Ladies We Love: Sarah Marquis Walks Thousands of Miles

April 1st, 2016 • BY Morgan Tilton

Towards the beginning, every muscle of her body was swollen in pain.

In her memoir, Wild by Nature, Sarah Marquis chronicles her solo walk from Siberia to the southern tip of Australia. On the northern edge of Mongolia, Marquis began her solo trek in 104 degrees Fahrenheit, carrying a 40-pound pack on her back and pushing a 110-pound cart: “Water, where are you?” she writes.

 

 

But for Marquis, encountering brutal conditions isn’t a surprise. The walking survivor has trekked across wild landscapes all over the world. With more than two decades of solo expeditions, the 43-year-old has accumulated tens of thousands of miles beneath her boots’ tread.

“I’ve been walking for the last 23 years and have circumnavigated the planet once on foot—I’ve stopped counting the steps,” Sarah said. Marquis hiked 2,650 miles along the Pacific Crest Trail from the Canadian border, across the U.S., and to Mexico back in 2000. Three years later, she foot-powered 8,700 miles around the continent of Australia, followed by 4,350 miles through the Andes in 2006. In 2014, Sarah was recognized as a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year for her three-year-long solo walk from Siberia to Australia, during which she spent 1,000 consecutive days and nights beneath the sky.

And, she’s not slowing down. On her most recent adventure, last September, she became the first explorer to cross the Kimberley region solo: a 500-mile survival expedition through the rugged Western Australian outback filled with crocodiles, venomous snakes on a diet of insects and poisonous fruit. Here, WomensMovement had a rare moment to briefly catch up with Marquis on what it feels like to return to society, her fears in the outback and what’s in the pipeline.

 

This interview was condensed and edited for clarity.

 

When you’re not adventuring where’s home?

I’m from Switzerland and live in the mountains, high up in a tiny, little village at 1,660 m (5,446 feet) where there is snow for six months out of the year.

 

When you reached the end of your three-year-long walk from Siberia to Australia, did you feel content to complete the expedition, or torn to leave the wilderness?

An arrival isn’t a happy and cheerful time, especially after three years of an expedition. It’s a melancholic time when I need to leave behind my life in the bush (nature), and I need to adjust again to a new life (my normal life.)

 

 

You experienced some terrifying moments on that expedition, including encounters with antagonistic Mongolian horsemen, and rifle-waving drug dealers in Laos. How do you remain calm when you are threatened in the middle of the wild, an unfamiliar culture and unknown language?

My life was in danger many times during that expedition, from Siberia to Australia. I managed to get away safely, even though a few times it was close to disaster. In my book, Wild by Nature, I explain my tips and tricks for how I managed to get away.

 

What defines the scariest interactions that you had on your expeditions—animals or humans?

The most dangerous experiences have never been with nature or animals but definitely with humans. The most standout moment when I was pushed out of my comfort zone was when I was attacked by drug dealers in the Laos jungle. I thought I might need to push the red button on my tracker system, which signals an emergency call.

 

Considering all of the astounding environments that you have witnessed and walked across, what has been a spiritually defining experience?

Always being in the right spot at the right time, two times a day: at sunrise and sunset, surrounded by nature and animals.

 

 

How do you take care of your body in order to sustain such long expeditions?

My body is my lab and I treat him with respect. He is like a racing car that you don’t put just any fuel in. You put the best fuel in. I always make sure he’s got the best food possible and sleep. I don’t drink and I’m a vegetarian.

 

Do you ever meet indigenous peoples in the middle of the bush?

In those empty corners of the world there is always someone that appears from nowhere, and it is always a surprising encounter.

 

What do you miss the most when you’re in the wild?

There are a lot of things, but what I miss the most is cheese fondue, and celery—for its crunchiness!

 

What do you work on when you’re not on a walking expedition?

I write books. I’m writing my fifth book, now, which is about my survival expedition in Kimberley.

 

Where will you walk next?

It’s a secret, because it’s in the early planning stage!

 

 

Learn more about Sarah and find her book, Wild by Nature, at sarahmarquis.ch/explorer/. Watch her Lift Conference presentation, 17 months and 14’000 km away from technology.