Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Paul Salopek on his epic adventure of following the route of the first human migration out of Africa
What do you guys think of this? Have you undertaken a hike yourself anytime in life or know of someone who has been through some berserk hikes? Share your stories.
Also, what Paul is doing here is indeed amazing right? I mean, he's on one freak of a mission.
That's really interesting to hear that somebody is actually attempting what is really the ultimate Walkabout, though I can never help but feel these attempts to "bring journalism to the digital age" are just a bit cringe-worthy. There's something about spamming the story across Twitter and Facebook that, in my opinion, misses the mark of being a digital story. It just never feels as genuine compared to successes like One Red Paperclip which just evolved as it went on, it was "emergent" from the web culture at the time. Thanks for sharing!
Oh man... That was a thing. He and I exchanged emails during the camp stove/generator phase. He was nowhere near me geographically, and I couldn't figure out anything I had to lure him any closer.like One Red Paperclip which just evolved as it went on, it was "emergent" from the web culture at the time.
It probably sounds more interesting than it is... I don't remember how I came across his experiment - probably slashdot, maybe Digg. Anyhow - I loved the idea, so I emailed him, told him where I was living and some ideas about what I could offer in trade. He responded saying he was pretty far from where I was, but maybe I had something nicer than might sweeten the deal. We traded a few more emails, but in the end, whatever I was willing to part with wasn't enough to make him drive over a thousand miles to trade. I think his next trade up was the generator.
One red paperclip is really interesting. I will look for more articles on the same. What I accidentally fumbled into while looking for similar projects as Pauls's is - Tracks http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/starsandstories/10773102/Tracks-The-true-story-behind-the-film.html In 1977 Robyn Davidson trekked 1700 miles across the Australian outback with four camels and a dog.
The best "hike" or "journey" that I ever went on was my trek to Machu picchu: I would highly recommend reading post about AnSionnachRua's "Mayo Walk." Also, you might want to check out #tripreport as there are a number of posts there that may satiate your desire for trek info. As for Paul Salopek's "epic adventure," -Sounds like a hell of an adventure. I'm not sure about it's anthropological merit, but I guarantee it will make for a hell of a story.Have you undertaken a hike yourself anytime in life
-Well, I certainly hope the answer for everyone reading this is "yes."
Actually, it’s something even more intangible yet maddeningly granitic: borders. I love them and hate them. They unlock strange panoramas in our collective psyche; the boundaries of identity, of inward-outerness. Yet each one I walk across is also a threshold of human failure. A failure of imagination, of compassion, of curiosity. This is an amazing answer. As someone who has not yet traveled across my country's border, I've never thought about it like that.What has been the biggest impediment to walking? ...
One of my stories was last December when I had some vacation time I needed to use or lose. I consulted a snow cover map and found in the lower 48 states (US) there was snow in Yellowstone, the Rockies and upstate New York. After eliminating Yellowstone due to flight costs, I reviewed trail descriptions in Colorado and New York. I settled on New York because the Lake Placid tourism site was really good. I didn't really know what I was getting into. This is what I found: I think what he's doing is amazing on a personal level. It's one of those epic voyages that doesn't really solve anything or change anything, but it's no less awe inspiring.