Ep. #17: Dave Maitland & Scott Worthington - 2000 mile Yukon River source to sea attempt

In this episode, Chris Thomas sits down with Dave Maitland & Scott Worthington, two awesome Kiwis that live their lives seeking adventure and time in the outdoors. I invited them on the show to chat about their 2000 mile source to sea attempt on the Yukon River in 2024. We cover so much in this episode from their views on the current state of affairs in ultra racing, their journey that brought them the Yukon, Scott’s inspiring story and Yukon 1000 documentary with Ben Lott, their story of adventure in the Yukon and what lies beyond the Dalton Highway Bridge, gear differences in a 2000 vs. 1000 mile attempt, and the importance of implicitly trusting a teammate especially when things go sideways in the backcountry. There’s so much more to this episode, but I’ll let you hear it from Dave and Scott themselves on this 17th episode of the Dabbling In Paddleism Podcast… **Dave & Scott would like to send a shoutout to Ben Schmidt of the Alaskan Canoe Company (https://alaskacanoecompany.com/) who crafted their canoe for their 2000 mile attempt** Dave’s book recommendation: -Endurance - Alfred Lansing: https://a.co/d/8B0PCQE Scott’s book recommendations: -On the Edge of Nowhere - James Huntington: https://a.co/d/iUqRxtT -Shadows on the Koyukuk - Sidney Huntington: https://a.co/d/2mXUO0B Finding Ben - Yukon 1000 documentary w/ Scott Worthington & Ben Lott -Part 1: https://www.yukon1000.org/findingbenpart1/ -Part 2: https://www.yukon1000.org/findingbenpart2/ **Dave's NZ race recommendations & offer for guidance** -GODZONE - This is a multi day Adventure race and can range from 4 to five days, only sleep requirement is relating to if there are dangerous river sections for kayaking / rafting or pack rafting. Apart from that you are on your own, map reading is essential. Its great fun but very demanding on the body. It is held in a different location within NZ each year. *Link: https://godzoneadventure.com/one-new-zealand-godzone-chapter-12-heading-to-marlborough/ -Kathmandu Coast to Coast: This is a race from the beach on the west side of the south Island to the beach on the East coast, traversing the Southislands Southern Alps via a 32km mountain run. Other disciplines include running, road bike and Kayaking. Comperators can enter the following. One day individual One day three person team Two day individual And various categories of teams in the two day event. Some may consider it not an endurance event but when you are completing the 240km in between the high 10hr and up to 18hr I assure you it is. If there is anyone interested who thinks they have what it takes I am happy to advise them after having completed it 30 times I have a fair understanding as to what it takes. Would be great to see some from the North make the journey down to our part of the world and have a crack at either of these two events. Only willing to help out with the right type of people. *Link: https://www.kathmandu.co.nz/pages/coast-to-coast