HEADING FOR GREENLAND
I am excited to be planning an ethnographic expedition to Greenland. As with all my trips, it’s about learning. One of my objectives is to meet people to discuss and learn about Greenland’s remarkable but overlooked male and female Inughuit explorers from the past, such as Ipirvik, Taqulittuq, Suersaq, Knud Rasmussen, Arnarulunnguaq, Ada Blackjack, William Uligpak, and the 4 men who were with Henson and Peary on their journey to the North Pole in 1909. Among those I hope to meet are their descendants, to learn firsthand about the legacy these explorers left behind. Another objective is to learn about the traditional skills used by the indigenous people of northwest Greenland, such as hunting, fishing, dog sledding, making clothing from animal skins, and other skills.
Overall, I want to make people in other parts of the world more aware of Greenland’s great explorers and their accomplishments. My expedition partner is U.K. legacy expert and Explorers Club member Katie Hitchcock-Smith. We will be leaving in early June and spending several weeks in Nuuk and Ilulissat. If you know of anyone living there that we should contact, please let me know. We are grateful to Fjällräven for generously supporting us with appropriate clothing and gear.
This will be my return to Greenland after 31 years. When I was there in 1995, I camped on the inland ice sheet, spent time tracking herds of musk oxen, and trekked for 12 days from Kangerlussuaq to Sisimiut with just a hand-drawn paper map and a compass. These are some photos from that trip.
An article on the “Roy Chapman Andrews Legacy Expedition 2025” has been published in the latest issue of The Explorers Journal.
Like Andrews’s groundbreaking expeditions to Mongolia’s Gobi Desert in the 1920s, ours focused on paleontology, archaeology, geology, and botany, with an additional emphasis on the documentation and preservation of the cultural heritage of the nomadic inhabitants. I was the leader of the cultural heritage team.
It was the largest expedition to the Gobi in a century. There were 35 explorers and scientists (including five researchers from Mongolia), as well as a field support team of 17, bringing the total number of participants to 52.
Photos by Gregory Taylor
#explorer #adventurer #author #cool #solohike #solohiker #solohikes #WayOutThere #brokenbo #desert #mountains #hiking #unlikelyhiker #hikingadventures #hikingtrails #letshike #backpacking #outdoors #outdoorlife #goingwayoutthere #brokenbowildernessexpeditions
I was the guest speaker at the Explorers Club Washington Group’s Roundtable Speaker series at the exclusive Cosmos Club in Washington, DC. The event was also a reunion with three fellow explorers, Bob Tallent, Ben Chan, and Gus Gravot, who were part of our RCA Legacy Expedition in the Gobi Desert last summer.
THE WORLD OF WELLESLEY’s MARTIN LUTHER KING, Jr. EVENT
I had the honor of being the keynote speaker at the annual MLK, Jr. event on the campus of Wellesley College in Massachusetts. I discussed Dr. King’s legacy and how it can impact a broad range of endeavors, including exploration.
From Rama K. Ramaswami, President, The World of Wellesley: “Your keynote was deeply engaging and beautifully aligned with the spirit of the day. You offered a powerful and personal reflection on hope and resilience, and your ability to connect lived experience to Dr. King’s legacy resonated strongly with our community. It was thoughtful, moving, and exactly the kind of perspective we hoped to bring to this year’s program. Thank you again, J.R., for your generosity, your presence, and the care you brought to the event. We’re grateful to have worked with you and hope our paths cross again.”
NEW MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY OF FORGOTTEN EXPLORERS
The Society of Forgotten Explorers is an initiative of the Explorers Club’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. Its objective is to acknowledge and show appreciation for the contributions of explorers who never received the recognition and gratitude they have earned. These are men and women who are deceased, with emphasis on indigenous as well as female explorers, and those who were not elected Explorers Club members or were active before The Explorers Club was founded.
The Society of Forgotten Explorers is an organized, digital wiki made available to both Explorers Club members and non-members, including students, historians, and anyone interested in explorers who have gone unnoticed or are under the radar. If you know of someone who might qualify, you can nominate them for inclusion.
Here is a snapshot of three who were recently inducted. Like all the members, their stories are incredible (a link is in the bio).
Isobel Wylie Hutchison: Despite her diverse accomplishments as an explorer, botanist, filmmaker, poet, lecturer and artist, Scotswoman Isobel Wylie Hutchison (1889-1982) was self-effacing, modest and quietly- spoken.
Suersaq: (1834-1889), also known as Hans Hendrik Suersaq, was born in Fiskenæsset (today known as Qeqetarsuatsiaat) in southern Greenland. Despite his sterling polar credentials, Suersaq remains little-known outside his country.
Hanna Resvoll-Holmsen: Born in Vågå in Gudbrandsdal, southern Norway, Hanna Resvoll-Holmsen (1873-1943) was a botanist, explorer and pioneer in environmental conservation. She is considered to be one of Norway’s earliest conservationists.
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Trust me…there are people you know who would like a good book for the holidays. Why not give them mine? 😊
I am proud that Way Out There: Adventures of a Wilderness Trekker is one of Backpacker Magazine's "50 Best Hiking, Trekking, and Walking Books of All Time," and I’m deeply honored to be mentioned among incredible authors such as Mark Twain, Jon Krakauer, Edward Abbey, John Muir, Henry David Thoreau, Colin Fletcher, Jack Kerouac, Bill Bryson, Isabella Bird, Peter Matthiessen, Cheryl Strayed and other distinguished authors whose books I have enjoyed for decades.
A few readers’ comments:
“Top 50? For me this book is #1. The magic isn't only in the amazing adventures most hikers can only dream about, it's the lovely personality of J.R., which can be felt in every word in this very well written book.” T.B.
“This adventure memoir by J. Robert Harris is one of the best I've read in a long time. I highly recommend finding a copy! The author's peregrinations have taken him all over the world on backpacking trips, including to Alaska, Canada, Tasmania, Peru, and more. He seeks remote and challenging routes and writes about his experiences with humor and style.”
“I love adventure books. Yours was certainly that. Lots of adventures. I like your self-deprecating manner, your humor, your ability to not take anything too seriously, the fact that you make room for other people to just "be as they are"….and you ate Vegemite! Aacckkk....! You also enjoy your own company and are completely at ease on your own...in fact, may prefer it…but you are also very social.”
“Loved it! This is a page turner - incredibly entertaining and so well written. I couldn’t put it down. I love the insight and lessons J.R. Harris provides through his writing. He inspires the reader to be a more observant and inquisitive adventurer.”
Available from Mountaineers Books, Amazon, or your favorite bookseller.
#book #read #memoir #booklovers #bibliophile #books #author #biography #hikingbook #unlikelyhikers #diversityinadventure #hikingbooks #hikertrash #BlackOutdoors #bookstagrammer #DiversityOutdoors #bookofthemonth #booksofinstagram #bookpile #bookreview #readmorebooks #bookrecommenda
ARNARULUNNGUAQ: NEW MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY OF FORGOTTEN EXPLORERS
Arnarulunnguaq was the first woman to cross the Arctic from Greenland to the Pacific. She was born in Qaanaaq, Greenland in 1896 and was chosen, along with her husband, by Knud Rasmussen to join him on his Fifth Thule Expedition (1921-1924). Arnarulunnguaq’s husband died before departure, but Arnarulunnguaq continued with the expedition. After most expedition members turned back at Hudson Bay, after the first part of the expedition, Arnarulunnguaq and her cousin, Qaavigarsuaq Miteq, remained with Rasmussen to continue the exploration for two more years to reach the Bering Strait. Her skills in preparing meat, making and repairing skins, and building shelter were vital to the success of the expedition. Rasmussen honored her after the expedition with the Silver Medal of Merit.
The Society of Forgotten Explorers, an initiative of the Explorers Club’s DEI Committee, seeks to honor unknown, lesser-known, or unsung explorers from underrepresented communities and ethnicities, and tell their stories. It is an organized, digital database made available to both Explorers Club members and non-members, including students, historians, and anyone who is interested in explorers that have gone unnoticed or are under the radar.
As Chair of the DEI Committee, I invite you to visit the Society and learn about the extraordinary explorations of its current members. We also hope you will help us identify and honor noteworthy, non-traditional explorers from antiquity. To nominate someone, simply visit the page and fill out the form. Link is in the bio.
#trekker #explorer #adventurer #author #solohike #solohiker #solohikes #WayOutThere #brokenbo #desert #mountains #hiking #unlikelyhiker #hikingadventures #hikingtrails #letshike #backpacking #outdoors #outdoorlife #goingwayoutthere #brokenbowildernessexpeditions #wayoutthere #soloadventure #seniortrekkers #trekkers #backpackers #seniortrekkers #boomerbackpackers #solotrekker #soloexplorer #solobackpacker
THE LATEST BOOK FROM THE EXPLORERS CLUB
This is a collection of exhilarating firsthand accounts of adventure, grit, and history making from the edge of the world as we know it, as told by members of the world-renowned Explorers Club. I am proud that my story is included, along with those from Teddy Roosevelt, Carl Sagan, Lowell Thomas, Robert Falcon Scott and others. The book is by Jeff Wilser and published by Crown, a division of Penguin Random House.
I am proud to report that my company, JRH Marketing Services, Inc., has reached its 50th year in business. Established on Oct. 6, 1975, it is the oldest African American-owned marketing research and consulting firm in the U.S. Back then, my partner/younger brother and I had a dream that we would get to this day. Lloyd did not live to see it happen but I know that somewhere he is smiling and equally proud. We did it, Bro!
Now, maybe I’ll retire, or at least think about it. 😊
WAY OUT THERE: ADVENTURES OF A WILDERNESS TREKKER
My book has now been “out there” 8 years and still going strong. Backpacker magazine calls it, “one of the 50 best hiking, trekking and backpacking books of all time.“
Available from Mountaineers Books. (link is in the bio), Amazon, or your favorite bookseller.
#bookrecommendations #bookdiscount #booksale #bookrecommendation #readerslife #wayoutthere . #trailtalk #stories #collection #nonfiction #adventure #mountaineering #outdoors #environment #travel #wanderlust #mountaineersbooks #adventuretravel #travelmemoir
These are the Flaming Cliffs of Mongolia’s Gobi Desert. The expedition covered 1,200 miles of desert and I had an opportunity to spend time with nomadic herders and their families.
#GobiDesert #NomadifyExpeditions #CamelCaravan #RCALegacyCamelExpedition #explorersclub
