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.
I was going to celebrate reaching the 50th Milestone of the Out of Eden Walk.
Every hundred miles I perform this ritual, recording the physical essences of the walked Earth. Fifty is a nice round number. But I forgot. I walked right past it. It was a hot day, and we were pressing hard to reach the village of Langar. So I had to hire a car and drive back. Somebody needs to invent an alarm for a GPS device. Or I need to learn, after almost five years of walking, how to properly use mine.
The river is a Pamir headwater stream of the fabled Amu Darya—known in ancient times as the Oxus. Alexander the Great reportedly floated his army across it using his men’s skin tents as inflatable rafts. He had no problems with technology.
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
Haider Ali
Construction worker, age 36
Who are you?
I'm unemployed. I worked in Russia but came back.
Where are you going?
Now I'm going back to Langar. Eventually I'll go back to Russia.
Where are you from?
I'm from Langar.
A video showing the landscape around this Milestone
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