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.
Chance landed this Milestone at the DMZ: one of the most heavily guarded, surveilled, and mined frontiers in the world. There was still no peace deal between North and South Korea. There hadn’t been one for more than 70 years. The two countries were still technically at war. There was only a truce. The cicadas ignored even that. They buzzed in a blistering heat that was innocent of borders or wars. As they had for a million years. As they would for a million years more.
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
Hakmyeon Kim and Anna Yon Euneha
Civic leader and peace treaty advocate.
Who are you?
I’m just a trail walker here at the DMZ. I enjoy it.
Where do you come from?
I was born in Seoul.
Where are you going?
Home.
Who are you?
I’m just a Korean woman of 55. I work in the Gimpo walking center part-time, promoting the peace trail along the DMZ.
Where do you come from?
Seoul.
Where are you going?
I want to go trekking in the mountains of Pakistan. That is my dream.
A video showing the landscape around this Milestone
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