The Goliath Expedition is Bushby's attempt to walk around the world "with unbroken footsteps", from Punta Arenas, Chile, to his home in Hull, England. He began his journey on November 1, 1998 and originally expected to finish the over-36,000+ miles (58,000+ km) trek in 12 years, though there were questions about the three gaps that created uncertainty. The first gap would be the Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama. The second, and most uncertain time wise, was the Bering Strait between the US and Russia. The third gap is the Channel tunnel between France and the UK. The journey was defined by two rules:
Karl will advance unassisted by any form of transport.
Karl will only return home on foot.
Bushby set off from Punta Arenas, Chile, on November 1, 1998, and had completed over 17,000 miles (27,000 km) as of 2006, walking through South, Central, and North America. With over 19,000 miles (31,000 km) to walk, and maintaining his current speed, he then estimated he would return home to Hull, England, by 2012. Karl traversed Chile, Patagonia Argentina, the Atacama desert of Northern Chile and Peru, into the Andes Mountains of Ecuador and Colombia, from 1998 to 2001.
Gap number 0ne
In 2001 Karl crossed the treacherous Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama, taking two months to travel from the city of Medellin to Panama city, crossing the frontline of fighting between the Colombian government and FARC. Traversing 200 miles of dense jungle and spending many days floating down jungle rivers, Karl avoided FARC (revolutionary armed forces of Colombia), yet would spend 18 days in jail in Panama detained by Panamanian police after crossing the closed border zone due to the conflict. Karl was released to continue once the situation and his intent was clarified.
Bushby would continue north from Panama into Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico. He reached the border of the United States in 2002 then crossed the US and Canada arriving at the end of the road in Fairbanks, Alaska in early 2005. In December 2005 Bushby would use the frozen tundra and rivers to cross to the Alaskan cost.
Gap number two
In March 2006, Bushby and French adventurer, Dimitri Kieffer, crossed the Bering Strait on foot, having to take a roundabout 14-day route across a frozen 150-mile (240 km) section to cross the 58-mile (93 km) wide strait from Alaska to Siberia. They were detained by Russian border troop officers while they were crossing the Russian border near the Chukotkan village of Uelen, for not entering Russia at a correct port-of-entry. They were threatened with being banned from Russia, which would stop the journey. It was announced on May 5, 2006 that the Russian appeal court had upheld Bushby's application and his walk would continue. This was reported to be the result of consultation between John Prescott, the then British Deputy Prime Minister (and MP in Bushby's home town of Hull), and Roman Abramovich, the then Governor of Chukotka.
On 16 March 2007, it was announced that Bushby had obtained the required permission from the Russian authorities, and began to prepare for the second half of his Goliath Expedition. Bushby would walk the first leg of this stage to Yakutsk, along with Kieffer. He had a difficult struggle with the Russian authorities to get a visa and a visit permit (the entire area is a military area, and a special visit permit is needed). During 2007, he managed to walk more than 620 miles (1,000 km) from Uelen to Dvoynoye (not far from Bilibino), returning to Alaska when his visa ran out in November.
In 2008 he only walked for three weeks, reaching Bilibino. He started very late, since the visa approval was delayed, and when the snow disappeared in May he could not continue because the area is filled with swamps and rivers, impossible to penetrate on foot when not frozen. He is only allowed to be in Russia for 90 days out of every 180 days per visa, and he must leave the country before each visa expires.
From late 2008 to 2010, he spent his time in Mexico for cost reasons and was unable to travel to Russia. Karl had lost his sponsors in the 2008 financial crisis and was unable to return to Russia or find sponsors in the difficult financial environment. Bushby lost several of his sponsors as a result of the Financial crisis of 2007–2008. After Bushby secured new sponsors in 2010, the Russian government issued him another visa, and he resumed walking across Russia in the spring of 2011.
In addition to the 90-day time restraint imposed by Russian visas, Bushby has been hampered by the tundra conditions. Because his route takes him through an area that can only be traveled on foot via frozen rivers and ice roads, he can only walk during the late winter and early spring. On April 25, 2011, after walking approximately 680 miles (1,100 km), Bushby reached the town of Srednekolymsk, completing his leg for 2011. Beginning his 2012 leg, he only needed to travel an additional 560 miles (900 km) before reaching improved roads, meaning his travel will only be limited by the Russian visa rules. On 12 April 2012, Bushby reported on his site that the Russian authorities had denied him a visa for 2012. He will continue to try to obtain a visa at some point in the future.
In March 2013, Russia banned Bushby from re-entering Russia for five years.
Bushby walked over 3,000 miles (4,800 km) from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. His destination was the Russian Embassy to protest the visa ban. At the end of the adventure, Bushby's visa ban was overturned and he was granted a letter of invitation from the Russian government. He was granted a visa in 2014, at the embassy, marking the end of his year long journey of 3,500 miles in the wrong direction.
