After 28 years, adventurer Karl Bushby’s global walk nears its end

The trek has been fraught with challenges, including navigating the Bering Strait’s shifting ice, swimming the Caspian Sea and English Channel, and enduring harsh conditions across jungles, rainforests, deserts, and frozen tundra.

Bushby’s adventure is remarkable by any measure. He has taken an estimated 75 million steps. The total distance covered is equivalent to completing approximately 10,000 5K races, totaling 50,000 kilometers.

Initially, Bushby anticipated the journey would take five years. “Then you just dump a whole bucket full of reality on that,” he remarked. The actual timeframe has extended to over 10,220 days, far beyond his initial projections.

Crossing the Caspian Sea, the world’s largest inland body of water, proved particularly difficult. Faced with geopolitical barriers, Bushby opted for a 31-day swim using a technique he calls “floatimming,” involving a flotation vest, wetsuit, and backward paddling.

His route has taken him through 30 foreign countries, beginning in Chile and culminating in the United Kingdom. Russia presented a significant hurdle, requiring a decade to traverse due to harsh weather and bureaucratic obstacles. After being denied a visa in 2012, Bushby walked 3,500 miles (5,600 kilometers) from Los Angeles to the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., eventually securing the necessary paperwork.

The expedition has spanned South America, North America, Asia, and Europe, covering all but three of the world’s seven continents.

Bushby has experienced personal losses along the way, enduring two broken hearts from relationships with women from Colombia and Japan, which ultimately couldn’t withstand the demands of his journey.

Regarding equipment, Bushby estimates he has used “a lot” of shoes, losing count after his first 10 pairs during his time in the Americas.