Over the weekend we watched 180 South. It was available to watch instantly on Netflix and the synopsis sounded cool so we gave it a try. Little did I know that this adventure documentary would inspire me beyond words.
The story features a man who retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes to Patagonia. There’s a lot of surfing and climbing along the way and a simple reminder that journeys and difficult experiences can help us grow and learn. The film also has an underlying story of the environment and our consumption habits as a society, but it’s not overwhelming so you don’t have to be a tree-hugger to appreciate it.
trailer
If you’re going to watch it have a pencil and paper ready because this film is overflowing with quotes to live by. Here’s a couple of my favorite…
“I’m drawn to open country. It’s where everything becomes clear, where the world makes the most sense. When I put myself out there, I always return with something new. A friend once told me: The best journeys answer questions that in the beginning, you didn’t even think to ask.” - Jeff Johnson
“The word adventure has gotten overused, to me, adventure is when everything goes wrong. That’s when the adventure starts.” - Yvon Chouinard
“I think first and foremost, people only protect the things they love. And you can’t love something unless you inherently identify with it.” -Kris Tompkins
“And in response to people saying,’You can’t go back.’ and I say, ‘Well what happens when you get to the edge of the cliff. Do you take one step forward or do 180° turn and take one step forward? Which way you goin? Which is progress?’ The solution to many of the world’s problems is maybe to turn around and to take a forward step.” – Yvon Chouinard
“That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach.” -Alex Huxley Chouinard
One of my favorite parts of the movie is when Yvon talks about these rich people who pay a ton of money to have someone take them up Mt. Everest. They have someone set the ladders for them, cook their food and roll out their sleeping bags putting a chocolate on their pillow. He goes on to say that “The whole purpose of climbing something like Everest is to effect some sort of spiritual and physical gain. But if you compromise the process you’re an a#! when you start out and an a#! when you get back.”
I found this a metaphor for life. Even though it definitely gets hard at times YOU have to go through it without compromising the process or else you won’t change or progress. That’s what this life is all about…learning from our experiences and becoming better.
Although this movie makes me want to go on an epic journey of my own I realize that it doesn’t have to be to Patagonia on a boat to make it successful. I have to figure out what my own epic journey will be. And to tell you the truth I think our faimly is on a mini journey each time we go out exploring. Every hike or climb seems to teach us a life lesson along the way. And I’m grateful for those moments with my kids.
What would your epic journey be?
180 South, Yvon Chouinard, Doug Tompkins, Patagonia, epic journey, nature for kids
Nice write-up! We really enjoyed this film as well and did our own little review on it. We started thinking about similar things, especially focused on the type of life we wished for our daughter. It basically boiled down to any kind of life she wanted that was full of whatever kind of adventure she loved! As for us, we would love to travel more than we do. We’re currently staying in the Southeast, but would love to take some epic family trips in and out of the country!
Thanks for the recommendation! I love this quote: “I think first and foremost, people only protect the things they love. And you can’t love something unless you inherently identify with it.” -Kris Tompkins
Alissa, glad you love it…it captured my attention too and is definitely so true!
@ Family Wilds I think it’s so great that you let your daughter decide her own adventure…I’m sure we all need a reminder that these little people have their very own interests and hobbies that they want to explore.
At my age, my epic journey is getting up each morning and
living through each day with joy and understanding! When we were younger with our children, we went on adventures that had challenges all the time. Every day, either outside or just at home can be an adventure if you choose to make it one! Great blog and love the quotes.
Hahaha Thanks Linda!