For LA explorer Tom Carroll, adventure means making sense of the world

In Huck’s Adventure Issue we joined up with a motley crew of headstrong characters to explore uncharted territory. We learned that adventure means a whole load of different things to different people, from a polar expedition for explorer Ben Saunders to seeing New York City through an outsider’s eyes for skate photographer Pep Kim.

With the Adventure Pop Quiz, we’re reaching out to people from the issue and others from Huck’s world to find out more about what adventure means to them and where their hunger for new experiences has taken them.

First up, it’s Tom Carroll, who sneaks his way into the forgotten corners of Los Angeles to reveal hidden layers of the city’s history in his Youtube channel Tom Explores LA. Season two just wrapped, and you can check out the finale Salton Sea now.

What do you picture when you hear the word ‘adventure’?
Sunshine. Being somewhere I have never been before.

What did adventure mean to you when you were a kid?
Wandering, exploring unknown places. Anything outside of my house.

What does adventure mean to you now? 
Freedom. The best way for me to make sense of the world and my place in it.

When was the last time you felt completely out of your comfort zone? 
When we were shooting our most recent episode at the Salton Sea. Had a feeling of being watched the entire time we were there.

When were you last scared? 
At the Salton Sea, very much felt like an outsider.

What’s the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done?
Hiking for 10 hours over Dragon’s Pass in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Wasn’t my choice, turned out to be far more dangerous than we had expected. Won’t be doing it again.

Who is the most adventurous person you know?
My friend Lisa Nguyen. She is a fearless, unapologetic adventurer.

If your life was an adventure novel, what would the title be?
Muddling Towards Frugality.

When was the last time you saw something completely new for the first time?
At the Salton Sea, it’s California’s largest lake and filled almost entirely with farm water run off.

How do you bring adventure into your everyday life?
I commute to work by bike, nothing more exciting than putting your life in harm’s way everyday.

Complete the sentence: A life without adventure is…..?
An unfulfilled existence. The only way you can know yourself is to put yourself in uncomfortable positions.

If you were on a yoga retreat, or in therapy, and were told to picture ‘your happy place’, what would it look like?
On my bike, an open road, with no cars in sight, going as fast as I can.

What in life gets your adrenalin pumping?
Riding my bike through the streets of Los Angeles.

If you had to walk around the world, what would you carry in your backpack?
A camera, a sketch book and my skateboard.

What book / film / song makes you wanna go an adventure?
Any history book. By learning the history of a place, it makes me want to see it in person.

What’s the one thing on your bucket list you’ve never told anyone about before?
I want to walk the whole length of the Los Angeles River, all 51 miles of it.

Read the full article on Tom Explores LA in Huck 51 – The Adventure Issue. Subscribe to make sure you don’t miss another issue.