Megatransect as Catalyst

When is the second installment? I asked this question after reading part one of the Megatransect report back, J. Michael Fay’s 1999 “grueling 15-month, 2,000-mile (3,200-kilometer) trek across Congo and Gabon to chronicle the region’s pristine forests and wildlife and fight for their protection” in National Geographic. I impatiently waited for the second and third articles to appear in my mailbox with the printed version of “Nattie Geo.”

Intrigued by the planning of such a journey, I relished the logistics behind the route, supplies, transportation, guides, security, food, and equipment. Fay gained the headlines; a large team supported each step.

Observing and collecting along the way, I imagined Fay and his partners keeping a journal, photographing, video recording, and noting exact coordinates of flora and fauna. They documented injuries, animal bites, and dangerous water crossings.

The total distance over so many months inspired my consideration of a long journey by foot across multiple ecosystems. Someday. His (their) four-digit mile distance is orders of magnitude longer than even my longest two-digit mile trip. Something about so many miles and days inspires both excitement and disbelief (that I might ever start or finish such a trek).

We called it a transect (with a slight nod to Fay). No prefix of “mega,” however. Twenty-four miles in one day, crossing the continental divide, transecting (a generous modifier) Rocky Mountain National Park. The son and I began early one summer morning for our one-way walk. Karis and the daughter drove over the mountain to meet us at the end of our hike. Let’s call that transect a test run (walk) of what might be possible.

I dream of interviewing Fay. A set of questions at the ready for that possibility.