American journalist to set off next month, retracing ancient human migration routes
Hiking 33,800 km from Africa to Asia, North America, and even the southern tip of South America
Plan to take seven years to create a “family portrait of humanity”
Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist Paul Salopek is preparing for a major reporting project, planning to spend seven years retracing the ancient human migration route — from Ethiopia in Africa to Asia, North America, and all the way to the southern tip of South America — documenting his journey and creating a “family portrait of humanity.”
“Out of Eden” spans 33,800 km
The project is called “Out of Eden.” Salopek plans to set off on foot next January from the East African Rift Valley in Ethiopia, following the footsteps of ancient humans who left Africa 70,000 years ago. He will cross the Red Sea into the Middle East, traverse China and Siberia, then enter Alaska in the United States via the Bering Strait, and subsequently make his way southward along the western coast of North America all the way to Chile in South America.
According to the plan, Salopek will need to cross some politically unstable regions, including Iran and several Central American countries.
“Out of Eden” covers 21,000 miles (33,800 km), and Salopek is expected to take around 30 million steps.
During the journey, Salopek will write articles for National Geographic magazine and regularly post multimedia updates online, using text, video, and audio to document environmental changes and the diverse peoples he encounters along the way. He plans to leave a “footprint” online every 100 miles (161 km), eventually creating a “family portrait of humanity.”
Uncovering real stories of ordinary people along the way
Most of the items Salopek carries are reporting equipment. For this project, Salopek is determined not to produce a simple travel diary but to document modern life while reflecting on the lives of our prehistoric ancestors, uncovering the real stories of ordinary people in the regions he passes through.
Salopek sees this journey as a continuation of the tradition of ancient bards or musicians. The UK’s Daily Mail quoted him on the 9th as saying: “Bards were an ancient way of spreading stories. I’m curious about how it worked.”
“We find this idea across different cultures — that you have to leave home and then return before you can truly understand what ‘home’ is.”
Two-time Pulitzer winner and seasoned traveler
Salopek believes the psychological challenges of this journey retracing ancient footsteps are greater than the physical ones. Aside from parts of the trip where his wife, Linda Lynch, will accompany him, he will spend much time trekking alone and enduring solitude.
Born in the United States, Salopek is now 50 years old. “Out of Eden” is the latest in a series of bold reporting projects. His previous assignments include traveling 1,300 miles (2,092 km) by mule across Mexico; and canoeing across Central Africa to Sudan, during which he was arrested on suspicion of being a spy.
Salopek has won the Pulitzer Prize, the highest honor in American journalism, twice — for feature writing in 1998 and for international reporting in 2001.
He said: “I’ve been walking all my life and am very good at crossing cultural barriers. I feel I’ve been preparing for this (‘Out of Eden’) without realizing it for many years.”