3 successfully circumnavigate Saipan

Madge Gai, Ali Nelson, and Christopher King are joined by friends at the finish line in Banzai Cliff after successfully circumnavigating Saipan on May 13-14, 2023. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Over the Mother’s Day weekend, three individuals achieved a feat that only a few are on record as having accomplished—circumnavigating Saipan on their own two feet. 

Some say it’s crazy, some say it’s preposterous, and some say it’s downright impossible! 

The idea started off as a wishful theory, a fever dream that came to Madge Gai one evening as she reviewed her Saipan bucket list. Walking around the island of Saipan was the next goal to cross off her list. Ali Nelson got word of Madge’s ambition and joined in with logistics planning and guidance on traversing through the thick Saipan jungle. Christopher King came along for the ride as he thought that “this was an intriguing opportunity as a test of endurance and grit.” With the help of their fellow friends from the Saipan Hash House Harriers (Saipan’s branch of the global running club, which runs trails every Saturday),  the plan fell into action and so thus began the trek around Saipan. 

Ali, Madge, and Christopher started on their long trek Saturday morning at Banzai Cliff, jogging along the overgrown pathways that lead to Cowtown then to Grotto, heading straight through to the Bird Island Lookout. They were not alone in their goal as they were also accompanied by multiple friends who offered moral support and were happy to go along with the fun, some joining in the middle of the hike or toward the end. Through scorching heat, heavy humidity, and thick jungle the group traversed and pushed on, coming south along the east coast of the island past Jeffreys Beach and then Marine Beach, into Kagman village, and heading down toward Laulau Bay and Dan Dan. From then on it was just pure grit as they made the final trek to their first overnight stop: Obyan Beach. 

The group decided to camp at Obyan Beach to save energy for their next long stretch of walking. The evening was filled with food, laughter, and much rejoicing. Friends joined in and shared stories of their experiences on the trek. Blisters were popped, pad Thai was eaten, and refreshments were had as people cursed the nearly 23-mile march. As the night wore on and people gradually started to leave the campsite for their comfortable beds, only three remained from the original group that started at Banzai Cliff. Their next adventure awaited them in the morning, a 22-mile stretch north, along the west side, from Obyan back to their car still parked at Banzai Cliff.

The trio woke up bright and early on Mother’s Day and started their morning walk toward Coral Ocean Resort and San Antonio, joined by a new friend for support. The pain from the previous day did not go unnoticed as it ever so slowly crept back into place as the group trekked onward toward Beach Road, thankful that no jungle was in their pathway. Christopher commented that “the pain in my feet and legs after so many miles and the joy seeing this beautiful island on foot” was all worth it. 

Past American Memorial Park and through Tanapag, a sliver of hope shined as the group reached the Last Command Post in Marpi around 11am. They only had one mile of road left before they reached the starting point of their journey. The group continued with every might and willpower that they could muster up to end this arduous journey. Finally coming to the end zone—Banzai Cliff. The difficult trek was over. The group had successfully completed their walk around the beautiful island of Saipan.

The total length of the journey was 43.04 miles with approximately 86,000 steps. Madge commented that “Every step is an interesting experience. The mentality to me was when you are physically exhausted and so painful to make another step, yet you know it will end soon, that keeps you going.” Christopher’s advice to anyone who is seeking to complete a walk around Saipan is “Any long race like this is a group effort. You need support to ensure you have water, food, etc. Start early to avoid as much heat as possible and allow for the most rest in between.” And Ali’s recommendation is to do more than you think is necessary to take care of yourself, especially your feet: “I would have done more to avoid blisters. Bring more water than you think you need. Leave yourself extra time and rest as much as possible.”

This journey would not have been possible if it wasn’t for the help of Melanie Ward who took the time to ensure that the whole group was fully hydrated by providing water and snacks on crucial points during the whole expedition. Special thanks go to Bob Bracken for providing cheeseburgers 11 miles into the journey. Honor to the few more who joined for 20-plus miles: Richard Sikkel and Veronica Arriola. And thank you to all the rest who came along on this journey and provided moral support, words of encouragement, and the spirit of hiking. (
PR)