american hike
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by February 13th, 2018

The American Hike, 27000 km walking

The american hike – My name is Virgile Woisard. I’m a young 21 years old long distance walker, and now I am doing one of the longest walking adventure projects in the world. The American Hike. Actually I am trying to travel the entire length of the Americas from Ushuaia (Argentina) to Inuvik (Canada). With a pace of 30 kilometers per day, I want to complete this journey of 27,000 kilometers in 30 months, crossing 15 countries, and its diverse natural and cultural environments. 

Now I am finishing the Greater Patagonian Trail route, arriving in Santiago, after more than 3 months walking and 4000 kilometers covered. But in the North I will go through Argentina to return to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. This type of expedition is a real challenge in adventure sports. It is very ambitious due to its physical effort, its long duration and remote environments. To design this route I connected existing routes. I am looking for wild nature, respecting its preservation. In addition, this adventure is an opportunity to show the public that these tours are waiting for everyone. From the best path to the most difficult, here are the three types of routes that I use to complete these 27,000 km:

 – The first type of route is the classic long distance trail, such as the Greater Patagonian Trail in Chile / Argentina, the Continental Divide Trail in the United States, the Great Divide Trail and the TransCanadian Trail in Canada.

 – The second type of route consists of historical trails, more or less preserved, but that can nevertheless be followed in a sufficiently precise way, such as the Qhapaq Nan (the Inca Trail) from Santiago to Colombia, and the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro in Mexico.

 – Finally connected these two types of routes using small routes, rural roads, small roads and occasionally I search my own way through natural areas.

 With this project I want to discover the Earth in the most fundamental way for the human being: to walk. My will is not to prove to myself what I can do, that I am better than others, nor do I want to show that I am stronger than nature. Walking with total autonomy for a maximum of two weeks, I really get to immerse in a completely natural environment. I publish this trip on social networks, with the aim of facilitating the knowledge of other cultures, promoting mobility and making people aware of the protection of the environment. I will also learn about local people and their culture to encourage and preserve human diversity.

To do so, I, as an example, organize an association with the classes of a primary school that follows my trip, with a particular correspondence. On the other hand, during these two and a half years of walking I publish several works in the media, especially in social networks:

 – In my blog (in French) I publish regularly written articles.

– On the Instagram page, I post photos.

– On Youtube on the channel The American Hike there are regularly published small video reports filmed with a GoPro camera, and made by a team of amateur filmmakers.

 Also, once at home, I intend to write a book about this experience and to edit a documentary film using video recordings made along the way. If you are interested in knowing me, we can get together in the coming months. I am leaving the day 15.1.2018 from Talca walking towards north. My email is:

Virgile Woisard virgile.woisard@gmail.com

(interview with Virgile Woisard with Franz Schubert, Talca, Lodge Casa Chueca)