MT MITCHELL WALK

More serious Camino walking up Mt Mitchell on The Dividing Range

DREAM ON...BEGIN IT

I read about Karl Bushby in a Collection of Stories in a Lonely Planet Book " Flightless: Incredible Journeys without leaving the ground"

We all have our dreams and this is quite an incredible one ( some might consider a nightmare)

He is walking from the southern most tip of the Americas overland back to his home in England.

He is currently trying to cross Russia and has realised a large part of his dream.

It is hard to understand why anyone would want to do this but it seems to me that it is an adventure that really at the heart of the human spirit. Foolhardy or fearless it is as much his dream as anyones dream to challenge not just what is outside but what is inside.

And then again, that is my construct.... everyone has their own perception of what is real.

Happy Trails Karl as you follow your dream

Have a look at this website

Copied from http://goliath.mail2web.com/

"25 countries, 1 frozen sea, 6 deserts, 7 mountain ranges...a total of 36,000 miles of unbroken footsteps

Goliath’ is the first expedition ever to attempt to forge a path of unbroken footsteps from the southern tip of South America back to England without using any form of transport. Karl Bushby, whose idea and dream became this expedition, will take no fewer than 12 years and 36,000 miles to traverse some of the most remote and challenging places on earth.
Alone and unsupported, Karl began his journey on November 1st, 1998 in the Chilean town of Punta Arenas. Karl walked northwards through South America, Central and North American, before crossing from Alaska into Siberia, using the semi-frozen Arctic waters of the Bering Strait. The journey will continue westwards through Siberia, down to Russia’s southern border, across Asia and Europe. The finish will be (pending authorisation) through the Channel Tunnel and into the United Kingdom.

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The Gaps
The Goliath Expedition has encountered every environment and condition the planet has to offer, but there are three main "gaps" in the route that require special attention and planning.
Gap 1, The Darien Gap
A large undeveloped swampland and pristine jungle environment, the Darien Gap forms the border between Columbia and Panama.
Gap 2, The Bering Strait
Understandably, the Bering Strait could be considered the crux of the Expedition. At roughly the halfway point for Karl, the Bering Strait presented a very significant and life threatening challenge. In order to accomplish the ultimate goal of the Expedition, Karl would have to achieve something no other modern explorer had ever done before: ,,,,,,, going to have to cross a semi-frozen sea of churning ice and water,
Gap 3, The English Channel
Twenty-one miles separate Great Britain from the rest of Europe. The final Gap for the Goliath Expedition is the English Channel. Three interlinked tunnels run under the Channel, two for traffic and a third service tunnel. Though not legally available as a public thoroughfare, it is hoped that, with Karl Bushby then only 21 miles from home, that the authorities will allow him to walk through. . "

THOUGHTS FOR THE JOURNEY

I have " logged" in journals and notebooks most of my walks and travels.
I have found that I have been drawn to a random collection of verses and quotes which I have recorded.

Placed at the front of of my journals they have seemed to give meaning to the journeys. These are but a few that I particularly like

" I am a part of all that I have met

yet all experience is an arch wherethro

gleams the untravelled world,

whose margin fades

For ever and ever when I move"

Alfred Lord Tennyson

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"To climb the great mountains is to leave the comfort of familiar places

and to challenge the very essence of oneself.

Perhaps there is no greater quest"

Peter Hillary( 20/5/96)

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' Life is an adventure or it is nothing'

Helen Keller

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'Not all those who wander are lost'

Tolkien

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'Whatever you can do

or dream you can

begin it'

Goethe

ITHACA

Ithaca

When you set out for Ithaka

ask that your way be long,

full of adventure, full of instruction.

The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops,

angry Poseidon - do not fear them:

such as these you will never find

as long as your thought is lofty, as long as a rare

emotion touch your spirit and your body.

The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops,

angry Poseidon - you will not meet them

unless you carry them in your soul,

unless your soul raise them up before you.

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Ask that your way be long.

At many a Summer dawn to enter

with what gratitude, what joy -

ports seen for the first time;

to stop at Phoenician trading centres,

and to buy good merchandise,

mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,

and sensuous perfumes of every kind,

sensuous perfumes as lavishly as you can;

to visit many Egyptian cities,

to gather stores of knowledge from the learned.

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Have Ithaka always in your mind.

Your arrival there is what you are destined for.

But don't in the least hurry the journey.

Better it last for years,

so that when you reach the island you are old,

rich with all you have gained on the way,

not expecting Ithaka to give you wealth.

Ithaka gave you a splendid journey.

Without her you would not have set out.

She hasn't anything else to give you.

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And if you find her poor, Ithaka hasn't deceived you.

So wise you have become, of such experience,

that already you'll have understood what these Ithakas mean.

Constantine P Cavafy