Now here’s two hikers with ambitious plans. A Utah man says he plans to hike with a friend from the northern tip of Alaska to the southern tip of South America, what he calls “hike the Americas.” The 19,000 mile trek should take the pair up to five years.
Logan McEwan told KSL in Utah he left his job at Olive Garden and plans to walk the route with a pack weighing no more than 55 pounds. The route is about the furthest point-to-point hike you can possibly do in the western hemisphere.
His pack includes everything he’ll need to charge his electronic devices, slash his way through heavy brush and protect himself from bears and whatever else he might encounter. You can see what he packed on his Facebook Page.
McEwan plans to conquer the route with his friend Robert Duhammel from California. The pair plan to leave Barrow, Alaska on Mothers Day May 10. After descending into the United States they will pick up the Pacific Crest Trail and after Mexico passing through every country in Central America. Then it’s through the Darien Gap and eventually the Straits of Magellan. When it’s all over they should reach their destination by 2020 when McEwan’s passport expires.
“The purpose is to do this trip to help other people and to see the places that aren’t going to be there in four or five years,” McEwan told the television station.
The pair plans to travel without money, performing odd jobs for food and will likely stop in places along the way. If they walked straight through, McEwan estimates they could finish the route in 3 ½ years. But that’s not the point. He wants to really soak up the adventure. He said he wants to exchange “service for a story.”
“Whatever they need, we’re going to offer our services to them,” he said. “I’m going to ask just, in return, for a story about their life. And then I’m going to write a memoir about these people I meet along the way. And it’s going to be very interesting — and spiritual.”
To help fund Logan’s journey click here.
Photo credit: Hike the Americas/Facebook page
