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 walked into her yard because we were lost. She gave us directions. She gave us tin cups of well water. She made room for us on a rope bed set under a tree. Her mother-in-law sat on the bed. All the while, she herself squatted low in the mud so that, in deference, her head would be lower than her mother-in-law’s. When I asked her for one more picture, she said, “No.” And this made me happy.
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
Sushila Bairuwa and Suraj
Farmer, 28, and son, 6
Who are you?
I’m just me. I do hard labor. I’ve been married for 10 or 11 years. I have a son, Suraj. He will be four soon.
Where do you come from?
I am from Sindala. It’s in the direction of Jaipur.
Where are you going?
Me? I’m not going anywhere. I’ll still be here in 5 years or 10 years or more. I only wish there was more water access here. When the monsoons don’t come, then I have to walk to the hand pump. That’s about a 10-minute walk away.
A video showing the landscape around this Milestone
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