Hey {{first_name | Explorer}},

This is Adventure Fix, the newsletter that helps you discover extraordinary journeys and experiences across the globe.

Here’s what we've got for you today:

Seeing a Himalayan brown bear in the wild is something that stays with you forever. These bears are incredibly rare,only a few hundred remain across the Himalayas, so spotting one feels like witnessing something ancient and wild.

They survive in just a few remote places, like Ladakh in northern India and Deosai National Park in northern Pakistan. Both landscapes are stark and beautiful, with sweeping plateaus, icy streams, and endless skies. It’s easy to spend hours scanning the slopes for movement before realizing that dark, lumbering shape in the distance is actually a bear.

They’re huge, but there’s something surprisingly calm about the way they move. Sometimes you’ll see one flipping over rocks looking for bugs or berries, or just wandering through the grass before vanishing into the cliffs again.

When you finally see one, it’s not just about the bear. It’s the thin mountain air, the total silence, and that feeling that you’re standing in a world that’s still truly wild. You leave with this quiet sense of awe, and maybe a bit of gratitude that places like this, and animals like the Himalayan brown bear still exist.

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Kayaking from Grey Glacier all the way to Puerto Natales is one of the most unforgettable ways to experience Patagonia. The trip starts up at Grey Lake in Torres del Paine National Park, where you launch your kayak right among floating icebergs that have broken off the massive Grey Glacier.

The water is cold and glassy, and the glacier looms ahead in shades of blue you didn’t even know existed. It’s quiet except for the creaking of the ice and the sound of your paddle cutting through the water.

From there, you follow the Grey River as it winds through canyons and past rocky cliffs, with the Paine Massif towering in the distance. The current carries you into the Serrano River, where the scenery shifts from dramatic mountain walls to thick southern beech forests and open valleys.

You’ll probably spot condors overhead and guanacos grazing along the banks. There’s a short section where you have to carry your kayak around a waterfall, but otherwise it’s a smooth, scenic float through the wild heart of Patagonia.

One of the highlights comes when you reach the Serrano Glacier. You can paddle across the lagoon filled with ice chunks and get right up close to the face of the glacier. Many people camp nearby and celebrate with a Pisco Sour made with glacial ice.

The final stretch takes you toward the fjord and eventually back to Puerto Natales. The river widens, the air gets saltier, and the snow-capped peaks fade behind you.

It’s a journey that ties together two of Patagonia’s most stunning glaciers — Grey and Serrano — and gives you a front-row seat to one of the most beautiful river routes in South America. By the time you pull up in Natales, you’re tired, happy, and completely blown away by what you just paddled through.

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Hiking in Yakushima feels like stepping into another world. This little island off Japan’s southern coast is said to have inspired Princess Mononoke, and when you see it, you get why.

The forest looks straight out of a fantasy, massive cedar trees draped in moss, roots twisting across the trail, mist hanging in the air. Everything is green and alive. Even the rocks and tree trunks are covered in ferns and lichen. It’s quiet, damp, and somehow magical.

The trails wind through the forest, across creeks and wooden bridges, and up toward ancient cedars that have been standing here for thousands of years. The most famous one is Jōmon Sugi, it’s huge, and nobody really knows how old it is, but it’s definitely ancient. The hike to get there is long, but it’s worth every step. Along the way, you pass waterfalls, gnarled trees, and patches of forest so beautiful you have to stop and just take it in.

It rains a lot on Yakushima—locals joke that it rains “35 days a month.” But the rain is part of the magic. It keeps the moss bright and the forest misty and alive. If you bring good rain gear and take your time, the weather just becomes part of the experience.

Whether you’re exploring the Shiratani Unsuikyo ravine or hiking up to the old cedars, Yakushima feels wild and timeless,like nature still runs the show, and you’re just there to witness it.

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Expeditions: Ash Dykes Walked China's 4,000-mile Yangtze River

Cycling: Swamp Thing Trail in Estonia

Unique Experiences: Solo ice skate backpacking in Alaska

Diving: Rocks of Life - Scuba diving in British Columbia

Longevity: How to surf till you're 100

Wanna flex your adventure geography skills? Guess where this pic was snapped!

Stumped? No worries. The answer is at the end of this email.

I’d love to hear what you think of this issue, scroll down to the poll to let us know.

Until next time…

Keep exploring,

-Amanda

Whenever you’re ready, here’s how we can help you plan truly unique adventure trips:

ANSWER: Yosemite National Park, California, U.S.