My son, Andrew Bentz (Handy Andy) is in the last leg of his attempt to beat the existing unsupported record set by Brett Maune. Currently he is between Reds Meadow and Island Pass.
I dropped him off at the Portal on Monday night, August 25. I left about 7:30 and he went down by the river to take a nap before getting on the trail.
I got a ping on his Spot at 12:10 which I assume was when he got on the trail. We had set his SPOT to give locations every 30 mins. and when I got up at about 3:30 am I noticed there were no other traces left. We had upgraded the Firmware that day and something was not working. He got a call out when he was at the summit of Whitney and he also knew it was not working. So, he said he has taken pictures at every pass on his Go Pro. I would imagine there is some sort of time stamp.
The next ping we got was at his first stop. He rested for an hour just past the Charlotte Lake turn off before Glenn Pass. The next ping was when he finished the night on the other side of Mather Pass. Whitney, Forester, Glen, Pinchot and Mather all in one day.
The next time we heard from him was when he took a break in Evolution Valley probably around McClure Meadow.The last ping we got was from about 1.5 miles before Vermillion Lake below Silver Pass.
His batteries are low (they were brand new) and I think it may have something to do with why the unit is not working. He just finished the PCT a week ago, hiking it in 90 days with a friend, and they used the SPOT the whole time. We still don’t know what is happening.
I got a call from him on his cell somewhere below Mammoth Mountain and he said he would be in Reds Meadow at about 2:00 this afternoon, so I assume he is well on his way to Island Pass and Donahue.
He plans on getting in at 12:00 noon tomorrow IF ALL GOES WELL. We shall see.
I am on my way to Mammoth right now and then over Tioga and into the Valley to hopefully meet him tomorrow.
I will keep this thread updated when I know anything.
