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Speed Hiker Jennifer Pharr Davis sets Record on Appalachian Trail
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Home › Forums › General Forums › General Lightweight Backpacking Discussion › Speed Hiker Jennifer Pharr Davis sets Record on Appalachian Trail
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Aug 3, 2011 at 7:58 pm #1766002
Supported or not, still quite an accomplishment. I have a question I've not seen addressed: Are there separate records for North-South vs. South-North? I would imagine it is faster to tackle New England while relatively fresh & go thru the Roan Highlands/Smokies/Nantahalas North-South.
Aug 3, 2011 at 9:48 pm #1766028To quote myself on this thread…
"Kudos are in order." and "I do not want to make light of what she accomplished."
Last I checked, this is Backpackinglight.com and for me I look at articles and posts from the perspective of what can I learn, what can I apply, is it something that interests me, or is it something that inspires me? Others may look for something else, and that is fine too.Jennifer's hike was not an easy one. But Jennifer's story does not inspire me. Apparently it inspires others, and that is okay too. She and her husband are the ones who have pushed this into the media and limelight. They are promoting the hike. And they may benefit financially from the fanfare. She has already written one book.
This year I am inspired by Sunshine and her father, Eric ("Balls"). While people here are posting questions about how to hike the JMT in August, this 11 year old girl hiked from Kennedy Meadows to Tuolumne Meadows between June 12 and July 2 on their PCT thru hike. And this is one of the heaviest snow years on record. While they were navigating high water and snow, other PCT hikers waited in Kennedy Meadows for some of the snow to melt or just skipped that section altogether with plans to circle back when conditions get better. Also a while back I saw some questions here about Forrester and Kearsarge Passes and when would it be best to hike them this year. Sunshine did them in mid June. And she has done 30 plus miles in a day with a real pack. To me, that is worth discussing. Read their journal, Sunshine is having the time of her life and Eric sounds like one heck of a father. They are NOT doing this trip for media coverage or to set any record; it is about hiking, nature and family. To me this adventure is worthy of donating money, and I challenge others to do so too.
From my perspective, trips like Jordan's Artic 1000, Skukra's adventures, Dave Chenault's Alaska Mtn Wilderness Classic, and similar trips are enjoyable reading and chock full of information I can or might use. These trips inspire me. And there are many others, some from famous people and many from everyday folks who are just like me.
This does not mean we should ignore other sports like ultra-marathoning, packrafting, mountaineering, or climbing. Many interesting posts and links to these are found here on BPL. Again a lot of interesting trips and information. Stuff that all of us can probably glean some new knowledge for our hiking endeavors. I learn a lot from all of this. Different sports, but a lot crosses over to backpacking. And sometimes little 3-day trip reports are great reading.
Everyone seeks different goals in their wilderness experience/adventures. One thing I see with the fast and light mindset is a huge dependence on outside support. People re-supply frequently and jump off the trail to get food, beds, and other amenities. Gosh, how much gas did Jennifer's husband burn in the past 47 days. And for what?
We make fun of the old traditional hikers, but with our big packs we were self-supported easily for 2 – 3 weeks, and even longer. And that is what we did. The wilderness was less crowded, rescue was less likely, and we did not have electronics to guide and protect us. We did not have published trail guides or trip reports to show us where to go. Heck a lot of us would get a road map, pick a spot that looked interesting, drive or hitch-hike there, get a map at a ranger station and go for a multi-week trip and not see a single person the entire time. But many on BPL would sure pooh-pooh someone who posted a trip report like that with a lot of the old gear and techniques where re-supply was not needed in a month long trip.
Regarding records. Records are meant to be broken. I love competition, and I enjoy it at the highest levels. A lot of us on BPL discussed Chris Solinsksy's 10K American Record last year because it was one of the longest standing records in track. It was a record the elite sought to break for many years. I am a distance running fan, and Chris inspires me. But I have no interest in someone who looks for some obscure event and tries to break a record with great public fanfare such as the American 1,000 or 2,000 yard record that is rarely contested, or any other record in a similar vein in any other sport or activity.
In closing, YMMV.
Cheers,
Nick
Aug 4, 2011 at 12:05 am #1766050+1 douglas (you got it).
+1 nick.proceed.
Aug 4, 2011 at 3:47 am #1766066Not my cup of tea, but very, very impressive. It doesn't bother me that they put it in the media. Some of the other adventures mentioned on this thread were also promoted to the media – complete with sponsors. As far as I can tell the only difference is whether you're inspired by an athletic achievement or a wilderness achievement. True enough, this particular achievement has almost nothing to do with backpacking and everything to do with hiking. So it just depends on what floats your boat I guess.
EDIT: removed image, expressed an opinion instead.
Aug 4, 2011 at 3:49 am #1766068Nick, very well said +1
Aug 4, 2011 at 4:39 am #1766073Well said, Douglas and Nick. Well said.
Aug 4, 2011 at 5:12 am #1766079The higher you think of yourself and the more attention you try to draw to your accomplishments, the more critical people will be of you. True on the trail and on this forum, which is why I think the critical post is getting the same treatment.
Aug 4, 2011 at 7:56 am #1766105Good post Brad. Not sure why others are so critical of someone reaching a milestone.
Brad Fisher
Aug 4, 2011 at 9:09 am #1766123Very impressive indeed. And I appreciate the extra details Nick provided that were not provided in the article. Not sure why that's being interpreted as criticism.
Aug 4, 2011 at 9:51 am #1766130Yeah, that little girl hiking the PCT makes me feel like the biggest wuss ever! She and her mom and dad visited my mom at the half-way mark. My mom is now one of those crazy trail angel ladies.
I'm curious, is Jennifer Pharr Davis the same person as Hummingbird? Last year a small lady ran the PCT and went by the name Hummingbird. A friend of mine had dinner with her at Callahan's to celebrate her first 60 mile day.
Aug 4, 2011 at 1:27 pm #1766184I hope to never be in that much of a hurry through such beautiful country whether on foot or bicycle or small plane.
Bob
Apr 18, 2014 at 9:15 am #2094296Jennifer, Brew, and their toddler daughter Charlie stopped in Lubbock this week and presented a program to a small group of mostly non-hikers at a library. They are a wonderful, friendly, and sharing family on a road trip/book tour. Her program was mostly about inspiration, growth, dreams, and challenge. She described her morphology from a career driven college grad in a cubicle into a fleet-footed life on the trail.Along that path were also many fulfilling experiences including love, marriage, faith, family,and a new focus for the future. She is an engaging speaker that presents quite an image with her 6' frame, large penetrating eyes, good grammar, audience interaction, and charisma. Brew is obviously her Rock. He was easy to talk to with a quick wit while lovingly letting us in on some of Jennifer's quirks. And Charlie is a sweetheart. Obviously content with a life on the road and quite willing to charm the audience. Maybe 2 years old and she has walked in 38 states already. This talk was not for gear geeks as she didn't mention a single brand name or sponsor and only mentioned a few items in general. She would have talked gear more, but the questions were mostly about life. She did talk about the "record" and made it clear it was an intensely coordinated group effort. The talk was free and they were there early and stayed late to talk with anyone wanting to know more. Of course, she had books to sell as that pays the bills.
Apr 18, 2014 at 9:51 am #2094306thanks for this personal insight.
sounds like an event I would like to attend should it ever happen near me.Apr 18, 2014 at 9:55 am #2094307What was her new focus for the future? I am assuming no more record attempts.
Ryan
Apr 18, 2014 at 8:22 pm #2094482I asked "What's next?", and she was not specific; just that she hoped to continue career opportunities involving hiking, guiding, and writing,with a primary focus on raising Charlie. I was thinking there might be some other record attempt, but she offered nothing along that line.
Apr 19, 2014 at 5:02 pm #2094664AnonymousInactiveWhile I appreciate what Nick posted, I think it is worthwhile differentiating between being inspired by a stellar performance in an activity that we ourselves engage in passionately, and admiring a stellar performance in an activity that holds very little attraction for us personally. For me, Jennifer most certainly falls in the latter category, and all of the folks Nick mentioned fall in the former. Even within an activity, there are categories that may inspire or merely evoke admiration: trail hiking vs wild, off trail adventures; distance running on a track vs road racing vs cross country; Tour de France vs cyclo cross, etc.
For me, Jennifer most certainly falls in the latter category. Speaking as one who has run 50 miles, anyone who can run ~46 miles/day for 50 plus days on a trail as rough as the AT is reputed to be has my unstinting admiration and respect, even if it is something that has no appeal for me whatsoever. Ditto for the US 10K record holder. Track racing bores me silly, but running down in the mid 26 minute range is an awesome achievement. Let us celebrate all of those who excel in their activity and inspire others to do the same to the best of their abilities. It is hard, hard work, and they deserve our collective praise. My 2 cents.
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