I hitchhiked from Germany to Alaska. The end.

The royal stage is completed. I arrived in Prudhoe Bay this morning at 06:48. I did 8354 km from New York to Prudhoe Bay in 9 days 18 hours and 18 minutes. The trip went exactly like calculated. I am at the end of the road. Again. Looks like I officially hitchhiked from Germany to Alaska. It took me 15 months. 64270,23 km are behind me. Big trip, but still a part of my overall expedition: To circumnavigate the whole world with hitchiking. But we are at the end now. My expedition will fail. I am done.

Earlier in December I realized, that I won´t get a Russian Visa outside of Germany and my whole plan to cross the Bering Strait would not become true. I could have had invested a lot of money to overcome this issues, but it is not worth at all. The B-Plan to cross the Pacific by sailboat would have taken an additional 6 months, only to get to Australia, before working my way north towards Asia. Not an option for me. I don´t want to spend another year on the road. I am tired. Exhausted.

I lived that dream to achieve a full circumnavigation with hitchhiking. And I let go of it now. I will not make it. I will take a flight across the Pacific. With this flight I will violate the only rule: Not using public transport. Some know I violated this rule already, but it is less than 1 % of my overall distance. Not important at all. But flying over the Pacific is not acceptable, however I would turn it. I will fail.

I should go for it till the end….some say. But I passed a certain point during this journey and realized, that it is not that important for me anymore. It hurts to go this step, after I dedicated myself to this expediton for such a long time. I feel ashamed towards myself, that I don´t make it. Deep shame, because I disappointed my own expectations. This is how it feels. It is important for me to be honest towards myself. I fail. Have to see it that way and deal with it. It will be okay.

Ending the expedition does not mean to end my vagabonding, but to start some leisure time, slow down and see people I love. It is not about the hitchhiking anymore. Now it is about me. But of course the hitchhiking goes on. I will fly to Hong-Kong in May (and make a stop in Japan). From there I am gonna hitchhike home to Germany. I will do some detour, cross Mongolia, Kazachztan, Central Asia, Iran and everything else on my way back. I want to hitchhike the infamous Pamyr Highway. Hopefully be home at the end of the summer.

The road was very lonely in the past time. I loved it. And I suffered it. Which makes me love it anyways. This expedition was definitely the most exciting and adventurous time I ever went through. It is a blessing that this became a part of my life. Something very special. But also something I worked very hard for. I am exhausted. It feels like it is time for change. I need sleep.

I want to have a home. I want to be back in my lovely Leipzig. I want to see my family and friends. I want to have a regular life. Want to chill at the Hitchgathering and visit fellows around Europe. Of course, I can´t wait to do some hitchhiking races with my boys again. And I want prepare some „smaller“ adventures that have nothing to do with hitchhiking at all. Got some ideas. 😉 So much I want, which I can´t do on the road. It was never my plan to be a full-time vagabond. I guess: Time to settle down. Soon.

I still have miles to go before I sleep. And miles to go before I sleep.

Warm roads

Here are some impressions from the past trip. Unfortunately I have no foto of Prudhoe Bay, cause it is dark here. 🙂

Wild animals

Here is Mister Moose. Or Mrs. Moose? Clamsy animal.

My driver is posing with a porkupie, which we found on the way. I should stuck in Beaver Creek for two days, 30km away from the Alaskan border and DJ offered me his couch to stay for the night. It would be the first real sleep I had, since entering Canada.

Maybe licking some salt?

Definitely one of the highlights have been those wild buffalos. Thought they would not exist anymore. But they looked very healthy and relaxed.

Roads

Hitchhikers hell in Wawa. EVeryone told me not to stuck there. Here during Twilight. -15° and -25° winchilld. I was waiting two hours for my next ride. Miserable cold.

Already on the Alaskan Highway. More dirt road than highway. But beautiful.

This part between White Horse and the Alaskan border was one of the most beautiful roads I have ever driven. Behind Hayes Junction the mountains started and the Yukon shows itself with full beauty. I never saw a landscape that felt so spacious like here. And I drove a lot of roads. This one was very special.I felt small and developed respect for this wild nature.

My Indian driver with a historic wodden railroad bridge in the back. Nice guy!

Stop at Hotsprings in Yukon.

Prudhoe Bay

Here in the far north you either let your car running all the time, or plug it to electricity. Otherwhise it might not start again.

Main road out of Dead Horse. Windchill -36° today.

Prudhoe Bay flat and hostile. Nothing here but Oil industry. Not even sun at the moment.