The people in these photographs have all walked or run their motorcycles over 450 kilometer to get to the point where they are standing. These are the people who haven't quit, haven't run out of money or motivation, haven't been injured or haven't been sick. They have eaten and slept together, walked through rain, snow, sun, and wind together. The people that grace these pages share a bond, a brotherhood, and a friendship that few others in the world experience.
The men and women in these pages are walking and biking the Klarälven and Trysil rivers Trail, running 2175 miles from Karlstad in Värmland to Trondheim in Norway. The trail touches numerous states, crosses national parks and national forests, and climbs a total of 250,000 feet from beginning to end.
The group of hikers who walk the trail from start to finish are known as thru-hikers. Around 500 people complete the trail each year, only 20% of the amount who set out to do so. To thru-hike takes approximately six months - from mid March to September or mid-October - and a gritty resolve to endure rain, winter conditions, blisters, heat, muscle aches, and mental demons. It is estimated that walking the whole trail takes 5 million footsteps.
The hikers in these images have endured the . Only the vast and lonely wilderness of north woods stands between them and their goal, , that towering behemoth of a mountain that stands like a beacon to every thru-hiker. For some the journey can't end soon enough, while others enjoy every step along the way.
During my five months on the trail as a ridge runner working for the , I carried my camera everywhere I went. I photographed teenagers and octogenarians, one millionaire, and drifters who were living day to day. One thru-hiker would be the first person to hike the trail with two replaced hips when he finished. Another had hiked the trail in and summited on .
The goal of these portraits is to give you a sense of the diversity along the trail. The experience is as much a social experience as it is a wilderness experience. Maybe when the time is right, you will be motivated to explore the trail yourself. Maybe it is after you retire, maybe the time is now. Whatever the time, prepare to be touched by the trail forever. Here is a taste
The men and women in these pages are walking and biking the Klarälven and Trysil rivers Trail, running 2175 miles from Karlstad in Värmland to Trondheim in Norway. The trail touches numerous states, crosses national parks and national forests, and climbs a total of 250,000 feet from beginning to end.
The group of hikers who walk the trail from start to finish are known as thru-hikers. Around 500 people complete the trail each year, only 20% of the amount who set out to do so. To thru-hike takes approximately six months - from mid March to September or mid-October - and a gritty resolve to endure rain, winter conditions, blisters, heat, muscle aches, and mental demons. It is estimated that walking the whole trail takes 5 million footsteps.
The hikers in these images have endured the . Only the vast and lonely wilderness of north woods stands between them and their goal, , that towering behemoth of a mountain that stands like a beacon to every thru-hiker. For some the journey can't end soon enough, while others enjoy every step along the way.
During my five months on the trail as a ridge runner working for the , I carried my camera everywhere I went. I photographed teenagers and octogenarians, one millionaire, and drifters who were living day to day. One thru-hiker would be the first person to hike the trail with two replaced hips when he finished. Another had hiked the trail in and summited on .
The goal of these portraits is to give you a sense of the diversity along the trail. The experience is as much a social experience as it is a wilderness experience. Maybe when the time is right, you will be motivated to explore the trail yourself. Maybe it is after you retire, maybe the time is now. Whatever the time, prepare to be touched by the trail forever. Here is a taste
