An Interview with Zack Hill: Tip To Tip Trip – Alaska to Argentina Part One
Time to take a detour from my search for waves and mysticism in Costa Rica. My next several entries will be parts of an interview with an incredible man, Zack Hill. A good friend from a past life, Zack is an amazing athlete, teacher, builder and now, father! He and fellow former Mill Valley brother Scott Cherry pulled off a fantastic voyage called Tip-to-Tip-Trip. I tracked down the busy man to find out more about this incredible show of endurance travel, hoping to find more insights about their travels in this vast globe of ours. Please use the link to find out more and help support this adventure of a lifetime . . . tiptotiptrip.com! All photos are courtesy Zack Hill, Scott Cherry and the quadruple T crew.
ZACK…. CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN ON YOUR FAMILY TO BE! YOU ARE GOING TO BE AN EVEN MORE BUSY MAN FOR A WHILE, MAKE THAT THE REST OF YOUR LIFE! IT MAKES ME SMILE TO KNOW THAT THERE ARE GOOD PEOPLE LIKE YOU PRODUCING CHILDREN WHO WILL CARRY A LOVE FOR ADVENTURE AND AN OPEN MIND IN THEIR BLOOD STREAM. IN 2003 YOU AND SCOTT CHERRY EMBARKED ON AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY THAT WAS DUBBED: "TIP TO TIP TRIP", DURING WHICH YOU DROVE THE PACIFIC COAST FROM alaska TO THE SOUTHERNMOST TIP OF SOUTH AMERICA. WHAT WAS THE GENESIS OF THIS AMBITIOUS PROJECT AND HOW LONG DID IT TAKE AFTER THE IDEA WAS SPAWNED TO GET THE TIRE ROLLING?
Wow, a long time! The idea actually came during another marathon road trip driving Scott's truck home from Costa Rica in 2001. I had flown down there to help get Scott out of a predicament and help with the driving to get back home to the states. During our 12-day marathon, we had a lot of time to reflect on traveling and our first endeavor, a trip that took us from Mill Valley to Costa Rica in '99-00, and how much we had learned from the mission. I don't remember who thought of the idea of the entire coastline of the
Americas, but by the time we crossed the border in Texas, we were already planning the next undertaking, which eventually became the Tip to Tip Trip that came later expected in 2003.
AN UNDER-TAKING SUCH AS THIS DOES NOT COME WITHOUT MAJOR COSTS – GAS, FOOD AND EQUIPMENT TO NAME A FEW. LIKE MYSELF, YOU ARE A TEACHER, AND THERE IS NOT A LOT OF PAY IN THE CAREER OF EDUCATION, SO WHO HELPED TO SUPPORT THIS EFFORT FINANCIALLY, AND HOW DID YOU GUYS FARE OVERALL IN TERMS OF COST?
You are right! Travel on this scale is not cheap. Thank god for credit cards, eh! We both saved extensively to do the trip. In 2002 I was working full-time as a teacher in the evenings, and working construction in the mornings and weekends as well. It was brutal, but not as harsh as having to go back to that again after an 8-month sabbatical! We also stomped around and tried to drum up funding and free stuff, which worked to a certain extent. We got a ton of stuff from Clif Bar, as well as O'Neill wetsuits, Patagonia, and Yakima. Friends and family also helped out quite a bit as we got some generous donations to help with costs. Gas was the killer really, as we estimated that over 7,000 dollars were spent driving the 20,000 miles from Anchorage to Ushuaia, Argentina. But our vehicle was definitely not the top of the line gas saver. If we were to do it again, I think a more fuel-efficient vehicle would have to be in store.
Part 1/4
ER Harris
~admin
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