Photographer Takes 10,000 Mile Pokemon Go Road Trip

Christian McLeod, an ocean and lifestyle photographer from the west of Ireland, recently set off on a 10,000 mile Pokemon Go road trip, driving across the west coast of the United States.

Grand Teton Pokestop Catching Pikachu on the Pokemon Go Road trip Hypno found in the Yosemite Tunnel

The famous Irish Instagrammer, who I wrote about earlier this year in my list of the world’s Top 25 Instagram Accounts, has been posting his incredible Pokemon Lifestyle images on his popular Instagram account.

While attempting to drive 10,000 miles from California to Alaska, the photographer is taking some incredible outdoor shots, framing pokemon he finds in these amazing landscapes. I decided to get in touch with him to find out a little more about his road trip and what he’s been doing.

“Having played Pokemon as a kid, collecting original GameBoy’s and all the core game cartridges, I knew Pokemon would have a revival with Go. I’m stoked it came back to life, and I just had to do it throughout my trip,” he says. “I had already planned to travel for 4 months between California and Alaska, documenting creative people, and after playing the game in the big cities, and seeing countless numbers of Pidgeys, and Ratatas, it suddenly made me question, where would particular pokemon be hiding. Hence why I brought it to Yosemite, Utah, San Francisco, and even Yellowstone, and took Pokemon Lifestyle shots… I thought it was funny I could actually find a Pokemon and pre-set my direction and juxtapose the Pokemon exactly where I wanted him to be in relation to the landscape.”

So far Christian’s Pokemon Go Road trip sounds pretty epic. Here’s a look at the trip so far in numbers:

The Pokemon Go road trip in numbers

LA – San Diego – San Fransisco July 9th

808miles

10 pokémon

San Francisco – Yosemite – Colorado, July 15th

1213 Miles

35 pokémon, and two eggs hatched

Boulder, CO, to Utah, July 18th

500 miles

82 pokémon

Driving extreme lengths to find Pikachu

As both GPS and 4G are few and far between in the desert, the photographer had to keep his phone running and plugged into his van at all times, constantly on the search for Pokemon, while his assistant did the driving.

“I stumbled across a few different types of Pokemon but mainly mangey’s Zubats and Pidgeys even in the desert, and then suddenly I hit this Pikachu, and yelled at my assistant to stop the car,” Christian tells me. “I jumped outside and made sure I was lined up with the road before clicking on him. I composed, then I made my camera shot through the app.”

A whole lot of excitement over a tiny Pikachu, but the shot below was probably worth it!

Salt Lake city, Utah to Wyoming, July 20th

275 miles

180 pokémon

Jackson/Yellowstone July 22nd

522 miles

265 pokémon

Boise, Idaho to Oregon, July 26th

318 miles

315 pokémon

Bend/Oregon Coast, July 28th

300 miles

345 pokémon

Total miles so far – 3936 miles

With 6,280 left to go, this is set to be one incredible road trip. I’m just interested to know if he will really catch ’em all!