A 16-foot canoe loaded with food, 500 miles of wilderness ahead of us, camping on islands under the stars: paddling down the Yukon River remains one of my favourite adventures.

I spent six weeks in the Canadian Arctic on an Ice Base on the frozen Arctic Ocean at 78 degrees north (at the spot often referred to in polar races as ‘The North Pole’, though in fact it was the 1996 location of the magnetic North Pole).

A microadventure is an adventure that is short, simple, local, cheap – yet still fun, exciting, challenging, refreshing and rewarding.

My head is thumping. My eyes are stinging. I’m weak with thirst.