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Unbounded – Greater Patagonia Trail documentary

“Unbounded” shows the beauty, the cultural richness but also the challenges of this trail network. I highly recommend watching this work of art to all prospective hikers as part of their preparation.
— Jan Dudeck (creator of GPT)

Four young people who didn’t know each other at the start hiked 4 months on the Greater Patagonia Trail in Chile.

Only one had much experience hiking.

They made plenty of mistakes. Carried huge packs. At the start they could only manage about 7km / day.

The Greater Patagonia Trail is a route, not a trail. It’s unsigned. It’s wilderness. It’s very challenging.

Despite many, many problems, the documentary turned out to be quite entertaining. I recommend it.

Click PLAY or watch the trailer on YouTube.

I watched on Amazon Prime. But it is available on other video streaming sites.

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Getúlio Felipe climbs Marmolada

Getúlio Felipe is a 14-year old kid born with cerebral palsy. That didn’t stop him climbing the highest mountain in the Italian Dolomites 3,343 m (10,968 ft).

… At the age of four, he was advised to start using a wheelchair, which he refused. He told the world he was going to learn to walk.
Age 5, nothing. Age 6, nothing.

Age 7, Getulio took his first steps. This in itself was an achievement no one saw possible, but in his own words, “the impossible does not exist”.

His sheer determination has inspired people around the world, giving people hope when they had lost it. …

… climbing Marmolada involves crossing a glacier with huge crevasses and then a steep climb requiring ropes, crampons, and ice axes. Just to add to the difficulty, there was a deep snowpack …

The day a boy became a man and inspired the world

Accompanying Getúlio on this journey were Pedro McCardell, creator of Lyfx, an app that conects travelers to local guides, Alessio Nardellotto, an experienced climber from the Dolomites, Alberto Benchimol and Stefano Fabris, who worked as a separate support team for safety and image capture.

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Charles Darwin was a hiker

He got into hiking in his 20s, but it was trekking and scrambling in little know wilderness on four continents visited on his five-year-long H.M.S. Beagle voyage between 1831 and 1836 that cement him as one of the most worldly hikers in history.

 “Mount Darwin” is the highest peak in Tierra del Fuego. On February 12, 1834, Captain FitzRoy named a mountain after him on his birthday. …

Mt. Darwin

Darwin walked mainly to discover plants and animals unique to those regions.

I learned all this by reading his travelogue Voyage of the Beagle.

By the way, the famous phrase “survival of the fittest” comes from Herbert Spencer’s 1864 publication, “Principles of Biology.” The term is largely thought to have been coined by Darwin regarding his thoughts on evolution; however, this is a wrong assumption.

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Andrew Skurka interview

Backpacker Radio spoke with the thru hiking legend, author, blogger, and backcountry guide Andrew Skurka.

Very entertaining. Very informative. He shares strong opinion on gear.

Andrew names Cam “Swami” Honan and Justin “Trauma” Lichter as two thru hikers he admires in 2019.

Zach and Smiles host the podcast. Listen online – Backpacker Radio #33

Andrew Skurka

related – You Think Your Winter Was Rough (Trauma’s winter PCT)

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Mike Warden runs the Israel National Trail

Michael Wardian (born April 12, 1974) is an American marathoner and ultra-marathoner. …

In January 2017, Wardian ran seven marathons in seven days on seven continents in a record average speed of 2:45. … 

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

He said the terrain is some of the most beautiful he’s seen in the world. And he felt very safe in Israel.

I listened to an entertaining interview on the Fastest Known Time podcast.

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Legend hiked the Great Western Loop

6900+ miles.

Andrew Skurka invented the Great Western Loop and was the only person to complete it before Jeff ‘Legend’ Garmire in 2018.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. (24min)

In 2019, the Great Western Loop will officially become the Great Western Loop Trail and expanded to include the northern and southern termini of both the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and the Continental Divide Trail (CDT). …

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Heather Anderson – NAT GEO Adventurer of the Year

Heather Anderson, who goes by the trail name Anish, has thru-hiked the U.S.’s mega trails—the Appalachian, the Continental Divide, and the Pacific Crest—three times. …

Since 2013, Anderson has speed-hiked 28,000 trail miles—a greater distance than the circumference of Earth at the equator. …

Anish outdid herself last year, when she became the first woman, and fifth person, to complete the Triple Crown—7,944 miles—in a calendar year. She pulled off the feat in stunning fashion, hiking an average of more than 31 miles a day to finish in 251 days, 20 hours, and 10 minutes. (Cam “Swami” Honan holds the overall record at 231 days.) …

All this from a girl who was 70 pounds overweight and often teased while growing up …

National Geographic

How does anyone do this kind of thing?

You hike a lot of 18-hour days — waking up 4 a.m. and walking until 11 p.m.

AND Heather won’t accept rides in and out of town to pick-up her resupply!

She has a new book. Available in paperback and Kindle.

In her new memoir, Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home, Heather, whose trail name is “Anish,” conveys not only her athleticism and wilderness adventures, but also shares her distinct message of courage–her willingness to turn away from the predictability of a more traditional life in an effort to seek out what most fulfills her. …

Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home