Three years ago, Eva Outram arrived in Jordan having just spent 23 days alone in the Canadian wilderness filming Alone. She was coming back to normal life and trying to work out what she wanted to do next.
Then she found herself walking through the deserts of Jordan.
Eva spent seven days on the Jordan Trail, starting in Wadi Rum and eventually reaching the Red Sea at Aqaba. Along the way there were enormous landscapes, deep sand, 36°C heat, cold nights, sandstorms, shooting stars, traditional food, mint tea and some unexpected warnings about snakes and scorpions.
But the trip became more than just another adventure. Being removed from everyday life gave Eva the space to think about what she wanted from her life and career.
Three years later, she's left the NHS, retrained in a range of outdoor skills and founded Wilder Horizons, a women-led adventure organisation.
In this episode we talk about:
- Waking up in Wadi Rum and feeling as though she'd landed on another planet
- What it's actually like to walk through the Jordanian desert
- Water, heat and walking through deep sand
- Getting caught in sandstorms
- Sleeping under some of the world's best night skies
- The people she met along the trail
- The simplicity of life on a long-distance trail
- Why walking can give you the distance to see your life differently
- The moment she decided to leave the NHS
- And the one moment from the Jordan Trail she'd go back and relive
About Eva
Eva is an outdoor instructor and founder of Wilder Horizons, a women-led not-for-profit adventure organisation offering bushcraft, nature connection and outdoor experiences for women.
Wilder Horizons
About Notes From Big Trails
Notes From Big Trails is a podcast about walking, adventure and the people who go looking for something beyond the everyday. Each episode follows someone who has taken on a big trail or adventure and explores what happened along the way.
If listening to this podcast has got you thinking of your next adventure, we'd love to help. Visit Big Trail Adventures to plan your next big trip.
