This website illuminates my life and adventures. My longing for freedom has led me to over 2600 of the world’s 3978 provinces, to every country on earth and to the summit of the highest peak on each continent (thank heaven for good weather!). In my travels, I learned to respect the intelligence and ingenuity of people of all races and callings both past and present. Come see the world as I see it: as a peaceful place, full of nature and beauty. With the right spirit and intent, we can make our world a virtual Garden of Eden.
DISTINCTIONS: BBC 2017 Travel Pioneer • Journal Articles • Explorer’s Club Flag Expeditions
World Parks Project • Walk Across South America • Jeff Shea Travel Map
Vietnam, Lai Chau Prov, New Road Through Verdant Fields
Indonesia, Sulawesi Selatan Prov, Standing Nude
Slovenia, Brda Prov, Village
Papua New Guinea, Gera Women, 1983 - These women were happy to have Kelly and I as their guests. They put on their best regalia for us.
Azerbaijan, Qax Prov, Hay House
Egypt, Lights on the Pyramid of Chefren, 1984 - On June 30, 1984, I slept on top of The Great Pyramid of Cheops. I had to find a way up without being seen by the guards. I climbed up the huge blocks of eroded stone after sunset. I made it to the top and tried to sleep but it was uncomfortable, because there were too many mosquitoes! I wrote the following in my diary, "I started climbing Cheops about 1:00 a.m. Because of guards near the corner, I had to climb up the center of the pyramid with my guitar on, pack and bag. Rocks crumbled in my hands and under my feet. I inched my way up for one and a half hours. There was no one on top but me. I played the guitar with my bottom naked, rocking on top of the Great Pyramid." (Although it is not recorded in my diary, it seems to me that when I was climbing the Sound and Light Show began and Chefren was illuminated. However, this recollection seems to conflict with my diary, since it seems unlikely they would have a show late at night. I distinctly remember being afraid they would see me climbing up the Great Pyramid.) This photograph of Chefren was taken from the top of Cheops. Many people do not realize that you can go inside the Pyramid of Cheops. At 1 p.m. on June 30, 1984, prior to climbing Cheops, I wrote the following in my diary, "I went to the pyramids with Jeshua. We went inside the Great Pyramid. I went up the corridor to the tomb deep in the heart of the pyramid, a square granite room four meters high, fourteen meters long and eight meters wide (?). Alone, I laid in the sarcophagus when all the tourists had gone. Soaking it up. We walked around the pyramids, the Sphinx. Had falafels and tamarindo in town. We gazed to the top to Chepren pyramid (which still has its cap on it) figuring out if it was feasible to climb it."
PNG, Vista Crest After Wabia, 1983 - Walking in the dense rain forests of New Guinea's Highlands, there are usually few if no views at all. Here, we reached the crest of the trail and could catch a glimpse of the surrounding countryside.
Nepal, Girl On Balcony, 1995 - When my Everest expedition met in Nepal in the Spring of 1995, we had a few days to relax in Katmandu. I toured the countryside with my 8x10 camera. This transparency was taken of a girl looking down from her balcony. The colors on the wall in combination with the drying corn husks intrigued me.
N Ireland, Louth Prov, Mother Fruckers Fast Food
Route Map Across the Atacama, 2012
Chile, Antofagasta Province (Región)
In 2012, I walked across the Atacama desert. For the first nine days, I was accompanied by writer/journalist John H. Richardson. This trip was designed to link the coast of South America at Antofagasta, Chile to Socaire, my starting point two years earler on my walk across the South American Altiplano. (See song Over for further explanation.) John and I pulled carts with water in them. Lots of water. We each started with 140 liters, which weighs 140 kilograms or 308 pounds of water in each cart. As soon as we hit sandy road, much of this was jettisoned. John and I had philosophical discussions on the way.