Jane Goodall (1934-) “My family has very strong women. My mother never laughed at my dream of Africa, even though everyone else did because we didn’t have any money, because Africa was the ‘dark continent,’ and because I was a girl.” While I was growing up Jane Goodall was, unsurprisingly, a name that everyone recognized. [...]
Kira Salak (1971-) is a contemporary American explorer best known for her daring adventures, of which, she said, “In the beginning, my journeys feel at best ludicrous, at worst insane.” When she was only 24, she became the first woman to cross Papua New Guinea and after writing a book about her experience, Four Corners: A [...]
“Are we the same people I wonder when all our surroundings, associations, and acquaintances are changed? Here that which is me, which womanlike is an empty jar that the passer by fills at pleasure, is filled with such wine as in England I had never heard of, now the wine is more important than the [...]
Harriet Chalmers Adams (1875-1937) "I’ve wondered why men have so absolutely monopolized the field of exploration...I’ve never found my sex a hinderment; never faced a difficulty which a woman, as well as a man, could not surmount; never felt a fear of danger; never lacked courage to protect myself. I’ve been in tight places and have [...]
Mary Kingsley (1862-1900) “West Africa amused me and was kind to me and was scientifically interesting.” Born on October 13, 1862 in Islington, London, Mary Kingsley was the daughter and oldest child of doctor, writer, and traveler George Kingsley and Mary Bailey. After her parents passed—when she was only 30 years old—Mary was inspired to [...]
Alexandrine "Alexine" Tinne (1835-1869) In speaking of Africa, Alexine Tinne once said, “I have been to that unknown region and I shall return to it again, perhaps out of instinct, like a fly drawn to a flame.” Alexine, as she preferred to be called, was a Dutch photographer, ethnographer, and explorer who traveled extensively in the [...]
Sarah Marquis (born 1972) “Life is short. We don't know when it's going to end. So we need to eat every minute of it. We need to go for it. We need to actually enjoy every second of it.” A modern day adventurer and explorer, Sarah Marquis, is a truly a woman that has achieved [...]
Susan Butcher (1954-2006) “I don’t know the word ‘quit’.” Born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1954, Susan Butcher went to Colorado State University where she studied to become a veterinarian technician. However, her passion for dogsled racing eventually inspired her to move to Alaska, where she competed in her first Iditarod in 1978. The Iditarod, [...]
A lot goes through a dad’s mind in the time it takes an airplane to slowly disappear into the uncertain future, heading somewhere around the globe with his daughter on board. But there are some things bigger than the fear of letting go, and, as I was about to find out, it can be a beautiful discovery. By Greg Philby
