Karl Bushby (born 30 March 1969) is a British ex-paratrooper, walking adventurer and author, currently attempting to be the first person to completely walk an unbroken path around the world. Bushby's trek is known as the Goliath Expedition.

[edit] Early life

Bushby was born 30 March 1969 in Hull, England. He attended a local comprehensive school and joined the British Army at the age of 16. Karl served with the 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment for 11 years.

[edit] Goliath Expedition

The planned route for the expedition

The Goliath Expedition is Bushby's attempt to walk around the world "with unbroken footsteps", from Punta Arenas, Chile, to his home in Hull, England. He began his journey in November 1, 1998 and expects to finish it by 2014, then having walked over 36,000 miles.

Bushby set off from Punta Arenas, Chile, on November 1, 1998, and has (as of April 2006) completed over 17,000 miles. With over 19,000 more miles to walk, and maintaining his current speed, he should return home to Hull, England in 2012. He has already walked through South, Central and North America.

In March 2006, Bushby and French adventurer Dimitri Kieffer crossed the Bering Strait on foot, walking across a frozen 56 mile section in 15 days.^[1] They were detained by Russian border troop officers while they were crossing the Russian border near the Chukotkan village of Uelen, for not entering Russia at a correct port-of-entry. They were threatened to be banned from Russia, which would stop the journey.^[2] It was announced on May 5, 2006, that the Russian appeal court had upheld Bushby's application and his walk would continue.^[3] This was reported to be the result of consultation between John Prescott, the British Deputy Prime Minister (and also an MP in Bushby's home town of Hull), and Roman Abramovich, the Governor of Chukotka.^[4]

On March 16, 2007, it was announced that Karl has successfully obtained the required permission from the Russian authorities, and began to prepare for the second half of his Goliath Expedition. Karl would walk the first leg of this stage to Yakutsk, along with companion Dimitri Kieffer. He has had some struggle with the Russian authorities to get a visa and a visit permit (the entire area is a military area, and a special visit permit is needed). He managed during 2007 to walk more than 1000 km from Uelen to Dvoynoye (not so far from Bilibino), but must return to Alaska because his permit ran out in November. In 2008 he only walked for three weeks, reaching Bilibino. He started very late, since the visa approval was delayed, and when the snow disappeared in May he could not continue because the area is filled with swamps and rivers, impossible to penetrate on foot when not frozen. He is only allowed to be in Russia for 90 days per visa and must leave the country before it expires.

[edit] Giant Steps

Bushby wrote a book about his walk entitled Giant Steps, first published in 2005. The latest edition (2007) includes events up to 31 March, 2006, and his Bering Strait crossing.

[edit] References

Notes

Bibliography

• Bushby, Karl. Giant Steps. Sphere. ISBN 978-0751536959 (2nd ed.; 2007)

[edit] External links

• Goliath Expedition home page
• Alone Around the World A long distance radio interview with Karl Bushby at Podstantsiya.ru