From Siberia to Australia on Foot, and some things you can learn about survival from a Girl

Meet Sarah Marquis:
National Geographic Explorer and Extreme Walker - From Sibera to Australia on Foot

Harrassed by Horsemen on the Great Green Plains of Mongolia, Paralyzed with Dengue Fever in the Jungles of Laos, and Robbed by Ak47 wielding Gunmen, this woman on a 3 year trek across Mountains, Plains, Jungles, Desert, and Ocean has a thing or two to say about survival.

Give the article a read.

She, for instance, never lit a fire, except when needed to cook, and then in a big hole, and from there, moved on and found somewhere else to sleep.

She also got very good at not leaving any tracks.

One of the problems with Survival is Other People.

Anyone can have all the guns, supplies, fortifications, and preparedness in the world at their disposal, but, if other people come along and take it away from you, well, that's a wash.




ETA:

I found these other materials and as per a secondary post below, I'm attempting to add these to OP-

Here she is in a 48 Minute video giving a talk on her experiences:



Here also is a Spot Adventure Map of this last Expedition:
Spot Adventures - Sarah Marquis - Asia

reply to post by AliceBleachWhite

A: Was there ever a time when you wanted to stop walking? Or be done with what you were doing?

SM: No, never, because you have to put up with yourself. You can’t just think about the arrival point. You can’t think, ‘I still have 1,002 days to go, 995 days to go.’ You’d get crazy. So, you live the moment.

I've never done anything along the lines as she has but I can understand this mentality. I use to go on fairly long hikes quite frequently when I lived in the Pacific Northwest. I'd often get into a meditative state and just take in the view.

reply to post by AliceBleachWhite


Did she walk on water? Terrible joke at the expense of your title.

Marquis was less than halfway through her three-year, extreme walk from Siberia to the southern Australian coast (connecting by cargo ship from Bangkok to Australia)

Dressed like a man, hid in a culvert and so much more. Definitely a unique read.

What.A.Badass!

Along the way, she spent three days sick with dengue fever in the Laos jungle with her left leg tied to a tree so that she wouldn’t drown herself in the nearby river should she experience a fit of fever-induced delirium. Days later, she was held hostage and harassed for four hours then robbed by a group of 15 men with automatic weapons. She spent more than six months in the Gobi desert gathering water to drink by using a plastic bag to collect drops of condensation. Nevertheless, Marquis insists that she never wanted to stop walking.

Can men swoon?

./Swoon

-FBB

What a great story. Her tenacity and bravery are second to none. She's a champion of survival and hiking. Thanks for posting Alice. I enjoy everything you bring fourth to ATS.

Here she is in a 48 Minute video giving a talk on her experiences:



Here also is a Spot Adventure Map of this last Expedition:
Spot Adventures - Sarah Marquis - Asia

* I think I'm going to Edit OP to include these.

I got a few questions from my PITA POV. The actual walking seems like the least of the problems.

1. How does she afford this? So she spent three years without a dime to her name? It's portrayed as a Hippie Walk-About Extraordinaire but most likely is a wealthier individual out on adventure safari.

2. How does she know where it is OK to walk? Who owns what land? I am sure there are some places not deeply supportive of such an adventure. So she waltz's in on some drug warlord's territory and all is cool?

3. Was this Les Stroud-ian or Bear Grylls-ian??? BIG difference.

4. Three years seems like a long time. Sure it is a long way but three years? If she only walked 10 miles a day M-F, that's 7500 miles. Most of the distance of her trip was by boat.

Don't get me wrong. My beef is not with her effort but the portrayal. Why does NG think they need to fake the funk on what is already a really cool story?

I know I am going to get flamed for even bringing up the logistical side of her tale (a lot of ATS'ers have a hard time making distinctions with feel good stuff) but that is what makes or breaks her effort. Sorry. Only telling things like sleeping in a culvert, while interesting, sells the story short. How does she make this happen?

reply to post by ABNARTY


Watch the video where she details her Australian circumference.

Money? She gives lectures. She might find sponsors. She may do it on her own expense.
As far as expense goes, lizards, bugs, and other edible things in the bush require no monetary exchange.

She's also not walking non-stop all the time. Sometimes she stops. This is detailed in the video where she communes with some Aboriginals and hunts with them, as well as where she stops to resupply, bathe, and recoup for a few days with her brother in the bush.
On her Asian trip she was stopped for 3 days with Dengue Fever, and after that held captive and robbed by gunmen. Suffice to say, it's a walk, but, not a walk in the park, and there's certainly delays.

Further, one could ask questions on her Facebook Page?

reply to post by AliceBleachWhite


Sorry, my connection is bad and I cannot watch the video. I simply went off the NatGeo article.

I have nothing against her it's just I always am more interested in the behind the scenes details. I went to Disney World as a kid and all I wanted to do was take the tour of how the park runs.

The Facebook thing is a great idea. Thanks

ETA:
Unfortunately most of her FB is in French. Her journey sounds less like a point A to B thing than hanging out one place for a while and then moving on to another place. I guess it would take some time then. It sounds like she is really into the spiritual aspect of the deal. Almost every post is in that vein. Few details.

reply to post by ABNARTY


Yes, it's more about the Journey than going from point A to Point B, start to destination.
It's about the entirety of the experience.

If all she did was walk from point A to point B with very little to no experiential content to pick up and impart from the expeditions, NatGeo would have likely not been as interested in giving her a NatGeo Explorer title and honors.

I do, however, recommend the video where she details her Australian expedition.
She discusses how for hunting, she facilitates blowgun, slingshot and share techniques.
She talks about water collection techniques.
She discusses her encounters with Aboriginals and how much more efficient they were at hunting than she.
She talks about not bathing for well over 40 days ... and many other things.

All this is accompanied by a picture slideshow during her lecture.
There's pictures of some of the lizards she ate, photos of her damaged feet from all the walking, her dreadlocked hair after going 40 days without bathing, and many other things.

It's well worth the watch, and there's a number of useful survival methods and techniques discussed.

Lots of that behind the scenes content is gone over.

The video is in English BTW.

reply to post by AliceBleachWhite


Thanks for posting. I want to find out more about this now.

After further review, I think her sense of spirituality, harmony, resolve, etc. are some highly overlook survival traits. Everyone (including myself) gets so into the nuts and bolts of things, we forget about our brain. She is a good example of how to stay positive and Soldier on.

This is a truly inspirational story. Thank you so much for sharing this Alice! I agree with what others have said, that her harmony and spirituality is impressive and an often overlooked trait that is truly valuable.

I find it interesting that she specifically does not bring music. I think I have a kind of music "addiction"; I spend more time with headphones on than without (no joke). Perhaps some extended silence could be beneficial.

Also, her sense of time seems more vast than what 'm used to. I usually think of meditation in terms of hours, but she claims the true peace and silence in her mind doesn't come until about six months into her journey of isolation. Really fascinating!

reply to post by ValerieDivusen


Yes, get out into the wild wilderness bush long enough, entirely disconnected from civilization, just you and the environment, and after all the noise of civilization clears out of your head, the entire time is like an act of meditation, whether you're walking, climbing, hunting, cooking, as well as anything and everything done.

Too many people are afraid of themselves and afraid to be alone with themselves. Blaring a bunch of music into your head is just another way of distracting yourself from being alone with yourself.