Latest news: Stories and maps of remote journeys

Dec. ‘24

Article: Map and analysis of Russ Cook’s “Project Africa”

Visualise Hardest Geezer’s amazing run between Africa’s southern and northern limits in my new blog post.

A cropped section of a map of Russ Cook’s running journey across Africa, showing his route around the Gulf of Guinea. The route is shown as alternating red and black lines for successive days of his route, against a physical map background.
Nov. ‘24

Article: My top 10 cartography websites (and a comprehensive list)

If you love maps, make sure to go through this list of my 10 favourite cartography websites, plus almost 100 more worthy sites. You’ll see inspirational work from modern cartographers, such as the example here, an illuminated world map by Evan Applegate.

A short, wide crop of a photo of an illuminated map of the world made by Evan Applegate.
Feb. ‘24

Article: How to walk the Transcaucasian Trail

Take a look at my Guide to hiking the TCT, including an interactive map as well as tips on gear, weather, expenses, safety, and sections.

A short, wide screenshot of the interactive Transcaucasian Trail map, showing two sections of the trail in (one red, one orange), as well as roads (purple) and rivers (blue) on a white-to-black hypsometric basemap, with vegetation shown as a transparent green overlay.
Aug. ‘23

I hiked the Transcaucasian Trail

I walked the whole TCT from Meghri (Armenia) to Anaklia (Georgia). Thanks to those who encouraged me and followed my Live tracker.

A short, wide photograph of the sun setting into the Black Sea viewed from the beach at Anaklia, the northern end of the Transcaucasian Trail.
Jun. ‘23

First travel story and map: Ecuador

I wrote a short reflection on my hiking trip following Ecuador’s Avenue of the Volcanoes. It contains a map designed to emphasise the key details of Ecuador’s landscape.

A short, wide photograph looking towards the horizon from a high vantage point on the slopes of Pichincha volcano. In the distance, the snowy cone of Antisana volcano is visible, and in the foreground are grassy cliffs.
Jun. ‘23

First article: Making beautiful contour maps

I wrote a guide to making filled contour maps using free software. My first article was the culmination of a long period spent learning how to build a website.

A short, wide screenshot of a hypsometric map, where the elevation is shown in varying shades of black-purple-orange. The feature depicted is Katmai Volcano, Alaska.