Lord help Ash Dykes (+ his crew)
Dear God,
Please ensure that Ash Dykes makes it through his journey in the Congo basin safely and returns back home unharmed.
Thank you God,
Amen
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Have you ever wanted to do something crazy? The other day my friends and I were sitting around and one of them said that she wants to climb Mt. Everest. I thought these are just crazy things you say out loud or wishes you hold in your heart. This may be true for the rest of us, but not for Ash Dykes.
Ash Dykes an adventurer and exploration influencer born on Nov 1, 1990 in Wales. He prides himself on being able to do the impossible. He was the first person to hike solo across the entirety of Mongolia (over 1500 miles), the first person to walk the whole length of Madagascar (1600 miles) while suffering from Malaria, and first person to walk China’s Yangtze river solo (4000 miles). Him and a team of 2 other explorers were the first team to travel the length of the Coppename river (611 km) in the Amazon rain forest and set a record for the fastest ascent of Suriname’s tallest mountain, Julianatop. On August 28, 2026, Ash Dykes announced the first mission of the first mission of his Project 6 series as a 435 mile kayak expedition down the Sangha river from the city of Nola. Project six is a series of six extreme expeditions in six countries within the next 12 months in hopes to set more Guinness World records.
Let’s get a couple things right, I truly do admire Ash Dykes’ perseverance and vitality. If there were no dangers in our world I would also like to go immerse myself in nature and be one with our Earth, but that is simply not the case. Africa has the greatest percentage of large, dangerous, and unpredictable animals on earth. The Congo has the second highest percentage of Malaria related deaths. Ash Dykes has danger coming at him from every direction possible. Beneath him, the river can reach depths of over 700 feet deep in some places and features violent rapids. Above him, 500 feet tall trees hold dangerous birds of prey, jaguars that stalk you, 15 feet long African pythons, and territorial aggressive mountain gorillas. In the forest live venomous Gaboon Vipers, forest elephants, army ants, and tsetse flies. And surrounding him in the water live 16 feet long Nile crocodiles and hippos that grow up to be 5 tons (10000 pounds).
Do not think that because Ash Dykes has survived many past expeditions, he can do that forever. Yes, he survived deadly Malaria and continued his trek through Madagascar while having hallucinations, held at gunpoint by a drunk military officer on the same journey in Madagascar, near fatal dehydration in the Gobi desert while being stalked by a wolf pack, a chase with a wild Tibetan mastiff in China, and being caught in an avalanche in the Alps. It can be said the reason he is so fortunate to survive all these encounters is that the universe smiles upon Ash Dykes or that he is a “chosen one.” I agree and disagree. I agree in the fact that God has shined his light upon Ash in the past, but I'm not so sure that fate is in agreement with his current expedition in the Congo.
Ash and his Crew have experienced numerous different obstacles in their journey before they even hit the Sangha river. When Ash and his Crew arrived in Cameroon after their departure from London, they discovered their luggage including crucial survival equipment was misplaced in their layover in Paris. Once they tracked down the luggage and made their way to the Central African Republic, they were denied entry on the premise that their Visa’s were invalid for travel. This made them have to map out an entire different route with visa checkpoints that are available to them. Once they found a Visa office that would accept them, a violent topical storm began raining down, blocking roads with fallen trees. To avoid getting behind on schedule, the crew avoided the blocked land routes by taking a pitch black 2 hour motorboat ride on the river in the middle of a lightning storm. Ash Dykes and his Crew finally made it to their start point of Nola on October the 8th after these many perils. Some can say it is a coincidence that they ran into so many setbacks, but I disagree. I personally think that Ash Dykes’ journey being impeded at step of the way is a sign that there is terrible danger ahead. I cant say for certain if my superstitions are right but in my life I believe everything has meaning. Do with my information as you may and I wish Ash safety and health in all his endeavors.
*His trip is going to take three to four weeks. So, in late October or early November I will write another article on the results of his journey.
