By Davy Crockett 

Both a podcast episode and a full article

On May 10, 2019, America will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, that was recognized with a “Golden Spike” ceremony at Promontory Point, Utah. For more than 150 years adventurers desired to travel across the American continent by various means: horse, wagon, train, automobile, and eventually on foot in one go. With this celebration coming up, it seemed appropriate to recognize some historic accomplishments walking or running across the American continent.

The most notable early walk across America was accomplished by the famous Pedestrian Edward Payson Weston in 1909. Weston accomplished the transcontinental walk at the age of 71. That was just six years after the first two men drove an automobile across America from San Francisco to New York in 63 days. By the time Weston began his famed walk, the fastest known time driving across the continent had been lowered to 15 days, 2 hours, 10 minutes. A train had accomplished it in 71 hours 27 minutes. Weston would capture the attention of the country and the world when he accomplished it on foot in 1909. That story will be covered in an upcoming article.

However, Weston first got the idea in 1869 when a best-seller book was being read about a young man, who years before had walked across South America. Weston very likely got the idea to walk across North America from the adventure that took place in 1855. Few have heard this story. It needs to have a place in ultrarunning history because it inspired the Pedestrian world and planted in the minds of many to do cross continent walks and runs in the future.

Not only would runners run across America (3,100+ miles), but they would go across Australia (2,890), New Zealand (1,350 miles), Europe (1,729 miles), Canada (4,179 miles), Asia (5534 miles), the Soviet Union (7,321 miles), the length of Great Britain (840 miles), Ireland (375 miles), and South America (8,500 miles).

But it seemed to all start with a young seventeen-year-old American adventurer in 1855. Here is his story.

Nathaniel Holmes Bishop (1837-1902)

Nathaniel Holmes Bishop was born to a wealthy family on March 23, 1837 in the city of Medford Massachusetts, near Boston. As a youth he had a restless adventuresome spirit and at seventeen years old vowed that he would walk across South America from Argentina to Chile, climbing over the Andes.

With only $45 in his pocket, he hired on as crew on a roach-infested merchant ship that was heading for Buenos Aires, Argentina. He endured weeks of seasickness but “became tolerably familiar with the duties of life at sea” growing strong and hearty. For three weeks the rainy season arrived, and he was “wet to the skin” as clothes, bedding, everything was “saturated from the effects of a leaky deck.” He arrived in South America during the “pampero” hurricane season and witnessed tragedy as other vessels were capsized and sailors drown.

Buenos Aires



Buenos Aires

At Buenos Aires Bishop was still obliged to his mariner duties and remained on the ship for an entire month waiting for orders that he could be set free. Finally on February 20, 1855, he was discharged and was able to go ashore and went to the American consulate.

The Consul thought he was crazy to undertake a walk of about 1,000 miles across the continent alone especially because he was unable to speak Spanish. Bishop wrote, “However he furnished me with the necessary papers of protection, together with letters of introduction to various persons in the interior.”

Bishop would first have to face the vast “Pampas” which are vast plains including places without trees. He learned that the realistic way to cross the Pampas on foot, was to hitch up with a caravan of merchants, otherwise it would be impossible to obtain food, water and follow the right trail. This is because after March the Pampas sees very little rain and is fi...