, Bengt, a guy I worked with 1984-85, when saving money to do my first Expedition, from Chile to Alaska on a push bike, at a workshop manufacturing saw blades. He was my boss than and he´s kept track on me ever since and remembers the day I left for Chile. It was the same day the premier of Sweden, Olof Palme, was executed on a street in Stockholm. He came to honor me, traveled a big distance to do that, and that is such a privilege to experience.

I wish I was in Chile right now, because strong winds, grey sky and damp, bone chilling cold has arrived to Stockholm. I thought about yemen this morning and than thi article by a friend, Tim, showed up. Read it here!