History Main / RiverOfInsanity

-->'''Sparrow:''' By all means, but keep to the shallows as much as possible.

See also InevitableWaterfall.

RiverOfInsanity more generally describes a doomed voyage "into the wild" (usually focused on the trip itself), since examples show that [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism almost any]] wilderness voyage in fiction, especially by boat, is doomed from the start, either because of the [[GeniusLoci river itself]] or [[GoingNative the natives]] or [[GoAmongMadPeople cabin fever]]. TheCaptain of such an expedition will often be the {{Determinator}}, willing to press on [[DwindlingParty regardless of cost]], until [[KarmaHoudini only he is left]]. Far from being honored for his perseverance by the [[EarnYourHappyEnding reward]] of a legendary destination, [[{{God}} the author himself]] may mock him for his efforts.

RiverOfInsanity more generally describes a doomed voyage "into the wild" (usually focused on the trip itself), since examples show that [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism almost any]] wilderness voyage in fiction, especially by boat, is doomed from the start, either because of the [[GeniusLoci river itself]] or [[GoingNative the natives]] or [[GoAmongMadPeople cabin fever]]. TheCaptain of such an expedition will often be the {{Determinator}}, willing to press on regardless of cost, until only he is left. Far from being honored for his perseverance by the [[EarnYourHappyEnding reward]] of a legendary destination, [[{{God}} the author himself]] may mock him for his efforts.

* There were many, ''many'' doomed voyages into the interior of Australia, filled with some of the harshest desert known to man and landscape utterly foreign to Europeans. One notable mention was [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Sturt Charles Sturt]], who nearly died multiple times and even took a ''boat'' with him to settle the debate that if Australia had an inland sea. Many Australian explorers barely came back alive and others died miserable lonely deaths.

[[AguirreTheWrathOfGod http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aguirre3.jpg]]
[-[[caption-width:350:[[OregonTrail LITTLE JOHNNY]] [[MemeticMutation has died of dysentery.]]]]-]
-->[[color:white:_]]
--> "Waist deep in the Big Muddy, and the old fool said to press on!" -- [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waist_Deep_in_the_Big_Muddy Pete Seeger]]

* The ill-fated Narvaez expedition of would-be Spanish conquistadors in the 1520s. Despite suffering from serious food and supply shortages and a near shipwreck prior to even leaving their base on the island of Cuba, and drifting over a thousand miles away from their intended destination, the expedition's leaders decided to go a-conquering anyway - with predictable results. Amazingly, after being stranded in the wilderness of what is now western Florida, enduring another series of shipwrecks on a few homemade rafts and being captured by a dozen or so successive groups of Native Americans, 4 of the expedition's original 300 members managed to wash up on the Texas shore and walk over 1700 miles to Spanish-occupied Mexico. Almost too surreal to be believed, but check out the whole story on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narvez_expedition That Other Wiki]]

** Ironic, considering that surviving comfortably in the inlands is perfectly possible, but they were too proud to ask survival tips from the natives.

* The ill-fated Narvaez expedition of would-be Spanish conquistadors in the 1520s. Despite suffering from serious food and supply shortages and a near shipwreck prior to even leaving their base on the island of Cuba, and drifting over a thousand miles away from their intended destination, the expedition's leaders decided to go a-conquering anyway - with predictable results. Amazingly, after being stranded in the wilderness of what is now western Florida, enduring another series of shipwrecks on a few homemade rafts and being captured by a dozen or so successive groups of Native Americans, 4 of the expedition's original 300 members managed to wash up on the Texas shore and walk over 1700 miles to Spanish-occupied Mexico. Almost too surreal to be believed, but check out the whole story on TheOtherWiki

* Don't know if this would quite fit HERE, but the Donner Party is definietely a doomed voyage. Basically, a group of pioneers set out for California, ended up snowbound in the Sierra Nevada, and resorted to [[NoPartyLikeADonnerParty cannibalism]], eating the corpses of those who died.

* ''OregonTrail'' is the [[VideoGame PC game]] version of this trope. Especially if you're doing a LetsPlay and you leave the decision to popular vote.

* Its tropical twin ''Amazon Trail'' also counts. And yes, you travel down the Amazon river. In a canoe.

** {{Lampshaded}} in the case of a honeymoon couple that attempted to go down the canyon in a [[TooDumbTolive two-ton scow]], with much buildup by Ken Burns in ''TheNationalParks'' documentary. They were never seen again, but the boat was found sitting with all their belongings (and lunch) intact.

** It's tropical twin ''Amazon Trail'' also counts. And yes, you travel down the Amazon river. In a canoe.
*** Along the way, the encounter with Lope de Aguirre (see above) plays kind of like a brief, kid-friendly version of ''ApocalypseNow''.

* ''[=~Aguirre: The Wrath Of God~=]'' with a very insane Klaus Kinski being overrun by monkeys on a sinking raft. This is the source of the image above.

[[WernerHerzog http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aguirre3.jpg]]

* The Joseph Conrad novel ''HeartOfDarkness''.

--> "I wouldn't trust no words written on no piece of paper from no [[MeaningfulName Dickinson]] in the town of [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Machine]]. You're just as likely to [[{{Foreshadowing}} meet your own grave]]."

Contrast LateToTheParty (in which the destination is known because of a distress signal). See also SendInTheSearchTeam. The journey to get there is usually glossed over in that trope. For the exact opposite of this trope, see WalkIntoMordor; in which the destination is pre-determined, and there is no set path, such as a river, to follow -- only obstacles -- such as CliffsOfInsanity.

In brief: Any river voyage (''or other journey into the wilderness'') is a doomed expedition in which the characters alternately [[KillEmAll die]], [[GoAmongMadPeople go mad]], [[ShaggyDogStory get lost]], [[GoingNative go native]], or otherwise barely live to tell the tale.

This tends to broadly describe any expedition that involves a doomed journey along a set path (or path of least resistance) to an unfamiliar (possibly [[ShootTheShaggyDog hopeless or nonexistent]]) destination. Often this involves a boat and a river. This trope explains why GenreSavvy adventurers know to avoid river expeditions at all costs, even though it is usually the fastest way of penetrating the interior.

This tends to broadly describe ''any'' expedition that involves a doomed journey along a set path (or path of least resistance) to an unfamiliar (possibly [[ShootTheShaggyDog hopeless or nonexistent]]) destination. Often this involves a boat and a river. This trope explains why GenreSavvy adventurers know to avoid river expeditions at all costs, even though it is usually the fastest way of penetrating the interior.

** Ironic, considering that surviving comfortably in the inlands is perfectly possible, but they were too proud to ask survival tips from the natives.

Do not confuse with a certain other insane [[{{Firefly}} River]]. Or the Crazy River that Robbie Robertson sang about.

If their vessel was never seen again, see GhostShip. In the worst case, they may become [[FlyingDutchman Flying Dutchmen]], doomed to wander the wilderness forever.

* [[WalkIntoMordor Constantly averted]] in ''LordOfTheRings'', as the characters explicitly go out of their way to avoid the rivers, roads, or even straight passages whenever possible, with the strong impression that something bad would happen to them if they followed the normally prescribed route.