By Lee Min-young
When it comes to tests of endurance, there are mental and physical limits to human ability. But humans are capable of far more than we think. And extreme athlete and professional adventurer Ash Dykes is living proof.
Dykes is a British explorer from North Wales and the first recorded person to complete a 4,000-mile (6,400-km) trek along the entire length of the Yangtze River in China, which took him a year to complete.
The Yangtze is the third-longest river in the world and the longest to flow through a single country.
"I just returned from the expedition about three weeks ago," he said. "I feel very skinny and I've lost a lot of weight but I'm feeling great mentally and physically."
In 2014, he became the first person in recorded history to walk unsupported from west to east across Mongolia, which took him 78 days. He also traversed the length of inland Madagascar, trekking 1,600 miles (2,600 km) over eight mountains in 155 days in 2016, also making himself the first person to do so.
He has been undertaking big expeditions around the world for the past 10 years ― from cycling and climbing mountains to hacking through jungles and crossing deserts. After completing his recent mission, Dykes visited Korea to talk about his expeditions at Dulwich College in Seoul.
Hooked on traveling
"I was just an ordinary guy with a normal upbringing," he said. "In college, I got a national diploma in outdoor education and it was probably from that college course that I realized I was more of a kinesthetic learner. I just needed to get out there and learn from other people."
His first expedition started when he was in Cambodia, where he and his friends bought $10 bicycles and ended up cycling Cambodia and the length of Vietnam for two and a half weeks. The cycling was reckless and intense, with no pump and no puncture repair kit.
"But I was just hooked then. I found my niche, I found my passion and from there I didn't want to stop, so I guess I kind of didn't," he said.
He then went to Thailand, crossed the border into Myanmar and learned how to survive in the jungle with a Burmese hill tribe. It was then he learned how to hunt and gather and to build a shelter using natural resources.
He ended up living in Thailand for two years, where he worked as a Muay Thai fighter, competing against the locals to save money for his next expedition. "If you win you get enough money that pays pretty much three or four more months' worth of rent. It was a good payday. If you lose, you go home with nothing. It was a great lifestyle. It was extreme sports, passion and fitness."
From Mongolia to China
After saving enough money, Dykes embarked on his first proper expedition to Mongolia in 2014, which gave him his first world record ― the first person to walk solo and unsupported across Mongolia.
"I was just fascinated with this country that I was completely unfamiliar with," he said. "You've got the eagle hunters in the west, you've got the reindeer herders down south, it just fascinated me."
Dykes had to drag everything he needed to survive on a 120-kilogram trailer ― from the Altai Mountains and Gobi Desert to the Mongolian steppe. It was 1,500 miles and took 78 days.
The severity of the challenge was real.
"Mongolia varied. There were snow blizzards in the Altai and sun blizzards in the Gobi Desert," he said as he recalled how his lips blistered badly and got bloody and dry. "One day I drank my porridge for breakfast and as I put it in my mouth and I put it back down there was a trail of blood and pus back into the porridge. That was how bad my lips were."
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| Ash Dykes on 'Mission Yangtze' / Courtesy of Ash Dykes |
Despite the numerous dangers he had to face and the exhaustion, a year later he went to Madagascar, his next world-first expedition ― where he hiked the length of the country. He hacked through jungles and navigated waters with makeshift rafts, finally completing the 1,600-mile journey in 155 days.
He devised an even more ambitious if not reckless world-first trek to become the first person to walk the length of the Yangtze River. The 4,000-mile, 352-day journey took him from west to east China, through 11 provinces.
Near-death experiences
The scariest moment was when he almost died in the Gobi Desert. In 40-degree heat, his water was running low and he had to ration it. With no natural shelter, he was sleeping from heat exhaustion and quickly slipped to heat stroke from severe dehydration.
"I was hallucinating," Dykes said. "I was delirious and I almost felt my organs drying up. I was really in my worst state. I thought if I don't get up and keep on resting under the trailer, I was going to die out here in the Gobi Desert."
Dykes cut his rest time down to five minutes under the trailer and moved forward for 100 meters before resting again for five minutes. He sank in soft sand in the desert and had to lean forward at a 90-degree angle with the trailer on his back. He luckily made it to the next water source after eight days.
Madagascar was no less dangerous than his previous journey. He hacked through jungles where leeches and spiders would bite him. He also had a near-death experience after contracting the deadliest strain of malaria that almost led to a coma.
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| In 2014, Ash Dykes became the first person in recorded history to walk unsupported from west to east across Mongolia. / Courtesy of Ash Dykes |
Expecting the worst
"I mentally prepare myself before going on an adventure," Dykes said.
He said it is 30 percent physical and 70 percent mental. "I also think of the worst-case scenario so that I don't freak out or panic when that actually happens. So the dangers come as I previously expected and what I trained for."
Though he seems like a reckless adventurer, he spends a lot of time preparing for the worst, planning thoroughly every detail before he sets off.
It took two years of planning before he went on his Yangtze mission. A big team was involved to do extensive research on the dangers, the environment, the altitude, wildlife, and how he was going to prepare for all that. "I was going to survive a year-long journey in extreme temperatures, from minus 20 degrees Celsius to 45-plus degrees Celsius," he said. "I needed meticulous planning."
Besides the planning and being mentally prepared, intense physical training is a must. Before his China trip, he had to prepare for the high altitude as he would be walking up to over 5,100 meters. "I went through severe physical training with an altitude training mask that restricts the oxygen flow to build my lung capacity. It's all about being comfortable with the uncomfortable."
Spreading awareness
Dykes said he would not have made it through without the help of the locals. "The locals were amazing," he said. "They were always welcoming and often invited me into their homes for shelter. Lots of challenges but it had a lot of highlights and positives throughout."
The more hospitality he received from the locals, the more he wanted to give back to the community.
He realized that the expeditions drew a lot of public attention and he thought he could use them for good causes. He started raising funds for Red Cross and spreading awareness on climate change and the effects that it has on the nomadic way of life.
He said there are some 60 organizations in Madagascar helping protect and preserve the unique biodiversity. He said 80 percent of all plant life and wildlife in Madagascar is unique to the country and he wanted to use the publicity of his expedition to shine a light on the importance of protecting the environment and the way the locals live.
"I wanted to continue doing what I am passionate about and at the same time help the country I am traveling through."
Mission possible
The fact that no one has found a way to do something makes it look daunting but it doesn't mean that it can't be done, he says. In his early days of traveling, he remembers how daunting the idea of traveling to another country was. As he worked through that, the stakes grew bigger and he suddenly found himself planning expeditions he had never thought would be possible.
"Whatever dream, whatever goal or vision you have, it does not matter if no one else sees it for you," he said. "It's important that you can see it for yourself."
The message he wants to get out is that holding your own vision and staying determined while enjoying what you do and going after your dream is the power of the mind that makes anything possible.
Dykes said what motivates him is his curiosity and fascination with meeting new people, hearing new stories, soaking up different cultures, and the impact his own story has on people around the world. This is why he is touring schools Asia to spread his message and inspire young students to never fear taking on challenges.
"I don't know what I will be up to next, but I think I will definitely be planning on another adventure in the future. It's my passion. I'm just a happy guy that loves to go out on adventures and learn through them."
