John Muir Trail Record Attempt 22-July

"Does this recent strategy of running as a team of two ultimately work for the best ?"

I know that when I hike with others, there is typically an inverse relation in the number of hikers and the speed of the hiking. If the hikers are willing to split up when it suits, then the speed usually stays good.

Sue's time was 92 hours ("and a few seconds").

I've done both solo and team efforts on this kind of thing. In fact I've done team & solo on the JMT, setting what were then speed records both times (2000 & 2003). The team thing is way more fun and emotionally much easier. But, in most cases solo is going to be faster because, as has been pointed out, you can only move as fast as the slowest person. Even if the team is perfectly matched each person has ups and downs (and bathroom breaks, foot problems, sleep needs, etc.) and those are not usually perfectly in sync. Each person has strengths and weaknesses. There are many psychological considerations, which are unique for each individual, but in general solo is faster. This also means that a soloist who is unusually experienced and comfortable alone in the backcountry is going to be the best bet for a fast time – e.g., Brett Maune and Sue Johnston.

https://twitter.com/hashtag/JMTFKT?src=hash

I think by next year most elite runners who seriously go after the supported record will start employing the single runner multiple pacer method.
maybe not quite in the full spirit of a wilderness run, but ultimately faster.

What I have been thinking about today is the wisdom of waiting a few days to recover – perhaps up to a week – and then having another go at it.

I realize that logistically this would be quite difficult to do, but when will fitness, altitude acclimatization and route familiarity ever have a finer edge on them?

I bet it takes more than a week to recover from an effort like this.

b

Recovery – physically probably two to four weeks. Mentally could be much longer.

Also, why are they not moving???? The suspense is killing me…

"What I have been thinking about today is the wisdom of waiting a few days to recover – perhaps up to a week – and then having another go at it."

Do they acclimatize themselves good before hand?

Like, they should do a portion of the hike, like maybe 25%, sleep at altitude, rest good, eat good, then start their "assault"?

Jerry, no need for the snark.

I'm just wondering about the viability of such a strategy, since there are a couple of knowledgeable folks participating in the discussion.

"Also, why are they not moving???? The suspense is killing me…"

They are on the north side of a steep tree covered slope. It is thick in there.
SPOT will show up again when they get to the bottom and across the creek.

(I'm hoping….)

It's "only" 5 miles from the top to the bottom, so perhaps they are taking a break.
Time will tell.

"News from the trail is that the SPOT is no longer transmitting, but @SheltonJenn & @krissymoehl are still on the move! Go team go! #JMTFKT"

The above information comes from This Twitter Account.

Sounds like this might be “the” source of info for the duration.

Any other “sources” out there?

"Jerry, no need for the snark."

Ha, ha, ha,… that's the problem with the internet, so easy to misinterpret.

I thought you had a good point. I just wondered what their preperation was. Somebody else said it took a week to recover so logically, if they did just a portion of the JMT, then rested for a few days, or did some other preparation, they could probably do the whole thing in less time.

"News from the trail is that the SPOT is no longer transmitting, but @SheltonJenn & @krissymoehl are still on the move! Go team go! #JMTFKT"

Too bad! I have become addicted to checking their progress every few minutes!

I hope it is merely an instance of batteries draining, although the last track info indicated good battery status. However, the voltage curves can drop off very quickly for some batteries.

EDIT: Jerry, apologies for my misinterpretation of your post.

From the Twitter Account above –

"Aaron Keller……. [~4 am PT]

"At Red's Meadow under the Sierra stars waiting for @SheltonJenn and @krissymoehl
"Appears the SPOT stopped working south of Edison."

From https://twitter.com/aaronkellerbio

Aaron Keller: [at ~ 11:15 am PT]

"3 mi from Red's Meadow!! All is well!"

From the same Twitter feed, looks like Krissy dropped at VVR. Jenn is continuing solo.

Glad to see an update but was hoping for a better result! Krissy is out & Jenn is apparently continuing, but the record seems out of the question now. Sue J. left Reds at 71h07m, which would have been just after 6AM today for Jenn – she's easily 6 hours over that now.

Edit: Left Reds 7-8 hours behind Sue's split.

The SPOT feed seems to be back
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0YM4WICOb2kKBHqqKfH1m9IK1V5WFi0G0

Position confirmed on Twitter #JMTFKT
https://twitter.com/search?q=%23JMTFKT&src=tyah
Jenn is solo at Rosalie Lake, exactly 50 miles to go

The latest SPOT transmission locates Jenn slightly off the trail along the south shore of Garnet Lake. Hope all is well, still daylight there so I think she can't have lost the trail, just a blip I expect. There is an unsignposted junction at the lake crossing, but it's more confusing in the SOBO direction I think, where you can't immediately see the trail that continues over an outcrop around the lake – I almost took a wrong turn down toward Agnew Meadows here on my first (SOBO) JMT hike.

"The latest SPOT transmission locates Jenn slightly off the trail along the south shore of Garnet Lake."

I'd say Significantly off route. The trail cuts across the outlet at the east end. There is no way she could be there by mistake.

SPOT was quiet for the preceding 2 hours.

Either –

1) She's done, or
2) SPOT is done

…but somethings not right. I wonder who….

Edit to add –

This update came in while I was posting.

I'm still going to go for SPOT inaccuracy given that the pings on the south and north shore are only 6 minutes apart. But it's pretty funny – it looks for all the world as though she went to that narrow point and swam across Garnet lake.

I see from twitter that perhaps Scott Jurek is now on the trail with her. If so, that eliminates the nagging worry that maybe she was wandering off the trail with sleep deprivation or something. These SPOT tracks are a mixed blessing for the folks watching at home….

Jenn is on one of the most beautiful sections of the JMT. The views of Banner & Ritter across those lakes are just breathtaking. Now going into the 4th night – this will be a tough one for her!

"Jenn is on one of the most beautiful sections of the JMT"
At this time in her hike it may be more beautiful than for most as she's probably seeing double right now.

Spot reception is funny. My son has been sending us Spot signals as he is currently hiking the PCT. Sometimes it appears they are way off trail. Where Jenn was at Garnet, as you come out of Ruby and hike above Garnet you are basically right along the shoreline, but up higher. I can see how that signal could get messed up.

Looks like she is climbing out or Tuolumne right now. Once she gets over Cathedral it's all down hill; as if that matters!