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Taking a Walk

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An unusually large portion of today’s press coverage appears to be stuck on predictions and opinions about Lance Armstrong and what he might have said to Oprah regarding his powerful, tireless legs and how they got that way. So I thought it would be an appropriately contrarian move to head in the other direction entirely – towards a guy who is drawing attention by using his ordinary legs to move very slowly and deliberately.

Journalist Paul Salopek is taking a very long walk. He’s following the path of human migration out of the cradle of civilization in Africa, across Asia to the Bering Straight, and then down the western edge of the Americas to the last place on Earth to be settled by humans, Tierra del Fuego. The path is displayed on a website that will follow his journey, which is expected to take seven years.

Aside from the bunions and blisters, the sunburn, the frostbite, the aching joints and the pebbles in his shoe, Salopek will have to navigate past at least 30 man-made borders, which he expects to be the toughest obstacles of his journey. He should know – as a globetrotting journalist he has had some serious problems with suspicious governments, most prominently in Sudan in 2006.

Seven years! Considering how far he plans to go, it really doesn’t seem like enough time. But Salopek is 50 years old, so I suppose it’s now or never for a massive undertaking like this. Not that a fit 70 year old man couldn’t do it also, but at that age I would want to do it in a golf cart.

Seven years is the same as about 15,330 rounds of golf at the pace I play, a speed which allows for a lot of fruitless lunging and a considerable amount of fishing around in the weeds. I won’t come close to spending seven years walking around a golf course in my lifetime, but if I could reclaim some of those steps it would be more satisfying to put them towards a higher purpose, like this Out of Eden project.

Here’s a walking tune to wish Paul Salopek well. There’s about a minute spent on tuning at the beginning of this, but what’s your hurry?

What would you put in your backpack for a 7 year walk?

49 thoughts on “Taking a Walk”

  1. Good morning. I would have to do a very careful job of packing to make a walk like Salopek is attempting. On that long trip I think he will find himself in some places where that might be very few resources for a traveler on foot and he might need to live out of his backpack. Of course, I think most Babooners, including me, would carry some chocolate. On any trip I usually take a book to read. He will need to renew the supplies he carries along the way, so I’m assuming I could pick up a new book to carry when I finish the one I am carrying. I guess it would be a book, chocolate, and essential items needed to keep me going.

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    1. Just getting online today and before I read any of the comments, my very first thought was “well, duh… chocolate”.

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  2. Rise and Shine Baboons:

    Now, I don’t know what I would pack–I feel too business-bound to leave! However, when I was 4 years old I would regularly run away from home when I was mad at my mother. I would pack my little red suitcase with my 2-record set of yellow Howdy Doody records, my favorite book, What Do Daddies Do All Day?, my red cowboy hat, and my doll Mercy. Then off I would go.

    Some days this running away thing still looks good!

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    1. Well, it seems you had no problem deciding what you would need to pack when you were 4 years old, Jacque. I can’t remember any favorite things that I would want to take with me when I was four. I do remember having a treasured cowboy hat when I was a little more than four years old that I might have wanted to take with me if I decided to leave home.

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    2. Don’t know about four-year-old me, but seven-year-old me would have recognized the utility of one of my doll-sized quilts made by my grandmother (for warmth, table cloth, building a tiny fort, shade, hiding things, decoration, turning into a super cape – truly a multi-purpose 2 foot square of fabric).

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  3. Something to remember loved ones (not necessarily a photo – I might take one of Daughter’s lighter weight art works), a first book (to be swapped out as I go – as Jim noted), a journal (probably something like a sturdy composition book that can be easily swapped out for new and mailed home as they get filled – will also need a steady supply of pencils, just like the astronauts), something for carrying water, a small first aid kit (see above: blisters), an extra pair of socks, a Leatherman tool, and little things I can give away or swap with folks along the way (think along the lines of the lapel pins folks swap at the Olympics). Oh, and a small camera that I could hook up at internet cafes along the way to upload photos to a web site like Flickr. I guess I might need a way to get some of the local currency along the way to pay for time on those internet cafe computers and the odd cup of coffee…

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  4. My choices would be close to Anna’s. First would be a superb portable radio. Second would be a MP3 player loaded with good music. Third would be a collection of photos that mean a lot to me. All three of these are on my MP3 player, a Zune that is a radio, photo album and a repository of over 6,000 songs. Next would be an Olympus XZ 1 camera. I’d want a top quality headlamp, the kind that straps to your head with the lamp high on the forehead. I’ve never owned a cell phone, but for a trip like this I might want one so I could call for help if a jaguar was eating one of my legs. A little notebook and a pen for it. And I’d want some uninteresting object that conceals two tightly rolled $500 bills in case I get picked up for speeding in Alabama or picking forbidden fruit in Utah..

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  5. On This American Life there was a story that mentioned Peace Pilgrim who was able to spend most life walking across the country with almost nothing other than the clothes on her back. She didn’t ask for help, but received lots help from people she meet as traveled on foot, covering 25 miles a day. If you can follow Peace Pilgrim’s example, you could travel for a long time with nothing in your backpack. A guy who tried to follow her example quit after 3 days.

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  6. 110 ft rope
    Flint
    Water purifier
    Solar charger
    Tablet for notes songs books camera flashlight pictures
    Tea
    Pot
    Pan/cup
    Hat
    Extra shoes
    Camera
    Space blanket
    Canteen
    Salt/ pepper
    Guitar/ uke &strings
    Ball
    Knife
    Hatchet

    Good exercise

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  7. Making the assumption that my seven year walk would follow Paul Salopek’s route, I’d bring much of what tim is packing except the musical instruments. I’d also want a small tent, and my back is hurting from merely contemplating sleeping on the ground without a foam sleeping pad. I’d have to think about what food items to bring. Many of the areas Salopek will be passing through are quite remote with rugged terrain, and I imagine that extreme weather conditions are going to be a factor. On second thought, I think I’ll stay here and just follow Mr. Salopek’s progress via the internet.

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  9. Morning-
    In the first place I’ll need the foot / ankle transplant if you think I’m walking longer than about 7 minutes.
    So I’m packing a Visa card and my cell phone/camera/iPod/calendar/flashlight. Oh, and an extra shirt, pants and clean underwear and socks.

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      1. Heck with Renee’s credit card, I want Warren Buffet’s (it’s not that I don’t love you Renee, I’m just guessing that Mr. Buffet has a larger line of credit than most any of us here on the Trail).

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  12. if this guy is trying for verismillitude, wouldn’t he coordinate his traveling style with the technological developments that occured during the time period he is emulating? At what point did our ancestors start using animals for travel and carrying things. If he did this, his manner of travel would change as he progresses (to reflect changes in technology with the passage of the eons).

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  13. Actually, the main thing I’d like to bring along would be a “bearer” such as were used on early safaris. He would carry all my crap on his head, starting with my hammock, my Aeron chair and enough scotch to float an elephant. Ideally, he would know as many jokes as my old friend, Lefty, so he could entertain me when we were in areas of poor radio reception.

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    1. Dale said that if he was as old as I am he would need a golf cart. I could do the walking, but I might also need a “bearer” to carry stuff for me. My Dad had a motorized device that he used as a cart for his golf bag in his elder years. He continued walk around the golf course and only used the small motorized cart to to give him relief from carrying his golf bag. I think I would like a small motor powered cart like the one my Dad used for his golf bag that I could use to carry my pack instead of carrying it on my back.

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  14. A water purifier and a hydration pack, tea, dried herbs, trail mix and dried foods, a collapsible bowl, a similar cup and utensils, clothing in layers, clean underwear and hiking socks, fire starters and a couple of lighters, a candle, small flashlights, pens, notebooks, iPod (not sure how to go about charging the battery), a Leatherman or similar tool with a good knife, some rope, a couple of large plastic bags, a First Aid kit with those little blister cushion circle thingies and crushable ice packs, my 4-lb backpacking tent, sleeping bag and camping pad, dog food and little doggie booties for Pippin’s sore feet. The dog food would likely be the heaviest thing, but it would be necessary. Also, it would be nice to have one of those Martin backpacker guitars.

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      1. This walkabout is going to ruin Renee. Don’t worry, Renee, I don’t think there’ll be too many ATM machines along much of the route.

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    3. Now there’s an idea, bring your dog along! Daisy would be able to carry her own food, and with a little luck some of mine as well. She’d also be handy for keeping me warm in colder weather, and a sweet companion everywhere.

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      1. If I took my dogs along, the trip would be shorter than 7 years. Despite trying to channel the Dog Whisperer, my dogs PULL!

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        1. As does Daisy. In fact I can’t walk her this time of year for fear that she’ll pull me over. Come spring she’s learning to heel!

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  15. Everything that has been mentioned sounds good, but with all that weight in a backpack I don’t think I could move more than an inch. I don’t think anyone has mentioned pillows. I have a hard time sleeping w/o a pillow, so that would be helpful.

    I think for a seven-year trip w/ only the stuff on my back, I would have to finally break down and buy a Kindle/Nook, whatever. I would need a small van to carry 7 years worth of actual books!

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  16. I might modify Salopek’s plan by stopping each summer to plant a garden and then moving on in the fall. I would do that to keep my seed collection going by growing out some of the plants in the garden for seeds and carrying the seeds with me to plant a new garden the following summer. I could live off of what I grew in the garden during the summer and would have to find another source of food during the rest of the year. This is similar to a trip I read about in which some people floated down the Ohio and the Mississippi stopping each summer to plant a garden.

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  18. Thanks, Dale, for the heads up on this 7-year sojourn. Fascinating – I’ve signed up to receive email updates of his journey.

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    1. This song was commissioned for VS’s and my church’s 150th anniversary. My choir recorded it with Ann Reed for her album but this video is by the Twin Cities Women’s Choir (try to ignore abrupt ending).
      This is less of a literal walk than a spiritual one.

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      1. Lovely for as long as it lasted, Lisa. Too bad about the abrupt ending.

        I’ve just spent almost an hour watching this video. Feynman is such an inspiration I think. Just love his sense of joy in discovery. I know chances are small that anyone will take the time to watch this entire thing, but to me it’s well worth it:
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn4_40hAAr0

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