JMT Record Attempts – 2014

"I walked past the Rock Monster twice without see it, while I was looking for it and "going slow"."

Well, then I guess I can't give Aaron a hard time about missing it. I think it's great that there are folks out there pushing the edge, even if I don't want to; as you say, I can benefit from what they learn.

Yea, I also just don't know exactly where it is.
Last time was during the day and still have no clue where it is.
I mean 1/2 of the JMT is almost all rock around you.

But you got me there.

I also see flowers. I just don't stop and smell them.

"That and hiking at night with a full moon in the Sierra's is amazing!"

Sierra Granite looks amazingly like snow in the full moonlight! I could do the night hiking thing – its the sleep deprivation part that would be the stopper for me.

Slight derail – After reading this thread, I did some research and somehow found story of Michael Popov's death. Very tragic. Amazing how quickly the Death Valley heat killed him. Something like 2-3 hours and it was beyond the point of no return.

Ryan

I am a slow walker – I have been for a long time…ever since a hip surgery in 2003 I just trudge along. Even running…I would seem to run in slow motion all the time.

But I do like to run, and I like to hike, and I like to trail run. I frequently travel to do half marathons – LOVE them! I'd love to be faster (and I'm currently working on that…thanks to some ankle rehab…)

So while many of my trips would be painfully slow for many of you – I also would really like to be able to trail run the JMT. Why not?! It's a destination run, and to be able to do it in record time would be an awesome feat!

It's just a different kind of trip – and one I would very much like to do at some point. One day………

"I also see flowers. I just don't stop and smell them."

I see dead flowers…..

"I see dead flowers….."

But they don't know they're dead.

I went on a few Sierra club trips in my more naive days, and the worst one was led by a guy (who lived in downtown Chicago) that just wanted to make miles. He didn't know a damn thing about the local flora and fauna. He didn't know about the geology, and didn't care. Just miles – too much to check off. Just gotta to keep moving. His even more annoying assistant bragged about training with bricks in is pack, but seemed entirely impervious to curiosity about anything.

This drove me crazy because I am into lizards, and this was about the first time I had been in that area (in Utah) and there were like 2 dozen new species I had never seen. I wanted to check them out. I wanted to watch what they ate and their behavior. And I especially wanted to scare many of more of the ones that got up partially on their back two legs when in escape mode.

But no, we had to keep moving. If I ever stayed for 5 minutes to watch they would be long out of sight when I got done.

So there is seeing, and then there is seeing.

I don't see anything wrong with either way of " seeing "

one is a journey of external discovery ( lizards and such ).

one is a journey of internal discovery with a beautiful external backdrop.

"This drove me crazy because I am into lizards, and this was about the first time I had been in that area (in Utah) and there were like 2 dozen new species I had never seen. I wanted to check them out."

One of the coolest trips I ever did was the trip I did with BPL on the Teton Crest – thanks to Pat Starich.

Pat knew geology. Lots of geology. And, unbeknown to those of us on the trip, he printed out these large, color maps of the geographical history of the area in which we were hiking. One day early in the trip, during a break, he pulls these things out and goes through the geological history of the area using these printed maps.

I'm no geology nut, but I absolutely loved his short 'class', and really appreciated the effort he took in printing out the maps and bringing them along.

It was, hands down, the coolest part of the trip.

"one is a journey of internal discovery with a beautiful external backdrop."

I'm definitely NOT saying either is a better way, just that they ARE different, and that maybe saying, "I see everything the other guys sees, just more of it because I go fast" is not correct.

Much better to explain each way like you just did Art!

I wonder how much a guy doesn't see while he's on the floor looking at lizards up close.

Why does a thread have to get hijacked just because it is a different kind of activity than some like or are capable of doing? If you aren't interested then don't post.

I look forward to following these record attempts as well as the PCT record attempts already announced. While these may not be exactly my type of thing, I think it is incredible what humans are capable of accomplishing when they push themselves.

Mark, I would have liked learning about the different lizards.

I've gotten into plant/tree taxonomy, a very rewarding hobby while backpacking. Especially cool to find rare trees and plants.

OP,

That’ll be quite an accomplishment regardless if it’s supported or unsupported. Does she have a blog or other social media thingy where I can follow this?

Re: trail learnin’

I joined a local alpine club for a snowshoe trip a couple years ago. As luck would have it, the trip leader’s background is in forestry and he manages a local tree farm for a paper mill. It was interesting to hear about the different trees from him throughout the day.

The Mt. St. Helens Institute offers a guided Geology on High climb with a geologist which sounds pretty interesting.

Ian …

Krissy Moehl is an extremely accomplished ultra mountain runner.
she is on the Patagonia running team.
she set the women’s record at Hardrock 100 (since broken).
she set the women’s record at Grand Canyon RRR (since broken).
she set the women’s record at Wonderland Trail (unbroken).

she is not a very active blogger but here is her site :

Krissy Moehl