IS THIS THE ULTIMATE ADVENTURE TRAVEL DESTINATION?

IS THIS THE ULTIMATE ADVENTURE TRAVEL DESTINATION?

If you are a hiking enthusiast and a lover of travel and adventure, I have just the destination for you! Although it is a little off the beaten track, it not only provides a unique hiking experience, but you better take your camera along as well. There are about 6,000 different species of flora and fauna living inside the region and unlimited photo-ops abound. Of course, I am talking about the new hiking trails that are part of the South Korea's "Peace Trail" project. Hikers will be able to choose one of three trails that will be available in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the Korean Peninsula.

The DMZ is a 160-mile-long no-man's land about 30 miles north of Seoul that was established in the 1953 Korean War Armistice Agreement. For over six decades, this 250-kilometre long, four kilometre-wide area has been closed off from human interference, barred with fences and landmines all across the region. Thanks to the restrictions, the area became an unintended refuge for all sorts of endangered species, from migratory birds to wild mammals, such as red-crowned cranes, mandarin ducks, musk deer, mountain goats and more.

Can you imagine a more exciting location for a hike? The massed army of North Korea on one side of the zone and UN troops and the South Korean army on the other. Both sides are well armed and for all intents and purposes, the two sides are still at war. Along with the barbed wire perimeter on both sides and an unknown number of landmines in between, it makes for an adventure of a life time. I am sure (?) that the hiking trail has been secured, but still I can’t fathom why anyone would think this is a good location for a walk in the park. Call me a chicken, but I think I will forego the opportunity. 

If this adventure travel gimmick succeeds, my mind is already plotting a number of other similar high risk trips. How about the thrill of a night time swim across the Rio Grand River from Mexico to the USA, followed by a possible tunnelling challenge or a pole vault over a high wall for a finale? I am sure there would be lots of willing participants, mostly of Hispanic origin. But I am sure there would be room for adventurous Canadians as well. Or how about the challenge of an Iditarod-like dogsled race across Antarctica, where there are no settlements. I am sure that someone would buy in. Or perhaps the race could be conducted in the DMZ in the winter across the minefields. There are no limits to the options for adventure travel or to my imagination (or is it hallucinations)?

Actually, in my advancing years, I classify grocery shopping at a store that isn’t a Safeway or Coop, as adventure travel!