10 greatest U.S. adventure vacations

Once a province of the improbable, practiced by mythopoetic men, the likes of Edmund Hillary, Jacques Cousteau and Thor Heyerdahl, "adventure travel" was something seen in the pages of National Geographic, not available to the average Jane or Joe. The only adventure travel on Main Street was when a well-planned vacation went wrong.

Now, with the prospering of a generation steeped in environmentalism, self-health and individualism, adventure travel has become the vogue. By one survey, fully half of all U.S. adults took an adventure getaway within the last five years.

I've spent a career exploring and adventuring, and am always delighted to rediscover how varied and rich the adventure opportunities are in my own back yard. You don't have to cross a border to find some of the best adventures in the world.

The adventures cited below were chosen because they have personally delighted. It is unfair — to say nothing of impertinent — to list only a small percentage of the great adventures in America. But that is the nature of a list. I have attempted, though, to use criteria, including location, duration, activity, and a quality I might as well call wonder.

So, herein is a list of the 10 best adventure vacations in America, scientifically calculated with subatomic precision by yours truly:

Llama Trekking the Hoover Wilderness Area
California's High Sierra is a toothed landscape of lodgepole pine and red fir, arid desert, U-shaped glacial valleys, a place of solitude and spectacle. The Hoover Wilderness is 42,800 acres of primitive country in the east-central part of the state, touching Yosemite National Park at the Sierra Crest. This adventure features a five-day trek among the sagebrush and thistle, the escarpments and the late summer snow fields, as South American llamas carry the cargo. Expect to see mule deer, and perhaps bobcats, coyote, bear and maybe even a mountain lion. The streams choke with trout, while the high peak region — including Matterhorn and Dunderber (each over 11,000 feet) — host schools of technical and amateur climbers. A llama can carry 70-90 pounds and doesn't have to carry extra food for itself. Llamas are browsers, like deer, and will eat grass found in the mountains. Llamas are very quiet, very friendly to the environment and do not destroy trails. August is the best month.

Adventure Sailing Florida's Gulf Coast
Sail aboard 26-foot Commodores through the small islands off Fort Myers for seven days and nights in flotillas of up to six boats at a time. The crafts are designed for four adults, and qualified sailors can captain their own craft for the duration. Lots of time to free sail, and explore the tropical barrier islands inhabited only by gulls, pelicans, and man-of-war birds. Dolphins lace the bow, red snappers snap at the lines, living shellfish color the limpid waters, and Gulf breezes fill the foresails. Fort Myers is on the Southwestern coast of Florida near Sanibel and Captiva Islands, 120 miles south of Tampa and 110 miles north of Key West and the Dry Tortugas. Available year-round.

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