Three Brothers Set Out to Explore High-Speed Rail at a Walker's Pace

California's high-speed rail line will eventually transport people from Los Angeles to San Francisco in less than three hours, saving travelers the hassle of flying and the six-hour schlep up or down I-5. But does urbanites' desire to move from point A to B as quickly as possible overshadow the communities in between? A trio of brothers—whose family has owned land for more than 100 years in a rural community through which the trains will pass—are traveling the entire length of the future tracks by foot to find out.

Brothers Travis and Adam Souza and Everett Nate Yockey left Union Station in Los Angeles on August 29, and expect to arrive in San Francisco on September 30. They're calling the project "We Make the Road by Walking" and documenting each step of the journey with videos on their website.

Though the brothers' roots lie in agricultural areas, all three brothers have since relocated to cities to pursue careers in creative industries. "The project seemed a good way of trying to come to terms with my own connections to and affections for two very different ways of life," Travis writes on the site. "We will be spending much of our time speaking to farmers who will be affected, asking them for their hospitality in letting us camp on their land for the night." All the while, they'll be catalyzing public conversation about the issues raised by the rail line's construction—from sustainability to the urban-rural divide.

Check out some of their videos below to keep up with their progress.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41yp8X26MPQ

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj2hwf_6Bnk

Image courtesy of "We Make the Road by Walking"