traverse

After nine days traversing 2,500 nautical miles, pitching on swells from Hurricane Erin, the Canadian-flagged Nunalik had reached its destination—30 minutes late.

The road that had comfortably brought the hikers to what should have been a stunning pitstop was now buried in snow and impossible to traverse.

The challenge, run by the Rachel Carson Trails Conservancy, traverses woods, roads and steep utility-line corridors.

In the foreground, an indigenous woman carrying a baby in her arms and a basket on her back, accompanied by a young boy and his dogs, traverses the rocky terrain.

Stagecoach services, like the pony express, took days to traverse the gutted tracks across the wilderness that still separated America’s nascent cities.