Welcome to 1000 Miles South America, which I started on May 22, 2026 as part of my greater project of running 1000 miles on every continent. On June 11, I finished running from volcano to volcano in Ecuador, climbing and skiing each one. Then, I set two new FKTs, on one the Cordillera Blanca Traverse, invented by Cam Honan in 2014, and the other onthe world-famous Huayuash Circuit. Now I am running with the wind through the Peruvian Altiplano for my final stretch of 169 miles. Follow this blog or my Instagram for updates.
Summary: Run from Cerro de Pasco to the Huallyay Tree Forest.
Wake up in Cerro de Pasco, widely considered to be the highest city in the world with over 70,000 inhabitants living at 4300m/14104ft.
The Spanish learned about silver here in 1630, and almost 400 years later, silver, zinc, and led are still extracted from the mine. Even the central plaza is mine-themed.
The city water supply is contaminated from the mine.
A 2005 study found 84.7% of children under the age of ten in one neighborhood to have led poisoning. In 2008, the Peruvian government passed a law to relocate the entire city of Cerro de Pasco due to contamination, but almost 20 years later, it’s still here.
The mine is now 2 kilometers wide and 300 meters deep. Since 1630 it’s been owned by the Spanish colonists, American investors (1902-1974), the Peruvian state (1974–1999), a Peruvian private company (1999-2011), and now Canada’s Transition Metals, a subsidiary of Argentina’s Integra Capital.
“For a clean Pasco. If we conserve the water, we conserve the life.”
“Do they move a lot of dirt in Cerro de Pasco?” is like asking if the Pope is Catholic.
Alpacas galore
She needs Wide open spaces.
Room to make her big mistakes
She needs new faces
She knows the high stakes
The Chicks
Railroad! This is an active train, though not for passengers. Minerals from the mines get sent in freight cars to Lima for export.
Reminder that I’m getting closer to the end.
A tall white guy hops out of a car at an intersection and immediately sticks out his thumb to call for the next hitch. I walk over. Sebastian is a 20 year old German who’s been volunteering in Oxapampa for a year. He works with other volunteers teaching sustainable farming practices and met a Peruvian girlfriend. This has been the most fun year of his life, and he dreads going home in 2 weeks.
Even in contaminated water, life goes on. A line of ducks swim by in the stream
I pass a prison and hope the guards in the towers don’t mistake me for an escaped prisoner.
I pick up the pace as the sun lowers in the sky to make it to one more landmark before the day’s end
Huayllay Bosque de Piedras (Stone Forest) is full of wild rock formations
I have the place to myself for sunset
Don’t miss the stone forest for the stone trees
Well this is crazy. As I exit the stone forest to reach the nearest town, I stumble onto a local rock band Edson Falcon filming a music video in the twilight. Watching the drummer rock out was therapy.
Eggs, rice and potatoes for dinner
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