The combination of words, pictures, sound and video definitely helps the stories. The logisticians vary by region, country and or area of influence. I think he has used 3 in Saudi Arabia. This particular logistician has played a larger role in the story telling than others. The stories about the guides and the walking companions he uses are pretty cool too. Each group is unique and Salopek is excellent at describing them and more importantly the interaction/camaraderie of their collective experiences.
This story was quite good. Great audio clip.
http://outofedenwalk.nationalgeographic.com/2013/03/15/goodbye-to-alema/The lead guide, Alema, had typhoid by the time they were leaving Ethiopia. The last guide, Banounah, had to stop because he had recently had surgery and re-opened the wounds, so they waited a month and he just wasn't going to get better. It also coincided with Ramadan and the hottest month of the year, so it's hard to say if Banounah's illness was the only reason for taking a break. The recent posts describing writers and explorers from other centuries, for me, subtly points out their function in knowledge gathering and transference of that knowledge. It's a big part of this undertaking. I have some doubts the trek will go the distance, but appreciate the effort in trying.
Easiest way at this point to follow along is probably off of the interactive map. Follow along the route and see where each post emanated from. Some topics are things you already know a little something about. The great ones are those where you have no knowledge of the subject. I suspect that will be commonplace for the next several years.
http://www.outofedenwalk.com/map-room/