For many drivers, Google Maps has become an indispensable part of getting from Point A to Point B. But did you know that you can also use Google Maps to plan out journeys that take you across continents, on epic treks spanning thousands of miles?
In 2019, Reddit user cbz3000 used Google Maps to discover the longest possible walk between two points. Although it's never been done, it is theoretically possible to walk from Cape Town, South Africa, to Magadan, Russia. The route is the most direct way to get between the two locations and stays on some sort of Google Maps-listed road (or bridge) at all times, so you wouldn't need to switch to boat or air travel.
If you were to attempt it (and could somehow get the correct gear and visas lined up), the 13,911-mile (22,387-km) journey would require 4,492 hours (187 days) of nonstop walking (or 562 days if you walked a more realistic 8 hours per day), taking you through 16 countries and six time zones.
Let's go for a walk:
- If you were to do the Cape Town to Magadan walk, you would ascend 386,132 feet (117,693 m) and descend 386,109 feet (117,686 m). That's roughly equivalent to 13 treks up and down Mount Everest.
- Nearly eight months of the journey would take place in Russia, which comprises one-eighth of the world's inhabitable landmass.
- In the early 1970s, Dave Kunst became the first verified person to circumnavigate the globe on foot, although he obviously used other modes of transportation to cross the oceans.