‘I drove 19,000 miles on the world’s longest road – a moment tested me like no other.’

Australian overlander Dan Grek has revealed how a two-year, 40,000-mile drive on the Pan-American Highway pushed him to his physical limits.

‘The Road Chose Me’ travelled 40,000 miles from Alaska to Argentina and encountered some of the most extreme and unforgettable landscapes on the planet.

The Pan-American Highway stretches from Prudhoe Bay in Alaska, the northernmost point of the United States, to Ushuaia at the southern tip of Argentina.

It’s officially the longest road in the world and, for Australian overlander Dan Greck, it was the scene of an epic two-year adventure. Dan, who documents his journey on his YouTube page, ‘

The Pan-American Highway is not a single, continuous strip of tarmac but a network of roads stretching about 30,000 kilometres (19,000 miles) from Prudhoe Bay in Alaska to Ushuaia in Argentina, passing through about 14 countries in North, Central, and South America. It crosses deserts, rainforests, mountain ranges and some of the most remote areas on the planet, earning a reputation as one of the best long-distance drives.

Greeley’s own travels, from Alaska to Argentina, took him across that vast landscape (Image: Dan Greeley)

However, for motorists, the route is famously incomplete. The Darien Gap – a dense, jagged expanse of jungle and swampland between Panama and Colombia – remains closed to roads, forcing travellers to send their vehicles by sea or air to get south. The gap, approximately 100 kilometres wide, has long resisted construction due to environmental concerns, geography and security issues, making it one of the defining challenges of the Pan-American journey.

Greeley’s own travels, from Alaska to Argentina, took him across vast landscapes and some of the most extreme environments on Earth. Reflecting on the experience, he said, “My name is Dan Greck, and this is a special episode designed to have you—and me—excited to get back out there for a ground trip. As I prepare for my next expedition, I’ve been digging through old notes and photos and reliving some of the incredible moments I’ve had on the road.”

From glaciers and active volcanoes to high-altitude mountain treks and vast salt flats, Greck says one moment in particular tested him like no other. While the Pan-American Highway is often talked about in terms of scale and distance, Grek says its true impact lies in the experiences along the way.

Dan said, “People often ask me what the best part of driving from Alaska to Argentina was. That trip took two years and covered nearly 40,000 miles, and it’s impossible to narrow it down to just one place. So instead, I want to share five defining experiences from that trip – the moments that really stayed with me.”

Alaska: Kayaking among icebergs

The first of them came in Alaska, where the highway begins its long journey southward. Greck headed to the coastal city of Valdez, best known as the southern terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and the site of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history. There, he encountered an opportunity that would set the tone for the journey.

“When I was in Alaska, I was looking for an activity that was really epic and really unforgettable. I was walking around town, and I saw an organisation that guides kayak trips into the Columbia Glacier and Ice Field,” he said.

“All the ice coming out of the mouth of the glacier breaks off and falls into the ocean. And then you can kayak across these icebergs, and it was a lot of money at the time, I think a few hundred dollars, but I decided to do it, and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my entire life.”

dan in alaska (Image: Dan Greeley)

Floating among icebergs fresh from the glacier, Greeley described a surreal landscape where pieces of ice ranged from tiny pieces to towering blocks the size of buses. “You could reach out and touch them,” he recalled. “Icebergs would roll away. There were little sea otters in the middle of all this ice. It was the most surreal, beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life, and it was so incredible.”

guaTemala: Lava and Marshmallows

From the snowy north, the Pan-American Highway takes travellers into Central America, where the terrain – and dangers – change dramatically. In Guatemala, the Greeks faced another defining moment at Volcán Pacaya, one of the country’s most active volcanoes.

“When I was in Guatemala, there was a volcano called Vulcan Pacaya,” he said. “It’s quite active and has lava visible often, and so I paid again to go on the tour; it’s a lot easier than driving myself. I think the tour cost $15, and after we parked at the base of the volcano, we all climbed up in a large group, despite the heat.

Volcán Pacaya is one of the most active volcanoes in the country. (Image: Dan Greeley)

A close encounter with flowing lava ensued, highlighting the delicate balance between adventure and danger on the Pan-American route. He added, “Then, right in front of me, I could see flowing lava, literally liquid rock sliding down the mountain.

“And because I was in Guatemala, I mean, there’s no security there. There are no fences. It was easy to walk very close to the point where some people’s shoes were melting on the rocks.

“I had marshmallows, and I roasted them on the lava. A few times, I pushed the roasting stick into the lava, and it would vaporise almost instantly as I pushed it in.

Ecuador: Climbing Cotopaxi

South America brought even greater physical challenges. In Ecuador, a country divided by the Pan-American Highway that runs along the spine of the Andes, Greeley spent several months living at altitude near Cotopaxi, one of the world’s highest active volcanoes. At an altitude of 5,897 metres, Cotopaxi dominates the surrounding landscape and tests even experienced climbers.

After months of acclimatisation, Greeley decided to attempt the climb. “Finally, I decided to go and climb to the top of it,” he said. “So we geared up and we walked up there. In the afternoon, we practiced walking the glacier.

“Then we slept in the shelter at an altitude of about 4,800 metres, which is very high. And then we started hiking to the summit in pitch darkness.”

The Greeks spent several months living at altitude near Cotopaxi. (Image: Dan Greeley)

It was here, well above sea level, that the journey presented its toughest test. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” he said.

“At that altitude, the air is so thin that it was really difficult to breathe, and I’ll never forget it. I’d take two steps, and then I’d breathe as hard as I could for five seconds before taking two more steps.

“Cotopaxi is an active volcano, and so it’s possible to climb that mountain in those kinds of difficult conditions. It’s the hardest physical thing I’ve ever done in my entire life and also one of the most rewarding.”

Peru: Trekking on the Cordillera Huahuash

Peru presented a different kind of challenge. While the Pan-American Highway largely skirts the coast there, Greeley detoured deep into the Andes to climb the Cordillera Huahuasca, a remote mountain range made famous by the survival story it tells. touching the void.

“I walked up to a viewpoint one morning and was looking up at the mountain on which this accident with Joe Simpson happened, and the whole scene plays out into this valley. I was standing there looking over the valley from above. It was one of those moments in my life when I just couldn’t believe where I was and couldn’t believe that I had made it real.

“From a small town in Australia. No chance to leave this small farming town, all the way to standing at the scene of one of the most epic mountaineering stories ever told.”

charity in peru (Image: Dan Greeley)

Lyrics: Evia – foreign landscape of salt flats

The final decisive chapter of the trip came in Bolivia, where the Pan-American Highway connects some of the continent’s most isolated regions. The Greek joins other overlanders to cross the Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat.

Dan said, “We drove over the salt flats and then spent three or four days driving over the most alien landscape I’ve ever seen in my life. Salt is incredibly flat and uniform, and because there’s nothing to scale, you get these really weird perspective effects.

The group then headed towards the Atacama Desert. “This is a very remote area, where it was scorching hot during the day for several days; I would get badly sunburnt and then stay well below freezing overnight.”

“So we were in these extremely harsh conditions and stunning landscapes that looked like nothing I’d ever been in before on the planet,” he said. “There’s nothing to compare it to; nowhere else on earth looks like Bolivia.” Hot summer days were followed by cool nights with no signs of civilisation for long periods of time – a reminder of how unforgiving some parts of the Pan-American route can be.

dan in Bolivia (Image: The Road Chose Me/Youtube)

For the Greeks, the journey was more than just reaching the end point. Crossing into Chile and descending toward San Pedro de Atacama marks the conclusion of the most remote section of the drive, but it also cements that the Pan-American Highway continues to attract travellers.

That mix of scale, danger and discovery is what keeps the road famous. From Arctic ice fields to volcanic slopes, dense forests to high-altitude deserts, the Pan-American Highway is less a single road than a collection of extremes – and for those who attempt it from start to finish, it is as much a test of curiosity as it is patience.

As the Greeks’ journey shows, the world’s longest road is defined not by how far it stretches, but by what it demands – and gives back – to those willing to follow it all the way.

You can follow Dan’s travel adventures on YouTube and Instagram.