Four Hikes on Four Continents

Greetings, my name is Martin and I have Multiple Hereditary Exostoses. In so many words, when I was growing up my body made bone where no bone should be and altered the growth of the bone that was. This led to a collection of spurs and tumors along most of my major joints and defects in the growth patterns of my limbs. Between the ages of 12 and 20 I had no less than 10 surgeries to remove bone tumors and attempt to correct the growth of my arms and legs. From having my left arm broken into pieces and put back together with pins to multiple rounds of screws and staples in my knees and ankles, I've been through it all.

Despite this chronic and painful condition I  have become an avid distance hiker and was able to traverse the Te Araroa Trail of New Zealand from 11/26/2016-06/01/2017 despite mounting injuries, unruly elements and crises of confidence and purpose.

        To raise awareness of this condition and highlight not only the beauty of nature but the boundless quality of the human spirit I have set the goal of completing the following consecutive long distance hiking expeditions:

Eastern Continental Trail: 5,000 miles from Key West Florida to Cap Gaspe, Quebec. 01/2020-10/2020 (confirmed)

Carretera de Qhapaq Ñan- This expedition will focus on remapping and testing the feasibility of a continuous thru-hiking trail along the ancient system of roads built by the Inca Empire linking Quito, Ecuador and Mendoza, Argentina.  

Mediterranean Mountain Trail- Reggio di Calabria, Italy-Athens, Greece via Sentiero Italia and Via Dinarica: The route will begin in southern Italy at the end of winter and follow the Great Italian Trail across the Apennines and the Alpine Arc to the border with Slovenia. From there I will follow the Via Dinarica White Trail to Macedonia, followed by route finding for the final stretch to Athens before the following winter begins in earnest in the high mountains of Greece. With this expedition I hope to map and popularize a hyper long distance trail in Europe that can be traversed in a single extended hiking season while also benefiting rural communities in the Balkans with expanded access to Eco Tourism opportunities. 

Great Moroccan Trail- This expedition will attempt to link the Rif, Atlas and Anti Atlas Mountains of Morocco with a single long trail to hopefully expand the opportunity of rural communities not located in the traditional trekking areas of Morocco to benefit from sustainable Eco tourism. 


I will be making a documentary  and writing a book about these expeditions and tirelessly documenting the entire experience through photo and film. All donors will receive a thank you credit in the finished project and my sincerest gratitude.

Thank you for your support.

Instagram: @martinalexanderbrown
Venmo: @martinalexanderbrown