New JMT Speed Record

[Hiking Malto]

Any way you cut it, this is a very impressive athletic achievement. I also am intrigued by the mental breakdown that has been reported by many of the JMT attempts.

It just too bad that folks have to pass judgement on how others choice to spend their time. But since this has headed in the judgement direction I want to share a post that Anish put on her Facebook page. For those who don't know she is very close to smashing Scott Williamson's PCT record by about 6 days if she finishes at current pace. One thing you will see in all of her pictures is that she has an ear to ear smile. But how can she smile, isn't an average of 46 miles per day misery and the wrong way to hike? Shouldnt she be smelling the flowers? You be the judge.

from Anish on Facebook….

"I imagine people may think I am a natural athlete, the girl who played sports all through school. The exact opposite is true. I was an overweight child, a bookworm who sat with her nose in an adventure book and daydreamed. I never exercised and couldn't make it around the track without walking. When I graduated high school I weighed 200lbs.
I daydreamed of adventure, but the thing I daydreamed the most was that I would someday set a record. Not just any record though, an athletic record. I wanted so desperately to not be what I was. I hated my body and myself. I consoled myself by eating a bowls full of oreos and milk as though they were cereal. But somewhere deep inside I knew I was capable of doing something more.
When I was 20 I met something that would forever change my life. A Trail. Though my first few hikes were miserable as I forced my body to work, I was enthralled. Trails took me on the adventures I craved and to beautiful, wondrous, wild places. I lost my heart and soul…and eventually 70 lbs…to the trails.
Now, I am a few short days away from fulfilling my oldest daydream: setting an athletic record. I cry when I think about all the things I have overcome to get here, both on this hike and off. It makes me ever so grateful to that chubby girl who dared to dream big, audacious dreams. I am even more thankful that she grew up to be a woman courageous enough to make those dreams reality."

[Marko Botsaris]

"what's so hypocritical is that the same people who trot out the famous HYOH are the very people who make up a large part of the slow poke snob group and criticize others who like to go fast."

Art,

Who/what is this "slow poke snob" club? Do they have a website? Annual dues? Where can we join?

It seems more than a little ironically challenged to interpret "fastest performance of Beethoven's 9th" as ANYTHING other than a merely ironic commentary on the vastly different approaches to taking on the JMT. It was, and was intended to be, funny. It was obviously NOT a negative comment about this impressive accomplishment, or the person who did it, either by the original poster or those of us that gave it a +1. This seem to have sailed cleanly over your head sir. I know for sure I was never deprecating the achievement, and I suspect the other people who thought this comment valid/funny had not intended to do so either.

In addition there were probably a dozen or so funny, equally ironic ways of responding and making your point back. Instead you chose the least interesting (and possibly most witless) possibility – to get a bee in you bonnet and comment nastily about how people you know nothing at all about never "tried to test ourselves at anything and have spent our entire lives simply smelling roses". You chose the least interesting way to reply, by setting up fictitious straw men, with made up attributes, to knock down when there was never any real slight to begin with.

You Sir, are a bore. *throws down gauntlet and unsheathes rapier* ('cause that is just how we roll in the slow poke snob club)

[Nick Gatel]

You know, I like roses. Never remember seeing any in the High Sierras though.

[Nathan Watts]

"Never remember seeing any in the High Sierras though."

Slow down next time. You can't miss 'em

[Bob Gross]

Wild roses grow around 8000 feet elevation.

–B.G.–

[Marko Botsaris]

I like smelling Sky Pilots though – and not just because it sounds like a Grateful Dead song.

[Paul Wagner]

"It seems more than a little ironically challenged to interpret "fastest performance of Beethoven's 9th" as ANYTHING other than a merely ironic commentary on the vastly different approaches to taking on the JMT. It was, and was intended to be, funny. "

Thanks Mark. You did. indeed, interpret my post accurately.

[Anonymous]

" It always makes me sigh a bit when we seemingly can't resist having to piss on someone else's parade because they see the world differently than we do. Tis a shame we can't simply appreciate the effort, even if we don't completely understand it or wouldn't be interested in doing it ourselves."

+1 accompanied by a weary sigh. :o(

[Anonymous]

"With enough people attempting it we're bound to see someone get the right set of conditions (weather, sleep, fueling, conditioning, etc.) to take the time down further."

Offer a Mercedes Benz as a prize, and some Kenyan or Ethiopian will do it in under 2 days. ;0)

[Paul Magnanti]

Oh great sages of the Internet Hiking Forums,

What is the optimum MPD to hike the JMT?

I'm afraid if I hike too fast, I will not be enjoying myself.

I hear many people talking about slowing down to enjoy the trail.

So, the question is, what is the correct MPD to get optimum enjoyment, fulfillment and joy out of a hike?

Seems a few people here know The One Correct Answer (TM).

Being a poor, wandering soul, I do not posses this info.

If someone could enlighten me, I'll be sure to hike the correct way.

:)

[M B]

The only person that speed hikes for the right reasons, is the one that does it, but doesnt tell anyone.

[Miner]

It isn't that I don't understand the people who try to set these records. What I don't understand are the people who actively support these runners on the trail by bringing them stuff. The whole reason I'm on this site is because I hate carrying my own stuff so I'm trying to get ride of most of it, so I have no interest in hiking over a pass to carry something for my brother, let alone a complete stranger.

[Kattt]

Nm

[Mike M]

I don't know Hal, but I know Mike, heck of a nice guy- congrats to both of them. Seems like there is getting to be more interest in FKT's, so it stands to reason that many are going to fall (and have fallen).

Personally, I think the unsupported records are more inline with my thinking. There are a ton of places I would like to do a multi-day run/fast pack (JMT included), reading these accounts just gets the juices flowing even more :)

[Marko Botsaris]

I used to enjoy, and be amazed by the abilities of the folks doing the big week-long adventure races. Just before I finally threw out my TV set for good I recall seeing it covered on a few cable TV shows. I haven't kept up with the sport at all since then. How is it going as a sport these days? Hopefully the participants can make a reasonable living. Seems like it would take a lot more mental toughness than any professional sport where you get to sleep in a bed every night – probably a very similar set of mental (as well as physical of course) skills to those of the people who can set these kinds of records.

Do the highest ranking teams still do it on sleep deprivation, or do they have some rules to discourage this? A part of the slowpoke snob club I definitely would discourage sleep deprivation, though I have to admit it seemed to make for good TV. My naive picture is that on the last few days doing the JMT so fast you might be in a bit of a haze. I'd be worried about taking a bad fall, but fortunately I will never have to worry about it. I would probably insist on stopping for about about a 10 hour nap about the middle of the second day. I do remember some of the adventure racers more or less carrying one of their comrades in an advanced stage of sleep-deprived disorientation. Through leech infested rivers no less. Yup, damn fine TV. And yes, also very amazing. I don't see it as applicable in ANY way to MY life, but freaking amazing.

[Aaron Sorensen]

I used to be big into adventure racing for a few years, even did Primal Quest Utah.

What are we doing now, we're doing FKT runs.

[Art …]

Mark Millanos – your saying your inital comment was "obviously not a negative comment" is …….. well, simply a silly veiled attempt at retraction.
you could have said "well done Hal and Mike" but you chose a joke laced with innuendo that denigrated what they did.
you are who you are, I'll move on.

Hal and Mike are great guys who deserve hearty congratulations for their accomplishment.

[Marko Botsaris]

"you chose a joke laced with innuendo that denigrated what they did."

Hum, I believe my exact quote was "+1". Man I'm good – to have gotten all that in in just 2 characters! Seriously, it really wasn't there. It obviously wasn't there in the post I was referring to either. I don't think you understand what the expression "laced with innuendo" means, but the post in question certainly didn't contain any innuendo. You are just imagining things, but we are not asking for an apology from you for being nasty to us, so relax.

[Dave T]

Somewhere someone is doing something amazing, and not telling anyone.

[Ken Thompson]

"Somewhere someone is doing something amazing, and not telling anyone."

That's kinda what I always think first. Set the record, that we are aware of.

[Marko Botsaris]

"Somewhere someone is doing something amazing, and not telling anyone."

+1. Some day I'd like to live just one day entirely without aspiration of any sort but still have it be full of amazing activity. Some days I feel like I get a good start, but I usually have it ruined by some plan or personal concern by 9 am. My life is already full of aspiration and accomplishing of goals. One of the reasons I like backpacking is because I find after 2 or 3 hours I sometime get into a state where my planning brain turns off for a while. I think you could get there "smelling the roses" or running for 3 days straight. I think it could easily happen doing nothing particularly special, and I also think that it absolutely would not matter what I was actually doing. I guess it is a bit of a catch 22 since if you really had such a day you would not actually notice it almost by definition.

Wow, the was way too mushy! Now I'm gonna have to turn in my man card.

[Desert Dweller]

Wow, simply awesome. That's like a back to back double Western States Trail Endurance run. And they DID I am sure "smell the roses" in their own style. These two men are wonderful examples of what the human body and mind can do and should be recognized for having the courage to go attempt such a thing. Celebrate it!

[Nathan Watts]

"The only person that speed hikes for the right reasons, is the one that does it, but doesnt tell anyone."

What are the right reasons? Is there a list of them somewhere that I can reference?

Thanks in advance

[David Thomas]

The driver going slower than you (and blocking your progress) is an moron. The one that goes faster (and passes you) is an idiot.

I'm cool with record-breaking attempts as long as non-participants aren't negatively effected.

I got yelled at by a ranger on my first Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim (nothing fast, 19 hours) for, basically, not enjoying the scenery. My (unspoken) response was that doing 21,000 vertical feet in a day inside a stairwell would be a lot LESS scenic.

As to why anyone would support someone else's efforts? I enjoy helping others. I'm happy to see others push themselves. I'm pretty good at being a sherpa, camp chef, etc. The last one was housing Hig and Erin on their 800-mile trek with toddlers and arranging for air drops on the far side of Cook Inlet.

[Hobbes 1]

"Offer a Mercedes Benz as a prize, and some Kenyan or Ethiopian will do it in under 2 days."

Tom, oh wise one, you are absolutely spot on target. From a general marketing perspective, there is a constant search for something new & interesting that will capture the public's attention. Red Bull has really taken advantage of this trend, and sponsors all kinds of extreme athletes – big wave surfing is just one example.

If FKT exploits in beautiful mountain, desert, forest, ocean, etc settings happen to excite interest in the general public, then make way for internationally recognized elite athletes. The photo & video opportunities are obvious – add a 30 second clip seen by millions, and that represents huge exposure for whatever brand is being touted.

It may not be backpacking – ultralight or otherwise – but it appears that UL is the birthing space. If it takes off and generates more participants, then I would expect to see a dedicated site. Perhaps I can qualify for fastest known time to get into a wetsuit when the surf is firing? Nah, thousands are probably faster. LOL

That story about Anis is quite inspiring. How many people have hidden talents that aren't fully realized?

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