“I started thinking about how the border is being represented,” Pineda, 58, said about the inspiration behind the trip. He said he was particularly concerned about Trump’s plan for a border wall. “For people south of the border to be feared, that’s a huge concern.”

The trip has deep personal dimensions for Pineda, the co-owner of an investment firm in Seattle. He grew up in El Paso and his four grandparents, all from the Chihuahua state in Mexico, crossed into the United States in the early part of the 20th century.

The Pinedas’ journey will not be without dangers. But those dangers are less likely to be the kind found in a political ad and more likely to be the absences of basic human necessities: a lack of people, support stations, shelter and water.