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.
The northern country roads were so empty they ached. Occasionally a tractor puttered by hauling the harvest. Corn. Potatoes. Some tubers I couldn’t identify. The corn kernels were spread out golden on the roadsides to dry or piled into big chickenwire bins to dry on the cob. Corn corn corn. It was like being back in Mexico. Manchurian farmers had those same campesino hands: gnarled and sandpapered from handling the abrasive husks and the tough brittle stalks of corn. Not for the first time, I thought: It’s our crops that have domesticated us, not the other way around. And: Was it worth it? This decision we made 11,000 years ago?_Walking partners: Travis Klingberg and Han Qian._
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
Zheng Guanglin
66, wanderer
Who are you?
I used to farm. I used to feed chickens. I have hyperostosis. Now, I’m just visiting my second sister-in-law. I don’t do anything. I love to wander around alone. Ha ha. Do you want a potato? (He offers a potato from his sister-in-law’s garden.)
Where do you come from?
I was born in Daguan, which is half a kilometer away from here. (Points.)
Where are you going?
Nowhere. Life just is. I was born here. That’s it. You see, I got a pain in my hands—in the bones. So I don’t work anymore, you see? The pain? I don’t see a doctor. I just drink. I drink wine. After I drink, I feel a little less pain. Ha ha.
A video showing the landscape around this Milestone
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