What about a 5-year, 9,000-mile walk ?


I'd probably prioritize spare boots ahead of whatever iThings I'd use to keep up with my Tweethearts.

And none of that stuff will keep him alive. Just adds weight to whatever he has to carry. Hope he has plenty of cash and doesn't wander off course.

Cash? All he needs is a credit card -- don't leave home without it. If you can't get it with a CC you don't need it. lol

We hiked 2.6 miles today (1.3 miles each way) at a local nature park. I carried a compass, iPhone, lighter, .45acp handgun, 2 extra magazines, and a folding knife. My wife carried her 9mm.

Much further and I would have brought my backpack with water and snacks. I actually ended up wishing I had since I got a little thirsty. It was good weather, had a hoodie on with jeans and brought a beanie just in case.

This place has extremely well-marked trails, quite a few fellow day hikers and is basically right in the middle of a major city so it's not exactly out in the sticks.

Most of the stuff he carried would be pretty much useless.

Does this Johnson guy understand that he will be walking through some very dangerous areas? In addition to the usual survival problems of scorching deserts, endless steppes, and generally hostile terrain, he may be facing bands of men with AKs... I hope he picks his route carefully.

LOL . . . and they don't take American Express.

Odd that someone wants to walk across a continent yet stay so connected - to what? Facebook friends and twitter - its a long electronic tether for this guy. Methinks he is more concerned with staying connected with $ponsors and contributor$, which is sorta sad given the extent of his trek. He don't know the firs thing about going walkabout.

Its a stunt and a pretty miserable one. Vegas odds give him 500 miles, or to the China border whichever comes first. The Russian tundra will either kill him or have him wiring for his helicopter rescue.

One of the important safety strategies in hiking-backpacking is to let someone know your route, departure and return times. So if he's communicating daily travel information then his family/friends and acquaintances would soon know if something went awry.

His social networking probably has gained him acquaintances all over the world, which could also be helpful in his journey.

But I'd be wanting the usual backpack gear, as well.

A credit card, cash and passport will get one far in this world, as well. They'll also get you mugged in some parts of the world so an adventure it surely will be!

I suspect he will either die along the way or give up real quick OR that he has a well planned and well financed effort under way. A lot of these kind of things are well financed by people who know exactly what they are doing.

Sort of like the guys who do the speed records for the Appalachian Trail. Most of them carried almost nothing with them and had guys at crossings, trail heads, and camping areas to do all the setup and tear down, and to replenish what little gear and supplies were carried. One guy purportedly had a team of 4 with two vans that shadowed him along the trail.