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‘Tuna Helper” 2012 PCT Speed Attempt
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Apr 14, 2012 at 8:04 am #1288698
I've been waiting to see who would announce…
http://fastestknowntime.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=pacific&action=display&thread=29
CRaZyClOud PCT 2012
Apr 14, 2012 at 8:11 am #1867156Quite the first post. Best of luck.
May 2, 2012 at 10:46 pm #1873841I'll reiterate the "best of luck!"
Sounds like a good start date for this year. I'm sure you've read Krudmeister's TJ from 2009. That really put into perspective for me how difficult such an attempt truly is. In order to beat Scott's time it'll take an ironman or woman. So again, best of luck!
May 3, 2012 at 3:40 am #1873876"Sounds like a good start date for this year. I'm sure you've read Krudmeister's TJ from 2009."
I believe that he is starting way too early for a record attempt, (good start time for yo yo.) It is interesting that he is choosing both the record and a yo-yo as a goal. I would think that would be almost mutually exclusive. Why? For a record attempt you would select a start date that would maximize the trail conditions for the full length of the hike. For a yo-yo you would want the earliest start that gets you to Canada the earliest, not nessesarily the fastest, so you turn around and fly back to and through the Sierra before the snow starts in he fall.
His start date of May 20-25 is the exact same time that I started last year which I believe is perfect for a high speed yo-yo but too early for a record attempt, especially one that is targetting under 60 days. So at that pace he would hit the following points/dates:
Kennedy Meadows – June 7th
Sierra City – June 27th
Ca/Or Border – June 30th
Cascade Locks – July 10th
Canada – July 21stI don't think that the trail will be impassible by any stretch but there will still be significant snow to slow him down especially in Or/WA. When Scott and Adam set the NoBo record in 2009 they started June 8th which gave them an additional two weeks of meltout. They hit KM on June 26th allowing them to fly through the Sierra and beyond. (Many people get so focused on the Sierra and snow they ignore the fact that a fast hike will also hit snow up north. I found that out last year when snow slowed me down in OR and WA in August.)
One thing that I noticed last year on Sam Fox's attempt… if you want to duplicate or surpass Scott's feats on the PCT it would be wise to follow his timeline. Nobody knows speed hiking the PCT like Scott.
May 3, 2012 at 8:32 am #1873929Past PCT Speed Attempt start dates –
Ray Greenwall May 12th 2003 http://cs.armstrong.edu/greenlaw/hiking/pct.html
David Horton June 4th 2005 http://extremeultrarunning.com/pct_record/
Joe Kisner May 19th 2007 almost didn't finish due to blisters http://www.joepct07.blogspot.com/
Catra "dirt diva" May 24th 2007 taken out by giardia http://catrapct.blogspot.com/2007/05/first-day-quick-post.html
Adam Bradley June 14th 2008 taken out by giardia
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=237501On their 2009 record setting trek a bad knee and mosquitoes almost had Bradley quit and the flu affected Williamson
start dates and snowpack are important considerations
(http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/ftpref/support/snow/snowpack_maps/columbia_river/wy2012/cusnow1204.gif)
but mind your feet and where you drink!! Tuna HelperJun 27, 2012 at 6:14 am #1890494Here's a recent update from the PCT-L reported by PI aka Bill Murphy:
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/2012-June/060419.htmlRyan (Tuna Helper) says;
1325 miles at the pct midpoint. 30d 9h 55m. Should be a new record.
I asked what I could do to help. He says his gear is going well. But I can serve as dietitian to help him gain weight when he gets back. I figure I'll drop him at the combi-kfc-taco-bell, the go to 8 hours at my desk while he eats, then cook a few meals out of butter and bacon for a chaser. I didn't tell him that burger king is offering bacon Sunday's right now… Sounds like hiker food to me!
It doesn't sound easy. He already is looking forward to the OR border as his next goal. (now that he's past the half.) It is still way to soon to know how it will finish up for him. I do think this progress shows, in an ideal snow year, sub-60-days is possible.
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