JMT speed record attempt

[t.darrah]

Very well written and honestly insightful, great job.

[Aaron Sorensen]

Michael,
Excelent story.
I am willing to bet it took you longer to write and put the story together than it did to hike the trail?

So who was driving the Prius?

Here is the link to the videos on the trail from Lake Edison to Tuolumne.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=23338&skip_to_post=188599#188599

[W I S N E R !]

Great write-up, I enjoyed it.
Well done and better fortune on the next one!

[Michael Popov]

The snapshot of GPS readout before I turned it off three miles before Donahue Pass. The pictures were taken later, so time of day and current elevation are irrelevant. What's relevant is attained elevation gain and loss (interesting that it is the same for until that point, after Donahue it's all downhill). Also relevant is the mileage and speed, and total time and time off the trail.

The little bump in the first third of elevation profile is an Island Pass. Was it even a pass?

[Richard Nisley]

Michael,

Your report was like a window into the soul of a warrior… well done!

[Art …]

Michael
an amazing story of an amazing journey.
very entertaining and insightful.

[Brett Maune]

Awesome TR and attempt Michael! The hardship you endured is very inspiring and motivational. I hope I will be able to push myself as hard as you did on my next attempt. In the future I'd be happy to help you on another supported attempt if you need it.

Brett

[Art …]

I don't understand why you felt the need to push so fast. Was this totally because of Killian coming in Spetember?

[Aaron Sorensen]

Hey Art
Yes, it was because of the Kilian factor.

Just to let you know I am the one who made the time sheet up.
He did not like what I gave him at first so we took an hour of sleep a day off.
Then in order to make up the time he really wanted it had to be done in 3 chunks.
It was suppose to be the 3 chucks with the added hour of sleep each day, but when he fell short each day of the 80 hour time, he didn't get the recommended amount of sleep.

Hey a push at the end is supposed to be just that, right?

On the other hand, while doing the calculations for him each time, you will like what you see here.

Last year the times were tallied of what I thought he could do.
Instead Michael just tried to beat Sue's times on each segment.
This year I calculated his times and put together the 1st spread-sheet that he didn't like based off last years pace.

I then noticed this year that his hiking pace was almost spot on as last years, so just now I made up another sheet for next year.

I only used his times and did not add up the "Total Time" until the end.

All 3 times, (last years, this years and next years), came up with a time of 87:45.

So if he just does his pace, sleeps the time he should and gets to Yosemite, this is what we are looking at.
if he tries to change it for next year, I quit…Ha ha…

[Peter Bakwin]

Kilian is not going to run the jmt. His crew got bogged down with the permit thing.
PB

[Michael Popov]

"Kilian is not going to run the jmt. His crew got bogged down with the permit thing."

After reading that Kilian had a helicopter flying along on his awesome GR20 attempt,

http://home.comcast.net/~pbakwin/fkt/gr20.html

I vaguely suspect that National Park Service did not like the idea of his crew of 2500 indians (chinese, russians) lining along the JMT and removing the rocks from it as he goes.

[Michael Popov]

"I don't understand why you felt the need to push so fast. Was this totally because of Killian coming in Spetember?
By my calculations you could have averaged under 60 miles a day and beat Sue's time.
What time were you shooting for?"

Art, the Kilian factor was negligible. While running JMT I never thought of him as a contender on this trail judging by the problems he encountered on GR20 (sleepiness and fatigue on the first night, inability to carry loads, longest non-stop run is 110 miles), and was just trying to get the best time I could. I was shooting for 80 hours, but knew that was a far-fetched goal and that's why my pace chart had 3 different paces, 80hrs, 85hrs and 87:45 hrs. I was pretty much spot-on 85 hour pace at Reds Meadow and content with it.

As for Kilian, I would like to see him on JMT and wish him genuine luck, he's a good kid and talented as well. He's got a big future as long as Salomon sticks around.

[Michael Popov]

"Awesome TR and attempt Michael! The hardship you endured is very inspiring and motivational. I hope I will be able to push myself as hard as you did on my next attempt. In the future I'd be happy to help you on another supported attempt if you need it."

Thank you, Brett! I will definitely keep your help in mind for the future. I hope you found your Storm Dragons for the trail. It'll be colder in September, bring some extra layers! I wish you luck and all the best! Go for the kill!

And thank you everyone for the kind words, I really appreciate your interest and support!

-MP

[Aaron Sorensen]

Okay, so it was at first, and that's where the 2 sleeping areas came into play, but once on the trail it is just the best you can do.
If it wasn't for Kilian, I think you would or at least should have stuck to the 3 sleeping areas that worked before.
I'm pretty sure it was Brian Robinson who got to Tuluomne with about 45 minutes of sleep. That's impressive!

[Brett Maune]

Michael and Aaron, how much total sleep did you plan for? I'm planning (hoping) to sleep twice 4 hours each time but probably will need at least some naps for the final ~1.5 day push. should be fun…

[Art …]

you're not going for both the supported and unsupported times simultaneously on your 2nd effort are you?

[Art …]

Jeff will be making a supported record attempt starting Aug 27 from Happy Isles.

[Brett Maune]

Art, yeah I'm planning to try and break both again. I redid my time sheet and slowed the pace 10%. Hopefully this will increase the margin of error and be a sustainable pace. This time though I plan to still complete the JMT even if another meltdown occurs. At the very least I want to experience what it's like to do the full thing as fast as one can. I'm looking forward to the sleep deprivation part.

[Aaron Sorensen]

Brett,
The plan was for to be off 2 times for 5.5 hours each, and then it went down to 4.5.

He got an average of just over 3 each stop. The crash was more from the shoulder than anything.

Good luck with your 2nd attempt.
That last day and a half is a loooonnngggg way without sleep. Make sure you keep your calorie and water intake up during that period. Nothing goes down good by then.
You are also coughing up some nasty JMT crud that has been non stop making everything going down that much harder.

It really is better unsupported when you can just go until you are realizing that stopping would be more beneficial and to just be able to stop right there.

[Peter Bakwin]

Kozak has excellent ultra credentials, but I don't know that he has any experience with the obscure discipline of multiday trail records. There's a lot more to this stuff than just being a good runner. Brett is "looking forward" to the sleep deprivation ???? OK…
PB

[Brett Maune]

If anyone hears how Jeff's attempt turns out please post it here. I will be acclimating when he finishes and would really like to know if he breaks the record before I start!

[Michael Popov]

Brett,
Jeff Kozak is starting in Yosemite and going SoBo. There is a chance you two will cross paths either on the trail or in Whitney area.

[Anonymous]

"I continue to wonder (especially in this day and age) what would happen if someone did something amazing, incredible, at the edge of human fitness and endurance, and didn't tell anyone. No one. I am sure those people exist, and are doing those amazing things all the time. But we don't know. Maybe they seek purity and inward knowledge and self-satisfaction."

Dave,

Probably. Others do, and have done, such things just to stay alive, or be free. One such adventure is laconically recounted by one Slavomir Rawicz in "The Long Walk". The JMT, or even the Arctic1000, pales by comparison(heresy, I know). I highly recommend it as an antidote to your lament. He didn't write the book for recognition, for sure. I doubt it sold more than a few hundred copies-Joseph Conrad he ain't.

[Kevin Sawchuk]

Thanks for posting your attempt Michael. I'd enjoy meeting you some day. It's a tough trail and there are many ways to approach it. Information about your plan, techniques and support make it easier for others to have a better experience. I learned a lot from Brian Robinson's experience prior to my record in 2004. For me getting 5-6 hours of sleep each night was critical to keeping up a good pace and motivation–his problems with sleep deprivation, hallucinations and slowing pace pushed me in this direction.

I'd like to respond to several of the comments earlier in this post. I've kept a bit of distance as fast JMT attempts are very personal.

1. If there is an official "record" it needs to be from an agreed upon point to an agreed upon point. The prior three record holders and others going for the record have established the route as Portal to Valley–or Valley to Portal. You can argue about what constitutes the JMT but road to road makes sense and is what has been agreed upon.

The minor variations of the trail through Red's and Tuolumne are also open to interpretation–I chose to take the original trail by Devil's postpile and Soda Springs (crossing the road twice in Tuolumne) because the intention of the trail is to see as many "wild country features" as possible. The re-routes around these areas are Park Service choices to limit traffic to popular features. This is rather like the re-route of the PCT away from Crater Lake–it just doesn't make any sense.

2. If I were to attempt the record again I would use poles, pre-tape my feet to avoid blisters and have better support so I wouldn't have to carry an overnight pack (I carried a sleeping bag, bivy, stove for about 1/3 of the trail–Charlotte Lk. Junction to Blaney Meadows). Acclimation to elevation (longer the better) is also something I'd have to work out.

3. There are many ways to get the calories, fluid and salt you need for the trail but variety is very important. Even my much beloved Molasses Chew cookies didn't taste so good on the third day. You've got to try what you'll eat on the trail when training to find what works for you. Bret may have "bonked"–sometimes your stomach shuts down and just can't absorb the calories you need. He may also have had dehydration or electrolyte problems.

Good-luck to those going for the record later this year and in subsequent years.

Kevin Sawchuk
JMT record 2004-2008 3d,21h,5m

[Ian Alloway]

Not so abstract a question: I plan an early September speed record attempt, so what criteria is there for a legitimate record POINT to POINT (Mt. Whitney to Happy Isles)? What sort of verification is considered legitimate? I run this race for my satisfaction, but recognition of an accomplished feat seems worthwhile to me in addition, so I submit this query, my unburdened colleagues.

[Author]

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