“Adventure is in every direction.” That is the motto behind University of Oregon students Will Phelan, Finn Foster, Gunnar Hanson and Nick Clark’s new project, Adventure Friday — and it couldn’t be more true for residents of Eugene. The state of Oregon is brimming with natural wonders: West of Eugene is the Oregon coast, east are the Cascades, north is home to countless waterfalls and south holds multiple lakes. It is no wonder why this place provokes so many outdoor enthusiasts.
The founders of Adventure Friday are no exception. Phelan, Foster, Hanson and Clark hold a mission to inspire people to get outside and experience the world around them. They created a website, an Instagram and Twitter account in hopes of connecting fellow explorers and called it Adventure Friday.
Currently, the sites involve a lot of photo sharing, but the founders are planning on expansion. Adventurers can soon plan on turning to Adventure Friday on social media to share stories and rate specific hikes and other activities.
The idea for the project came to be when the four friends embarked on a long hike that resulted in them getting lost and failing to find a waterfall that was supposedly on the trail.
Foster remembers that the friends thought, “Wouldn’t it be awesome if someone had said something about this hike?” With proper feedback and advice from previous hikers, they could have been well-informed and comfortable with the route.
Now, thanks to the new age of media, the project has become worldwide. Explorers can submit personal photographs from around the globe to Adventure Friday’s social media sites and become featured on their main website. A cartographer has worked to get Geographic Information Systems for the website, so that the material featured is displayed on a large map. The founders have contacts in both Finland and Siberia who contribute to their material. In addition, they look to students who travel abroad to contribute footage and insight about where they have been.
Students can look to this site to get study abroad ideas. Many have posted photos and information about where they have traveled in order to study through the university.
Adventure Friday also has an environmental mission to inspire others to spend time in nature sustainability. According to Foster, Patagonia is responsible for many of the laws that have been put in place to protect the environment and preserve certain regions.
“You can’t have the desire to change something unless you experience it”, he said. “That is why both Patagonia and Adventure Friday urges young people to go out and adventure. We have an intense passion for getting people outside.” And in Oregon especially, outside is an incredible place to be.