10 people who have made amazing hiking trips

Half of the inhabitants of our planet can hardly tear themselves away from the sofa, especially if there is high-speed Wi-Fi at home. But there are still wonderful people in the world who have devoted their lives to traveling. Some of them traveled around many countries by car, some got to remote corners by plane. But there are also people who have overcome huge distances on foot. Some of them went forward, pursuing certain goals, others simply sought to get to know the world around them in all its splendor as best as possible. Someone was sponsored, and someone traveled without money and even without normal equipment. Your attention is drawn to the stories of ten people who have proved that a person can be very hardy and have incredible willpower.

John Francis

1. "Walking on the planet"

For the next 22 years, John never drove a car. Instead, he started walking all over America. But that wasn't enough for Francis. In 1973, he fell into complete silence and did not speak to anyone for almost 17 years. To communicate with others, he used gestures and wrote notes.

For 22 years, John Francis traveled around all 48 American states (he did not get only to Hawaii and Alaska, which is quite logical) and even walked to South America. It wasn't until 1993 that he finally started using vehicles. Today, this eccentric is engaged in politics. By the way, a few years ago he published a book about his life.

Sarah Marquis

2. Sarah Marquis with her cart travels through a deserted area

In the next few years, the Marquess did not commit any extraordinary acts. But in 2006, the passion for travel again took over. For eight months in a row, the woman conquered the peaks of the Chilean Andes, and after that she again went on a well-deserved four-year rest.

The thirst for adventure woke up in 2010. Then the Marquess decided to commit a crazy act. This time, this amazing woman passed through the Siberian wastelands, the Mongolian plains, crossed China and reached Laos and Thailand. Then she sailed to Australia and overcame thousands of kilometers of travel through a sparsely populated area. Surprisingly, all this crazy journey was done by Sarah alone. In three years, she has traveled more than 16 thousand kilometers!

An amazing expedition helped Marchese become the winner of the award from the National Geographic channel "Traveler of the Year".

The peace-loving Wanderer

One one more American, Mildred Norman, who received the nickname the Peace-loving Wanderer, became one of the most famous hiking travelers in history. In 1952, Mildred became the first woman to walk the Appalachian Trail along a 3,500-kilometer route in just one season. Shortly after this achievement, Norman decided to devote her life to traveling around the United States. She claimed that for the next 28 years she carried one and the same things all the time, and in her backpack she had only a pencil, a map, a comb and a toothbrush.

For several decades in a row, Norman avoided cars and used only her feet as transport. But in 1981, Mildred unexpectedly died. She still got into the car to drive to Knox (Indiana), where she had to give a speech. Unfortunately, there was an accident, and the Peace-loving Wanderer died before the ambulance team arrived at the scene.

People remember this amazing woman even today, an organization was even created in her honor, called "Friends of the Peace-Loving Wanderer".

Polly Letofsky

4. Polly Letofsky traveled for 5 years for charity

First, Letofsky reached California, then got on a plane and flew to New Zealand. She walked on Australian, Singapore and Malaysian roads, and then decided to cross the whole of Eurasia. When she got to Ireland, Polly flew to New York, from where she returned home, to Colorado. During the trip, she collected almost 200 thousand dollars of charitable donations for the prevention of breast cancer.

When Polly Letofsky learned about the September 11 terrorist attacks and the further beginning of hostilities in the Middle East, she was not afraid and did not change her plans. This amazing woman continued on her way and passed through Pakistan, Iran and Iraq without a single incident.

Jean Beliveau

5. Jean Beliveau is a person from whom it is worth learning the ability to realize dreams

Belivo did not stop for 11 years, having traveled 75,554 kilometers and visited 64 countries during this time. At first, people thought that his idea was a manifestation of a midlife crisis, but, you must agree, the scale of Jean's journey speaks for itself.

He met many interesting people and even had the good fortune to talk with four Nobel Prize laureates. One of them was Nelson Mandela. A well-known fighter for human rights told Belivo the words that inspired him to further achievements: "The world needs people like you."

According to Belivo, the most difficult moment associated with his journey, he experienced a month before it began. It was very difficult for him to tell his wife, Lucy, about his plan. Fortunately, his wife approved of his idea, although she was surprised when she heard about it. She became a loyal admirer of her beloved husband and supported him financially throughout his journey.

Jean says that he has never regretted his decision, and encourages numerous fans to follow his example and not be afraid to realize their most cherished dreams: "Just go, take the first steps. Your path will become clearer on the road."

Dave Kunst

6. Dave Kunst lost his brother on the way

The brothers had a lot of incredible adventures: they visited Princess Grace in Monaco, got to Venice with their faithful mule, and also became the first people not from Asia, which passed along the entire route of the Khyber Passage of Alexander the Great.

Unfortunately, when they were walking through an isolated area of Afghanistan, local bandits started shooting at the brothers. John was killed, and Dave was severely injured. He survived only by pretending to be dead. It took Kunst almost three months to recover from his injuries. Surprisingly, even after the death of his brother, Dave did not break down and continued the expedition alone. He passed through India and Australia, then flew to California and walked to Minnesota. After walking more than 23 thousand kilometers, Kunst returned home to the small town of Vaseka.

During the entire trip, Dave wore 21 pairs of shoes. One of the most valuable things for him is a scroll with the signatures of the mayors of all the cities in which he stayed for the night. Today, Dave Kunst lives a quiet life with his beloved wife. By the way, he met her in Australia during an expedition.

Stephen Newman

7. Stephen was arrested four times, twice he was attacked by bandits

Stephen's epic campaign lasted four years. During this time, he walked 24 thousand kilometers and made 41 million steps. While traveling, he regularly shared the details of his adventures with the audience of The Columbus Dispatch newspaper. Thus, his campaign became the first in history to be fully recorded in the media.

Arthur Blessit

8. Arthur Blessit travels because of his faith in God

Blessit began his amazing journey when he learned about the growing popularity of hippie culture in California. This news prompted him to immediately go there to try to save sinful souls. Arthur claimed that God himself had commissioned him to carry the cross all over the world.

Even when doctors diagnosed Blessita with an aneurysm and forbade him to engage in such strenuous activities, the man decided that " circumstances will not be able to change his vocation." That is, he continued to travel. In 2008, Arthur became the first person to officially circumnavigate every mainland country and all the largest islands on the planet.

Faith in God and in his vocation helped Blessit to visit even countries where there is a war, for example, in Iraq. In total, he was arrested 24 times. In 2009, a documentary about this amazing man was released, and all his achievements were included in The Guinness Book of Records.

Robert Garside

9. Robert Garside — a man who ran through the whole world

Prior to the start of the race, Robert was an ordinary clinical psychologist who had never been involved in any kind of sport. Garside says that he has always been a loner, so he endured the months spent jogging quite normally. Robert quickly got used to running for about eight hours a day, overcoming about 80 kilometers during this time. In total, Garside's adventures lasted five years. During this time, he ran more than 56 thousand kilometers.

Carl Bushby

10. Karl Bushby — a man who was almost stopped by the Russian government

At first, Karl Bushby planned to get from Chile to Alaska, then to walk through the ice of the Bering Strait between this peninsula and Siberia (on foot!). This is much more difficult to do than it may seem. The fact is that the water in the Bering Strait never freezes completely, that is, Karl would have to move along small ice floes. Then Karl planned to pass through the entire territory of Russia from east to west, after which he would go to Europe and finally reach the English Channel.

The way from Chile to Alaska was successfully overcome. It is unclear how, but in 2006, Bushby even managed to successfully cross the partially frozen Bering Strait and reach Siberia.

Unfortunately, he was facing a much more serious problem than moving ice floes or uninhabited terrain. The Russian government has repeatedly denied Karl a visa, expelled him from the country or in some other way ruined all the plans of the former paratrooper.

Thus, after 27 thousand kilometers traveled, Karl found himself at a dead end. For six years in a row, Russia has issued him only temporary visas. Bushby was actually faced with the need to make short trips once a year. When all his attempts to get a full visa failed, Karl staged a dramatic protest. In 2012, he walked from Los Angeles to the Russian Embassy in Washington. The journey took almost a year. Fortunately, the wide publicity of his feat and the constant pressure from the media forced the Russian side to issue Karl the necessary visa. Currently, Bushby has already left Russia behind and is completing his journey in Europe.

The stories of these people are a vivid confirmation that the possibilities of a person are truly limitless. Unfortunately, in the modern world, there are constantly reverse examples-egregious cases of people's absolute disbelief in their own strength. It is worth understanding that we limit ourselves by putting mental barriers. And then we live all our lives, without even dreaming of any great achievements. Take an example from our heroes: they proved that the impossible is possible! The main thing is to believe in yourself and have goals for the sake of conquering which you will be ready to do anything!