Patty Upton’s Extraordinary Around-the-World Jeep Expedition
From Slow Baja by slow baja
May 13, 2026 · 1h 24m
About this episode
Patty Upton shares her extraordinary journey around the world in a 1966 Jeep CJ5 with Loren Upton, including their record-setting crossing of the Darién Gap.
When Patty Mercier jumped in Loren Upton’s 1966 Jeep CJ5, she knew she was in for an adventure. The man behind the wheel was on his fourth attempt to cross the Darién Gap. The first three trips had ended in death and disaster, but Upton, an intrepid adventurer, would not be deterred. In addition to his determination to cross the treacherous Darién Gap entirely on land, Upton had raised the stakes on this voyage. For his fourth attempt, he decried that he would drive one American-made vehicle around the world. The route would be from North America’s Northernmost point to South America’s southernmost point. The only water crossing would be the South Atlantic. They would continue from the Southernmost point in Africa to the Northernmost point in Norway. The trip started in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, on 15 June 1984. They traveled more than 56,000 miles and took five years to complete the drive around the world. The crossing of the 125-mile Darién Gap was an astonishing 741 days. The Sand Ship Discovery, the name that Upton gave his intrepid Jeep, reached the Sletness Lighthouse near Gamvik, Norway, on 4 July 1989. The couple earned a citation in the 1992 Guinness Book of Records for the…
People in this episode
Guest: Patty Mercier
Topics covered
- adventure
- travel
- Jeep expedition
- Darién Gap
- world record
- exploration
Keywords
- Jeep expedition
- Darién Gap
- world record
- adventure travel
- Patty Upton
- Loren Upton
- Sand Ship Discovery
- Guinness Book of Records
Mentioned in this episode
Products: 1966 Jeep CJ5, Sand Ship Discovery
Books & works: Guinness Book of Records
Places: Darién Gap, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, South America, Africa, Norway
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