An American long-distance hiker by the name of Holly Harrison has just reached a major milestone in his attempt to trek all the way from Ushuaia, Argentina to Prudhoe Bay in Alaska. That is a distance of more than 15,000 miles (24,140 km), roughly following the same route of the Pan-America Highway.
Outside magazine has posted a profile of Harrison, who recently reached the U.S., arriving in his home country back on November 3. He started the journey back on December 17, 2016, leaving from Ushuaia and walking across 12 countries as he makes his way north. The plan is to reach Prudhoe Bay in Alaska by June 1 of 2018. If successful, Harrison – trail name Cargo – will be just the third person to complete the entire route on foot, and the first to do so nonstop.
For Harrison, this isn’t just about completing the hike, he wants to do it in record time as well. He’s aiming to be done in just 20 months, while the previous fastest time was six and a half years by British hiker George Meegan. Round the world trekker Karl Busby also did the route, but it took him seven years to finish. Because of his focus on getting the speed record, which is easily within his reach provided nothing unexpected happens, Harrison has rarely veered from his path, preferring to stay focused on his goal.
No stranger to long-distance hiking, Harrison once thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail, starting the first 200-miles on crutches. Back in 2015, he tried to hike his current route as well, but snapped a tendon, bringing a premature end to the trek after just 1700 miles (2735 km). But rather than just start where he left off, he went back to mile 0 and began all over again. This time he found more success, and is now two-thirds of his way to the finish line. He even marched across the infamous Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia, a lawless, rugged section of the planet the most people avoid.
Find out more about Harrison by reading the Outside article here.
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Just saw this on Willie Geist's show, first I heard of it. Outstanding sir ! Best of luck on your through walk… so impressive…Rangers are a special breed.
Merry Christmas