A Long Trek Revival?

 

Road to Kazbegi, Caucasus Georgia. Credit: Mzuriana.

So back in a day, I made plans to walk from the Arctic Circle to Tierra del Fuego. The trek would mark an important birthday. I gobbled up all of the online long-walk journals I could find. However, other interests interrupted, and I pushed the plan onto the shelf.

Now I've revived said plan, in a way. This time not to walk its length, but to traverse it via various methods, including walking, cycling, or on motorized wheels, whether mine or a public bus or tourist van, or all of 'em. And maybe I'll start at the bottom and go up instead of move from top to bottom. Too soon to tell as yet. Or maybe I'll do as some hikers do on the Appalachian Trail: by sections over non-continuous times, and maybe not even in a sequential order.

So I'll be gathering up long-trek sagas again. 

I already gathered some here.

I guess I'm still not ready to put down roots yet, after all. 

Long Journeys: Tracks, About a Woman's Walk Across Western Australia

Robyn Davidson. Credits: Rick Smolen, National Geographic,

In the late 1970s, Robyn Davidson walked across west Australian deserts with camels and her dog. The trek was more than 1700 miles. 

She wrote a book, Tracks, and there is a recent movie by the same name. The movie is perhaps not as engrossing as the book might be (which I haven't read). I didn't feel the weight of what that lonely, long walk must have been.  

A loner extraordinaire, in the movie, she says: "I don't know why a desire for privacy has to be defined or defended. All I know is that when it's just me and my animals in the desert, I feel free." 

Robyn Davidson, with her resistance - or inability or lack of caring - to articulate her  drive to do this long journey, reminds me of another long walker, Sarah Marquis, a Swiss woman. From a New York Times profile on Ms. Marquis: 

As Francis Spufford writes in his history of British polar exploration, “I May Be Some Time,” for ages, men have wandered intentionally into extreme hardship, and they “are notoriously bad at saying why.” Marquis and her female peers — women who, say, walk across the Sahara alone with a camel or pull a 200-pound sled to the South Pole — don’t explain it much better. “People always ask, ‘Was it something in your childhood?’ ” says Felicity Aston, the first woman to ski solo across Antarctica. “I’ve thought about it endlessly: no.”

From this Dumbofeather interview, Ms. Davidson gives her view on the question of why one does this sort of thing: 

Interviewer:  Oh yes, people will all start chiming, ‘Oh that’s why.’ That’s why she walked across the desert, that’s why she’s like that or this.
Ms. Davidson: Yes, all that derivative determinist sort of thinking. Life is not like that. Life isn’t simple—it’s not just one thing causing another thing, and really to try and reduce things, this need to reduce everything, somehow to me, it makes more sense to keep it all moving.

There is a recent interview with Ms. Davidson, following the premier of this movie. Now in her early 60s, Ms. Davidson said something provocative: ''I'm less confident now. That arrogance of youth and that kind of ignorant confidence can get you through a whole lot of things, and then life does its stuff and you get smashed around and beaten up. You get full of doubts and you end up making a person out of those bits and pieces.'' 

You can listen to a 2012 interview with Ms. Davidson here with Phillip Adams. Don't be surprised to hear a man reading an excerpt from her book at the start. 

I am attracted to stories of long journeys. Sure, it's about the adventure. It's also about the overcoming of obstacles, of fear. 

Here is a compendium of journey posts.

:

Rootless: Long Walk: "This Wild Call From Inside Me"

Sarah Marquis. Source: Femina

"After a year, year and a half, I get this urge to go. I get cranky. And my family says, ‘All right, it’s time to go.’"

Source: New York Times, 25 September 2014.

Sarah Marquis is one of National Geographic's Adventurers of the Year for 2014.

The New York Times has a long interview with her in The Woman Who Walked 10,000 Miles in Three Years.

I like reading about women who take long journeys. Some previous examples: 

Rootless Lit: Eighty Days - about Nelly Bly's and Elizabeth Bisland's competitive race around the world in 1889.

Janet Moreland's (a fellow Missourian of a certain age) solo kayak trek down the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers in 2013.

"One Thing That Scares You A Day Keeps Apathy at Bay" with references to Molly Langmuir's solo hike in the Grand Tetons and Cheryl Strayed's solo hike on the Pacific Crest Trail.

Sisters of Sinai: How Two Lady Adventurers Discovered the Hidden Gospels around the turn of the 20th century.

Long Journeys: The River .... and a Sidebar on Journeywomen

Love Your Big Muddy

I love that this river adventurer is a woman, she's of a certain age, and she's a fellow Missourian. She lives 30 miles from my hometown.

Her precís (I've added the links):

My name is Janet Moreland. I am a Missouri River paddler from Columbia, MO, most often found at or near Cooper's Landing. I recently graduated from college with a degree in Education, and am now certified to teach middle school social studies and/or science. Currently, I am in the midst of a 3700-mile Source-to-Sea solo kayak expedition from the Missouri River source at Brower's Spring, Montana, to the Gulf of Mexico. I left Columbia on April 14, 2013, and anticipate a November completion. My mission includes elements of education, environmental stewardship, and empowering youth, women, and men to confidently pursue their dreams.

Here is a podcast interview with Ms. Moreland at The Pursuit Zone.


Fear

In her post here, Ms. Moreland talks about times recently when she felt fear. It was good to see how she felt it and what she did about it. [The bold and underlining are mine.] 

On a treacherous lake crossing that she'd received numerous warnings about, she wrote in her journal: “I need to stop wondering if I’m making the right decision and just trust my judgment. I can SO do this!”

At one campsite where she worried about mountain lions, she reported: " .... That very night, after I was zipped up in my tent, some animal made a loud noise right around dusk just outside my tent. Holy mackerel! It was a honk, cough, yell, growl, screech, or something, I don’t know what.  “Stay calm,” I told myself. “What do you need to do to survive?”  I took the safety off of my bear spray, got my buck knife out, grabbed my machete, and put my whistle around my neck.  I was hoping it was not a mountain lion. ..... "

During a nasty electrical storm: " .... I couldn’t help but think I had just inserted into the ground a lighting rod, which seemed to be the high point on shore, and right outside my shelter.  Oh well, there was nothing more I could do.  I had to wait out the storm, and I did it squatting with only my feet touching ground and my hand on my SPOT “SOS” button.  I thought if lightning struck me, my reflex would press the button....." 

How Ms. Moreland's handled her fear reminded me of two other women who undertook long journeys:

This hilarious telling of Molly Langmuir's four-day solo hike in the Tetons, where she was terrified of encountering a bear. My favorite bit:

On a scale of one to 10, how much fun did you have?
I'm actually not sure I had any fun. The trip was challenging, which I always like, and now that I'm through it, something I'm glad I did, but I basically spent the entire time in a state of sheer terror, so there wasn't much room for fun. I guess a one?

And the book, Wild, by Cheryl Strayed. She told herself that she did not fear mountain lions, bears, or rattlesnakes. That this was necessary for her to be able to embark on the hike. If she'd allowed herself to consider fear, then she couldn't have gone.


But here's the sidebar on journeywomen

There's a lot of debate in the news right now about banning the niqab in some places or not banning, and about imperialist countries imposing their cultural shoulds on other cultures, that a culture will stick up for itself, thank you very much, and so on.

The other day, when I went to the Alamogordo Balloon Invitational by myself, without asking the permission of a brother or father or uncle or husband or son, having driven to the event by myself, in a car that I alone own, and walked around the event unescorted, I appreciated - yet again - how lucky I am that I have the choice to do all of the things I just listed.

When I think about Ms. Moreland, or Ms. Strayed, or Ms. Longmuir's journeys, it is with appreciation that these women have the choice to do such things.

"Such things" including the fundamental human right to use our intelligence and talents to their fullest, without religious, cultural, or other restriction imposed on us because we are women.

This right is called self-determination: the determination of one's own fate or course of action without compulsion; free will.

So while the debate goes on, I'd like this basic tenet not to be lost.


When I'm feeling exasperated about the latest indignity done to women somewhere - control dressed up in the guise of culture - I like to play this video.

Some might consider it a metaphorical middle finger. 

Movies: Famous American Trails

Grand Canyon Rim Trail bench

Moving on from journeys, long or icy .... to the "triple crown:"  Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide.

If you can only watch one, go straight for the last one - the Walkumentary. 

Chubb Trail along Current River, Missouri

National Geographic: Appalachian Trail. What a nice movie. Gorgeous vistas - as much as I love the New Mexico terrain, the vision of all of the green-lapped mountains along the AT were like a sweet glass of water. There are so many stories, direct and indirect, related to the Appalachian Trail, and the director really had to make some tough decisions on what to focus on for a one-hour film. I think there was a good balance between the scenery, history, cameos by hikers/volunteers/scientists, and wildlife. It was a real pleasure to watch. Go here to get a start on the 2013 through-hiker journals.

Rojo Grande Trail, Palo Duro Canyon, Texas

Pacific Crest Trail. You can watch it the free way (like I did), at the cost of video sharpness, in two parts on youtube. Decent documentary. Not as polished or as comprehensive as the professional job done by NG for the Appalachian Trail. Morbid and understandable focus on the condition of the hikers' feet. Watching them cut at their blisters, not for the squeamish. I turned away a few times. Yecch.Get a start on the 2013 through-hiker journals here.

Sandia Crest Trail, outside Albuquerque, New Mexico

The Walkumentary: Continental Divide Trail. Another video (series) you can watch for free.  Dammit, this is an entertaining movie! Populated by good-natured hikers, the extraordinary adventures of P.O.D.'s tortured feet, artistic shots of poo, good music, funny stories, the poor guy who had a moth trapped in his ear. The best of the three documentaries. 

Trail to ruins, near Tlaxcala, Mexico

And here's a shout out to Missouri's own Ozark Trail, a long trail in progress, which will someday connect with the Ozark Highland Trail in Arkansas:






John Roth, who founded the Ozark Trail Association, died suddenly - and prematurely - in 2009. Like Jessica Terrell, he was a champion of that part of our Declaration of Independence that says we have an inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness, and for them, that pursuit included sustainable recreation in nature.

Movies: Icy Journeys

Rustavi - A snowy day

Am still on a journey movie thing.

Here's a spate of movies about journeys into really cold places.

Arctic Extreme: 118 Days in the Captivity of Ice. This was one hour of scary tension. A polar bear shoving his head into your tent! Not knowing if or when the ice was going to break and plunge you into the depths of frigid water! Hearing the omnipresent rending and grinding of ice all around you! Carrying supremely heavy loads over craggy, unforgiving shards of hard snow. It's stressful just writing about it. Story: A group of Slovakian and Russian men cross the North Pole by walking from Russia to Canada without any external support en route. I liked how the narrator and photographer were able to illuminate the hardship and chronic fear experienced by the team in an understated manner. If there was ever conflict among the team members, that went unmentioned.  I contrast this with the prima donna behavior exhibited by one of the principals in another long-journey movie, Running the Sahara.  

The Greely Expedition. PBS summarizes the movie right nicely: "In 1881, 25 men led by Adolphus Greely set sail from Newfoundland to Lady Franklin Bay in the high Arctic, where they planned to collect a wealth of scientific data from a vast area of the world’s surface that had been described as a "sheer blank." Three years later, only six survivors returned, with a daunting story of shipwreck, starvation, mutiny and cannibalism. The film reveals how poor planning, personality clashes, questionable decisions and pure bad luck conspired to turn a noble scientific mission into a human tragedy." A subtext of this documentary was how the adversity "made" some of the men and brought out the worst in others. It was also the story of how low the leader sank in his behavior, becoming an object of his men's contempt, only to have the opportunity to rehabilitate himself later, earning their utmost respect.

Everest: IMAX. Stunning photography. Overwrought music. A Disneyfied view of Kathmandu.  An oddly detached accounting of the tragedy that occurred during the filming of this documentary, which told the story of a group of people climbing Mt. Everest. (Jon Krakauer's book on this event is excellent: Into Thin Air.) Overall impression of the documentary: Dull.

Svaneti.

Movies: Long Journeys, Part 2

I had a boss once who complained that it took me took me too long to find presenters for the association's workshops. He thought I was trying too hard to find really good presenters. I explained to him that it takes just as long to find mediocre speakers as it does to find exceptional ones. 

Thus I introduce Part 2 of the Long Journey Movies. (Part 1 is here.)

Because I am not immortal, I don't wish to invest many long minutes in watching bad movies and have nothing to show for that investment. So you get the yawn with the good.
 
First, the good: 10 MPH (or America at 10 MPH) is a charming movie. It is good-hearted and light. Synopsis: A team follows one guy across America on a Segway. One dude, J.Fred, doesn't accompany the team on the trip. I'm not even sure what his role is, but his spirit somehow intertwines with the journey, and he's listed on the closing credits as associate producer. He is a trip. I especially love his idea for a magazine that he explains at the end of the movie. He'd call it Failure - stories of people who tried to make a go of their dreams, and failed. Sounds better when he explains it.

I also like how the team seems to hit people we don't usually see on such adventures. The people on the Nez Pearce Indian Reservation. The folks in East St. Louis. The team rolled through New Haven, Missouri, a really pretty river town close to my original home base.

New Haven, Missouri

There's no preaching about how we all should live. The team doesn't embarrass anyone, with the exception of a supercilious cop in a small Illinois town who, frankly, should be embarrassed. I enjoyed seeing how the Chicago police represented the city's reputation for friendliness. The Segway in the corn maze. Loved it.

 
My Run. I was only able to watch about half an hour, then I started skipping ahead to see when everyone stopped talking about the guy's health problems and how they were sure he'd drop dead if he did the run he intended (from Minneapolis to Atlanta). I guess he did actually run, but I didn't stick around to watch.


Into the Wind (Terry Fox Story). A remarkable story about a young man who attempted to run across Canada, although he had an artificial leg. He made the run in 1980 in order to raise money for cancer research. I wish the movie about Terry Fox was more watchable, but I seem to be in the minority of those who didn't care for it, based on the good reviews it's received. I didn't finish it.



 

Cycling Across America

No, that's not me doing that.

But on my way to Raton, New Mexico yesterday, I saw a guy tooling away on a bicycle on I-25 South, hauling one of those baby carriages behind him.

As I noted here, long journeys have been on my mind lately. Today, I tried to find any online evidence of this person's trek, didn't succeed, but discovered a cottage industry on such journeys:

Bicycle Routes Across the USA, by Shular Scudamore. You can also access his blog and related information via this link.

The Across America North Tour does all the planning and logistical arrangements for you. It ain't cheap.

Bike Across America offers trip reports and guidance for those interesting in giving it a go. The info's a little dated, but still interesting.

New York Times reporter, Bruce Weber, has cycled across America twice: 1993 at age 39 and 2011 at age 57. Good reading. (Google on "On Wheels: America at 10 M.P.H." and then pull up the cache versions of his 1993 entries. Alternatively, if you're actually a card-carrying NYT subscriber, maybe you'll be able to get to the archives via the links in the 2011 articles.)

Trek Travel, like The Across America North Tour above, facilitates the cross-country affairs for you - all you have to do is ride the bike. 2013 cost: $15,999.00. 

The Adventure Cycling Association offers cross-country trip journals here.

Again, cycling across America is not in my plan. Noooo, I'm still fixated on mountain lions on a New Mexico trail. .... Carrying a boxcutter sounded like a good protection strategy til a conversation with one of my sisters today, who told me that another sister carries a very big, very sharp knife when she hikes in the wilderness.

So that's what I'm thinking about.

Movies: Long Journeys, Part 1

Recently, I've been watching documentaries about long journeys. Really long journeys.

Here is a selection in no particular order:


180 Degrees South

180 Degrees South.  Beautiful scenery. You could actually pop this movie onto your screen, set it for auto-replay, hit mute, and enjoy a constant loop of outdoor beauty without sound while you go about your business.  You mght want to watch it fully first, though, as it has several stories to relate to you. Good music, too.

In brief:  "The film emulates the 1968 trip made by Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia, but rather than by land, Jeff Johnson travels by sea from Mexico and south along the west coast of Chile. The film opens with original home movie footage as taken by Chouinard and Tompkins, and then continues with Johnson's own footage, in which he includes surfing, sailing and climbing..."

A movie trailer:

Ride the Divide

Ride the Divide is about a 2711-mile bike race along the Continental Divide from Banff, Alberta, Canada, to the U.S.-Mexico border at Antelope Wells, New Mexico.

Riders encountered snow, heat, rain, dangerous inclines and declines, mechanical failures, bears, bison, deer, blisters, open sores, swollen legs and feet, dehydration, and terrible loneliness.  They were awed by transcendent natural beauty, and then, almost bored by it. Assuming appropriate fitness, skill, and properly-working gear, the race, because of its length and solitary nature, was a brain game. 


Here's a trailer:



Running the Sahara

Running the Sahara is about three men (and their rather large support crew) ... running the Sahara Desert. Each of the men has an interesting backstory.  I've got some strong likes and dislikes about this movie.

I liked the soundtrack - music composed by Heitor Pereira. Except. Nothing against Mr. Pereira, but the race went through Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Libya, and Egypt. Countries with rich, rich musical structure. Mali alone is world-renowned for its music. What an artistic opportunity wasted, to not use the music of the Saharan people.

It was painful to watch Charlie, one of the runners, do a manipulation number on Don's head (the crew chief). Bullshit like, "If you don't want to be here, then leave now." Stoopid. Is he doing the job today? Is he there today? Is he acting professionally? Then whether or not he wants to be there is irrelevant. Although this bit of unpleasantness was explained - quite understandably - as being a result of the severe emotional toll the running takes, I'm guessing this is Charlie's MO when it comes to getting his way on things. ... especially when the petulant behavior continued as the race went on. Could be that Charlie's just kind of a jerk even when he's not doing a 111-day run of 4400+ miles. His teammates, Kevin and Ray, showed a lot of grace when dealing with him.

Some of the scenery is stunning. As with the other journey documentaries, the movie illustrated how critical one's attitude is to sustain oneself through such an arduous expedition.

A trailer:

More to come ...