Hiking the Glenn Highway through Alaska. Published in Asphalt Pilgrims.
Paul Salopek
Every hundred miles Salopek pauses to record the landscape and a person he meets, assembling a global snapshot of humankind. Milestones reflect straight-line distances, but his walked distances are generally much longer. More on these waypoints here.
Every hundred miles Salopek pauses to record the landscape and a person he meets, assembling a global snapshot of humankind. Milestones reflect straight-line distances, but his walked distances are generally much longer. More on these waypoints here.
We had passed the waypoint late in the night after a tough 30-mile day, after walking through cold and empty desert. We were too tired to stop. The Caspian Sea beckoned. So we kept on through the dark.
We returned the next day. The wind blew across the limestone buttes where early humans had left their Stone Age drawings of extinct wild oxen and of dances and of voluptuous women — the wind like some primordial ache in its howling. It raked an abandoned oil well, stripping the land to the raw. It was the end of something. It was the end of the Caucasus.
A wraparound soundscape at this Milestone
This Milestone’s location on a map
Photos of the ground under Paul’s feet and the sky above at this Milestone
A brief question and answer with the first person Paul meets at this Milestone
Ilham Eyvazov
Taxi driver, age 54
Who are you?
I’m a driver now. In the past I was a fireman. I drove a fire engine. I liked that a lot.
Where do you come from?
I was born here in Gobustan. I’m from a family of workers.
Where are going?
I’m staying here. I’ll live in Gobustan.
Observations from social media from the Milestone location
The cold atmosphere of Gizildash, Azerbaijan, during the Christmas holiday season brings out childhood memories of holiday celebrations. While decorating the Christmas trees and welcoming the holidays, people are also cheering for Fenerbahce, the Turkish soccer team, and following the last episodes of a Turkish TV series. They are expressing their respect and gratitude to “Mahammad Amin Rasulzade”, the founder of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan.
A video showing the landscape around this Milestone
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