14 ms·

Hiking America’s three longest trails in less than a year. What could go wrong?

124 points by hodgesrm 5y ago

kaymanb 5y ago
I was on the CDT this year and heard about these guys. It's a crazy accomplishment! I know I was not expecting them to finish all three.
DavidGetchel 5y ago
Long time lurker. Seeing this on hacker news surprised me. I'm a triple crowner myself, though not single calendar year. It's impressive. Those trails are a crazy ride! - Lunchbox
sverhagen 5y ago
A great story, no regrets, but I also feel a little click-baited. "Hiking... longest trails..." That sounds rough. "What could go wrong?" Well, that it was indeed rough, apparently...
grantjpowell 5y ago
I finished the A.T. in October after 174 days, by far the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. I can't imagine trying to do a whole triple crown in a single year. Hats off to these two! - Bear Bait
- sydthrowaway 5y ago
  What is Bear Bait
  - et-al 5y ago
    It's the person's "trail name": https://www.atmuseum.org/trail-names.html https://www.atmuseum.org/trail-names.html
    - DavidGetchel 5y ago
      Correct. I can't speak for bear bait, but you get a name or give yourself a name on trail. A right of passage of sorts. I'm Lunchbox because of a chest pack I wore on the PCT. There are people on trail that you never know their real name. Some very interesting stories on how they got theirs.
    - grantjpowell 5y ago
      Yep! I went by my real name "Grant" for a long time because I knew I would have to tell the story of how I got my trail name 1000 times and I wanted it to be a good story. Then one night I told people that's why I was waiting to take a trail name and a woman started calling me "Bear Bait" and there was no story... Edit: Couple of my other favorite trail names I heard - Pissbag -- on his first night on trail "ol' Pissbag" peed in a ziplock bag while on the second floor of a A.T. Shelter[0], and then "bragged" about his "brilliant" idea to not wake people up in the middle of the night the next morning and _instantly_ earned the name "Pissbag". I heard stories about "ol' Pissbag" for the first 700 hundred miles of the trail and I was super excited to meet (what I assumed to be) the degenerate who was _proudly_ going by that name. I was shocked when I finally ran into him and he turned out to be a super put together former SF enterprise software salesman. He ended up getting a pretty serious case of lyme disease and had to take several weeks off from the Trail. - Ballsack -- A former ballerina who carried a leather bag with two massage balls on her pack. Her favorite was when she would meet 70 year old women from church groups who came out to feed hikers and when they would ask her her trail name and she got to see "the light drain from their eyes" when she proudly said 'ballsack'. The woman who went by "D*ck Nipples" told a similar story about how she enjoyed seeing the reaction of little old ladies when she told them - Chingona -- A woman who didn't speak Spanish got called "Chingona" by a man who did speak spanish, who told her that it meant "Badass Woman". She was insanely proud of it for 500 miles until someone told her that word had some vulgar connotations in spanish and she switched to "Chin" - High Five -- When someone would ask his trail name, he'd raise his hand up and say "High Five". It usually took people several minutes before they figured it out... -- 5 & 6 -- A man who's this was his 5th attempt to finish and a woman who would sneak up "on people's 6". Who got their trail names totally separately and ended up hiking the last 800 miles together. Everyone assumed they were a couple because of the names... -- Pack Professor -- Former traveling musician who was very serious about gear (especially his pack). When we would start drinking he'd turn into "Party Professor". -- China -- She'd tell people her name was "China" and people would instantly try to guess how she got that trail name. Then she'd let them know that "China" was her real name and she went by it because it was funny to watch people guess and "her parents already gave her a trail name" -- Schrodinger -- I asked him if he was called "Schrodinger" was because he was really into physics and he replied "No, it's because I'm like schrodinger's cat but with whether I've ** my pants". Later we started calling him "Tool of war" because we found out he had that phrase tattooed on his genitals and he was honestly kinda a tool [0] https://appalachiantrail.org/explore/hike-the-a-t/thru-hiking/shelters/ https://appalachiantrail.org/explore/hike-the-a-t/thru-hikin...
- js2 5y ago
  Care the share the story behind that trail name? (I have a pretty good bear story myself, and that's just from a week-long hike on the AT.)
  - grantjpowell 5y ago
    Yeah! I answer how I got my trail name and a few of my other favorite trail names below
sieabahlpark 5y ago
What is this Reddit tier LASlimes article doing HN
emodendroket 5y ago
Impressive. I've taken a liking to day hiking recently in a way I didn't appreciate when I was younger... But ultimately I just want to go home and sleep in a bed.
ur-whale 5y ago
https://archive.md/czm0B https://archive.md/czm0B
srvmshr 5y ago
Most people fail to realize how incredibly difficult walking even one whole trail could be. These folks did all 3 in 295 days. ~7500 miles (a lot of those with unforgiving terrain esp. C.D one) within a calendar year. That's quite an achievement. Not gonna lie, I have a warm fuzzy feeling for them topped by a tinge of wonder (+ envy) at this achievement! - jester
SyzygistSix 5y ago
I can appreciate their ambition but I can't imagine it being very pleasant to do all three in one year. I would find it far more enjoyable to do them in separate years and take more time.
- subpixel 5y ago
  Trail runner here and I wholeheartedly agree. Life is defined by experience, not achievement. But some people never reach this realization. I live surrounded by very accomplished retirees, and some, on first meeting, give me a rundown of the highlights of their illustrious career.
  - helmholtz 5y ago
    "What is important in life is life, and not the result of life" But I think this opinion does get thrown around a lot anytime someone pushes an aspect of hiking. Ultralight backpackers, fastpackers, even ultra runners are all familiar with the trite refrain of "just stop and smell the roses!". I mean sure, but I'll bet any money that someone committed enough to do the triple crown in a single year isn't lacking for gratitude, awe, respect or just simple love for nature. Heck, just by being out there for as long as they were, they increase the sheer number of hours of appreciation. Experience isn't orthogonal to achievement. I'd argue it goes hand in hand.
    - SyzygistSix 5y ago
      Certainly and I agree that their experience was certainly rare and unique. There can be a lot of pleasure in discomfort and accomplishment. I did not mean to be a naysayer so much as to emphasize the completely nuts ambition of their adventure. I'd still say it's a rare person who would find what they did enjoyable.
  - ctrager 5y ago
    There's some irony here, no, that a trail RUNNER is saying that the OTHER guy is going to fast to smell the roses. That's what I - I'm a trail lumberer - think when the trail runners zip by.
Bellend 5y ago
I did the west highland way in Scotland which was 100 miles in 5 days and my right foot was just a single uniform blister. Good job lads, a serious impressive feat!
almog 5y ago
Having done just one of the three and suffering through Washington's winter conditions late in October, I'm full of awe when hearing about people who over the course of a Calendar Year Triple Crown had to hop back and forth from one bad weather to another. In June 2018 I've been lucky to get glimpse of Anish (Heather Anderson) while she was getting her own Calendar Year Triple Crown. Later I read her first book "2600 Miles to Home" where she tells the story of her 2013 Pacific Crest Trail Fastest Known Time (a term that describes record-setting on long trails as well as the name of the website that track those FKT attempts) of the Pacific Crest Trail, which she completed (unsupported) in 60 days and 17 hours. She still holds that record as well as the record that she set for the Calendar Year Triple Crown (251 days and 20 hours). I can only wish I had half her drive.
ctrager 5y ago
In 2019 when I was 63 I did a 500 snippet of the Pacific Crest Trail. Because of needing to resupply, my long hike was really a series of 9 trips, each individual trip lasting about 5 days, more or less, like a work week. I started to think of a day hiking as "a day at the office". Already on "Monday", my first day back on trail I would be thinking about "Friday", the day I could get to town and eat restaurant food instead of the food in my pack that I was tired of. I don't know how these guys and other long distance hikers maintain their motivation, or rather, I don't know how they continue to find enough reward in the activity to make up for the deprivation, repetition.
- AdrianB1 5y ago
  I have the same problem if I go hiking with a destination in mind. 7 years ago while touring Europe with some friends I learned to totally ignore the destination of the day, just go in some direction and look in the evening for a place to slip. That make it all about the journey, not the destination, and it is so much relaxing and fun.
- randomsearch 5y ago
  How did you find doing it at that age? I’d love to do the PCT but can’t see how I’ll manage the time before my 60s
  - mbrameld 5y ago
    Anecdotally the biggest factor for that, barring any acute health issue, will be your activity level between now and then.
    - ctrager 5y ago
      Maybe, but I think the game ender for older hikers is knee or back trouble. Is that from too little or too much activity? Or just the genetic lottery?
  - ctrager 5y ago
    I'm 65, retired. I'm more physically prepared now than when I was younger and busy with work and kids. I have time and money now. I see plenty of other backpackers in their mid 60s, but hardly any backpackers in their 70s. I've been doing a lot of backpacking in recent years because I know my time is running out. I just got back from 11 days hiking in the Grand Canyon. My left knee hurts, so maybe time is running out...
jean-malo 5y ago
Incredible. I did the PCT in 2019 and considered quitting multiple times. I can't imagine the mental strength required to push through the AT, CDT and PCT back-to-back.
- tjr225 5y ago
  Sincerely jealous. The one thing I long for most in my lifetime is enough time off from work so that I can actually train for and hike the pct.
  - jean-malo 5y ago
    Yes dropping everything for 6 months is probably the biggest hurdle especially for people with kids etc. I was quite lucky, my boss liked the project and agreed to a 6 months unpaid leave.
ctrager 5y ago
There's so much bad policy in the USA that sucks, especially when compared to some European countries, but one thing the USA has done relatively well at is creating lots of public land and the creating these trails. I hiked a section of the PCT starting at a paved road (mile 652 of the trail) and didn't cross another paved road until 290 miles of hiking later. I tear up with gratitude for the vision of the people who worked to protect the land and create the trail. Also, sure, there is awesome gorgeous hiking in Europe too of course, but, say, in the Alps, mostly it's managed more tightly. You can't just hike for the day and set up a tent where you get tired. Camping is much more restricted to right next to the huts/refuges or not allowed at all. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Trails_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Trails_System
- helmholtz 5y ago
  Yep, hiking in the alps is largely a hut-to-hut sort of affair. It's picture perfect, jaw droppingly so, but it is crowded, tamed and sterile. Goats are about the wildest thing you see.
  - saiya-jin 5y ago
    Only if you do few most touristic places in whole range of alps. Most of it is quiet and you will meet few people a day. But sure if you pick one of the most popular hikes in alps then its surprisingly crowded, especially in the summer. Autumn is far superior time for Alps hiking (colors, temperatures, weather). Also don't get that camping restrictions rant in this thread - you can camp literally everywhere outside of natural reserve. If its private property and you have somebody to ask then ask for permission. Otherwise be polite, quiet, don't leave anything after you and that's it. I've been doing it for last 10 years almost every weekend weather permitting, never any issue. Outside of proper alpinism / skialpinism never used huts.
    - la_fayette 5y ago
      You can do it and get away with it, however it is absolutely forbidden in central europe, except Switzerland... biwaking is only allowed in emergency situations. If you are caught you might have to pay high fines...
ctrager 5y ago
This is a quote from the book "The Motion of the Body through Space" by Lionel Shriver. It's about exercise, but it applies to hiking ambition too. "People who exercise less than you are pathetic; people who exercise more than you are nuts.”
- JKCalhoun 5y ago
  “Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?” — Carlin
  - ip26 5y ago
    Do the people doing thirty over really see it that way?
- LorenPechtel 5y ago
  People who do a single-year triple crown are nuts because you can't take the time to enjoy it at the sort of pace that is required. Head down, dash for the objective is not how to enjoy nature!
TuringNYC 5y ago
I had friends do the Appalachian Trail and much of the decisioning was on how to start it after the winter but complete it before the next winter. I can see how the trail becomes nX more difficult during winter. Doing three in a year is remarkable for this reason, I think the almost mandates you done some through the winter.
- LorenPechtel 5y ago
  Yup, it means hiking in winter, albeit in the more southern areas. IIRC we are now at the point where there have been the same number of single-year triple crowners as moonwalkers.
- ctrager 5y ago
  I did a section of the PCT. Too early in the year? Too much snow. But if you go later in the year the melting snow makes the streams too high and fast and dangerous - people drown. But if you go later in the year the mosquitoes will drive you insane. But if you go later in the year, that's when things dry out the fires will drive you off the trail... Pick your poison.
- ghaff 5y ago
  The limiting factor going south to north is that you have to climb Katahdin in Baxter State Park at the northern end. And you probably want to do this by about October 15 (and will run into park restrictions shortly after that). (There is a lot of steep rocky terrain through northern NH and areas of Maine as well). So you have to work back from that to when you start from Springer Mountain in GA which can be as early as about March 15 I gather although you're still sort of semi-winter conditions. Some people recommend starting more like mid-April for better weather and fewer through-hiker crrowdsbut you're obviously giving up 30 days or so of margin.
pythko 5y ago
I always love hearing about the logistics of trips like these, and this article leaves me with lots of questions. On the AT section, they mention starting out with packs that weighed over 20 pounds, which is extremely light for backpacking. That’s probably a few days of food, a change of clothes, 2-3 liters of water, and an ultralight sleeping bag. But then they mention a tent, too! In contrast, I talked with someone who thru-hiked the AT in the winter, and they said that their packs were routinely over 70 pounds, and that they had ditched their tent in favor of staying in the shelters and wrapping their sleeping bags in Tyvek. How were the guys in the article resupplying? Trips into town every few days sounds very time consuming. The article also casually threw out that they went through 26 pairs of shoes! Are they buying those at retail? Did they get sponsored by someone? It also says they mailed themselves packages of food to be picked up at post offices, but it wasn’t dehydrated backpacking food: “Almost half of the airtight bags they had stuffed with rice and beans, tortillas and other fare broke, leaving their food covered in mold.” Has anyone else heard of people relying on perishable food to sit in a post office for weeks/months? Overall, I read this article with a tremendous amount of respect for the physical and mental accomplishment (that’s a lot of miles and those trails are not easy!), envy, and…bewilderment, I guess? Is dropping $25k and taking a year off school to speedrun three of the most iconic trails in the US a good use of time or money? Part of me would have loved the idea when I was that age, but part of me thinks about all the travel, gear, time asked of family, and time asked of myself, and thinks it would not be worth it.
- ctrager 5y ago
  My hiking boots were good for about 400 miles. Now I use trail runners and I don't trust them after 200 miles - the souls get too smooth. Their combined 14,000 miles divided by 26 means they were getting 540 miles out of each pair.
- LorenPechtel 5y ago
  That "20 pounds" is certainly their base weight--not counting whatever food and water they are carrying. Quite possible with ultralight gear, although a little light in the safety department for my tastes. 26 pairs of shoes between the two of them I actually find surprising--that they used that few. I'm surprised at the mold--you don't have it sit around all that long, you update whoever is sending them with your location so they know when to send them. There's a limit to how long a post office will hold a package for pickup. And that sort of fare doesn't sound that perishable. I can't imagine beans on the trail, though--they take too much cooking time. Fuel is weight! (And, no, I've never done any of the great trails, but they certainly sound like an experience. Section hiked in decent weather, not a speedrun like these guys did. I don't think I could handle any of them, though.)
jmnicolas 5y ago
> A black bear charged at one of them in Washington state. I'm a 43 yo French guy. In all my life, I only know one man that had problems with wildlife in France: he was charged by an angry wild boar and had to jump in a river to evade it. So I'm not worried at all about my safety when hiking in France. However if I was hiking in the US I'd probably carry a 44 Magnum at all times (the ultra lightweight one from S&W). I don't know how you guys decide to go in the woods with just some pepper spray and think it's enough! I'd worry that it makes the bear angrier! :D
- tastyfreeze 5y ago
  Unless you mess with them or their cubs black bears are like big tree climbing pigs.
- alphakappa 5y ago
  If a bear charges you, chances are the gun won’t be much help.
  - jmnicolas 5y ago
    At least I would have a chance. I have a hard time believing pepper spray is anything more than a fell good amulet!
    - hodgesrm 5y ago
      Shooting a charging bear is harder than it sounds. If you don't kill it, chances are you'll just really piss it off.
      - jmnicolas 5y ago
        It seems destiny is reading us: this morning in the news a 70 yo French hunter was charged by a bear and shot it 2 times. The man is gravely wounded (femoral artery) and the bear is dead (she had 2 cubs). I completely forgot that they reintroduced bears in the mountains south of France (Pyrenees) a few years ago.
oblib 5y ago
I appreciate the goals and tenacity to achieve them of the folks who do this kind of thing but it's not my style. I've spent a lot of time in our State and National forests and for the past 15 years most of it has been off trail and the past 10 most of my trips have been solo. Thru hikers tend to focus on the trail and their only goal is making miles. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's not even close to the same as experiencing the "wilderness". It's much more akin to running a marathon. So it's easy to spot thru hikers on a trail. They most always have their heads down and eyes focused on the trail and often won't even say "Hi" as they race by you. To really experience the wilderness you have to learn how to "bushwhack" off trail. To do that you need to learn how to use a compass and triangulate your position on a map. That's not near as common of a skill as one might imagine thru hikers have. For me, making miles was never a goal. Immersing myself in the wilderness and finding "Super Scenic Spots" to hang out for awhile has always been the goal. One of the things you learn when you start bushwhacking is the wildlife will be hiding from you before you even get there. They can hear or smell you coming. But after a bit, if you're quiet, they'll come out and get back their normal routine, and that's really something awesome to experience. I have to give them credit though because it was thru hikers that motivated me to get off the trails more. Over the years I've increasingly had those folks walk into my camp and ask, and just as often demand, that I give them food and supplies because "I'm out" of whatever it is they needed. And over the years I increasingly had to to cut trips short because I couldn't say "No" and some of them were truly in desperate need. The first few times I was glad to help and it felt good to help, but after awhile I noticed this was getting to be too common and I grew tired of it because my trips kept turning into rescue and relief missions for those folks and getting cut short. But when I get off those trails no one ever walks into my campsite. And when I backpack solo I can leave no trace, but when I invite friends who're not really backpackers they tend to want to build a campsite. What I do is much more akin to "Shinrin-yoku".
- ctrager 5y ago
  I do get that when there are too many people the experience is different. I do get that being in the wilderness with, like, earbuds in your ears is different than listening to the sounds of nature. I do get that being off trail can be different than on a trail. I do get that navigating with a map and compass can be different and fun versus using a GPS app on your phone. But I wouldn't say, "to really experience the wilderness you have to....". Instead I would repeat the maxim, "Hike Your Own Hike".

124 points by hodgesrm 5y ago

I was on the CDT this year and heard about these guys. It's a crazy accomplishment! I know I was not expecting them to finish all three.

DavidGetchel 5y ago

Long time lurker. Seeing this on hacker news surprised me. I'm a triple crowner myself, though not single calendar year. It's impressive. Those trails are a crazy ride! - Lunchbox

sverhagen 5y ago

A great story, no regrets, but I also feel a little click-baited. "Hiking... longest trails..." That sounds rough. "What could go wrong?" Well, that it was indeed rough, apparently...

grantjpowell 5y ago

I finished the A.T. in October after 174 days, by far the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. I can't imagine trying to do a whole triple crown in a single year. Hats off to these two! - Bear Bait

sydthrowaway 5y ago
What is Bear Bait
- et-al 5y ago
  It's the person's "trail name": https://www.atmuseum.org/trail-names.html https://www.atmuseum.org/trail-names.html
  - DavidGetchel 5y ago
    Correct. I can't speak for bear bait, but you get a name or give yourself a name on trail. A right of passage of sorts. I'm Lunchbox because of a chest pack I wore on the PCT. There are people on trail that you never know their real name. Some very interesting stories on how they got theirs.
  - grantjpowell 5y ago
    Yep! I went by my real name "Grant" for a long time because I knew I would have to tell the story of how I got my trail name 1000 times and I wanted it to be a good story. Then one night I told people that's why I was waiting to take a trail name and a woman started calling me "Bear Bait" and there was no story... Edit: Couple of my other favorite trail names I heard - Pissbag -- on his first night on trail "ol' Pissbag" peed in a ziplock bag while on the second floor of a A.T. Shelter[0], and then "bragged" about his "brilliant" idea to not wake people up in the middle of the night the next morning and _instantly_ earned the name "Pissbag". I heard stories about "ol' Pissbag" for the first 700 hundred miles of the trail and I was super excited to meet (what I assumed to be) the degenerate who was _proudly_ going by that name. I was shocked when I finally ran into him and he turned out to be a super put together former SF enterprise software salesman. He ended up getting a pretty serious case of lyme disease and had to take several weeks off from the Trail. - Ballsack -- A former ballerina who carried a leather bag with two massage balls on her pack. Her favorite was when she would meet 70 year old women from church groups who came out to feed hikers and when they would ask her her trail name and she got to see "the light drain from their eyes" when she proudly said 'ballsack'. The woman who went by "D*ck Nipples" told a similar story about how she enjoyed seeing the reaction of little old ladies when she told them - Chingona -- A woman who didn't speak Spanish got called "Chingona" by a man who did speak spanish, who told her that it meant "Badass Woman". She was insanely proud of it for 500 miles until someone told her that word had some vulgar connotations in spanish and she switched to "Chin" - High Five -- When someone would ask his trail name, he'd raise his hand up and say "High Five". It usually took people several minutes before they figured it out... -- 5 & 6 -- A man who's this was his 5th attempt to finish and a woman who would sneak up "on people's 6". Who got their trail names totally separately and ended up hiking the last 800 miles together. Everyone assumed they were a couple because of the names... -- Pack Professor -- Former traveling musician who was very serious about gear (especially his pack). When we would start drinking he'd turn into "Party Professor". -- China -- She'd tell people her name was "China" and people would instantly try to guess how she got that trail name. Then she'd let them know that "China" was her real name and she went by it because it was funny to watch people guess and "her parents already gave her a trail name" -- Schrodinger -- I asked him if he was called "Schrodinger" was because he was really into physics and he replied "No, it's because I'm like schrodinger's cat but with whether I've ** my pants". Later we started calling him "Tool of war" because we found out he had that phrase tattooed on his genitals and he was honestly kinda a tool [0] https://appalachiantrail.org/explore/hike-the-a-t/thru-hiking/shelters/ https://appalachiantrail.org/explore/hike-the-a-t/thru-hikin...
js2 5y ago
Care the share the story behind that trail name? (I have a pretty good bear story myself, and that's just from a week-long hike on the AT.)
- grantjpowell 5y ago
  Yeah! I answer how I got my trail name and a few of my other favorite trail names below

sieabahlpark 5y ago

What is this Reddit tier LASlimes article doing HN

emodendroket 5y ago

Impressive. I've taken a liking to day hiking recently in a way I didn't appreciate when I was younger... But ultimately I just want to go home and sleep in a bed.

ur-whale 5y ago

https://archive.md/czm0B https://archive.md/czm0B

srvmshr 5y ago

Most people fail to realize how incredibly difficult walking even one whole trail could be. These folks did all 3 in 295 days. ~7500 miles (a lot of those with unforgiving terrain esp. C.D one) within a calendar year. That's quite an achievement. Not gonna lie, I have a warm fuzzy feeling for them topped by a tinge of wonder (+ envy) at this achievement! - jester

SyzygistSix 5y ago

I can appreciate their ambition but I can't imagine it being very pleasant to do all three in one year. I would find it far more enjoyable to do them in separate years and take more time.

subpixel 5y ago
Trail runner here and I wholeheartedly agree. Life is defined by experience, not achievement. But some people never reach this realization. I live surrounded by very accomplished retirees, and some, on first meeting, give me a rundown of the highlights of their illustrious career.
- helmholtz 5y ago
  "What is important in life is life, and not the result of life" But I think this opinion does get thrown around a lot anytime someone pushes an aspect of hiking. Ultralight backpackers, fastpackers, even ultra runners are all familiar with the trite refrain of "just stop and smell the roses!". I mean sure, but I'll bet any money that someone committed enough to do the triple crown in a single year isn't lacking for gratitude, awe, respect or just simple love for nature. Heck, just by being out there for as long as they were, they increase the sheer number of hours of appreciation. Experience isn't orthogonal to achievement. I'd argue it goes hand in hand.
  - SyzygistSix 5y ago
    Certainly and I agree that their experience was certainly rare and unique. There can be a lot of pleasure in discomfort and accomplishment. I did not mean to be a naysayer so much as to emphasize the completely nuts ambition of their adventure. I'd still say it's a rare person who would find what they did enjoyable.
- ctrager 5y ago
  There's some irony here, no, that a trail RUNNER is saying that the OTHER guy is going to fast to smell the roses. That's what I - I'm a trail lumberer - think when the trail runners zip by.

Bellend 5y ago

I did the west highland way in Scotland which was 100 miles in 5 days and my right foot was just a single uniform blister. Good job lads, a serious impressive feat!

almog 5y ago

Having done just one of the three and suffering through Washington's winter conditions late in October, I'm full of awe when hearing about people who over the course of a Calendar Year Triple Crown had to hop back and forth from one bad weather to another. In June 2018 I've been lucky to get glimpse of Anish (Heather Anderson) while she was getting her own Calendar Year Triple Crown. Later I read her first book "2600 Miles to Home" where she tells the story of her 2013 Pacific Crest Trail Fastest Known Time (a term that describes record-setting on long trails as well as the name of the website that track those FKT attempts) of the Pacific Crest Trail, which she completed (unsupported) in 60 days and 17 hours. She still holds that record as well as the record that she set for the Calendar Year Triple Crown (251 days and 20 hours). I can only wish I had half her drive.

ctrager 5y ago

In 2019 when I was 63 I did a 500 snippet of the Pacific Crest Trail. Because of needing to resupply, my long hike was really a series of 9 trips, each individual trip lasting about 5 days, more or less, like a work week. I started to think of a day hiking as "a day at the office". Already on "Monday", my first day back on trail I would be thinking about "Friday", the day I could get to town and eat restaurant food instead of the food in my pack that I was tired of. I don't know how these guys and other long distance hikers maintain their motivation, or rather, I don't know how they continue to find enough reward in the activity to make up for the deprivation, repetition.

AdrianB1 5y ago
I have the same problem if I go hiking with a destination in mind. 7 years ago while touring Europe with some friends I learned to totally ignore the destination of the day, just go in some direction and look in the evening for a place to slip. That make it all about the journey, not the destination, and it is so much relaxing and fun.
randomsearch 5y ago
How did you find doing it at that age? I’d love to do the PCT but can’t see how I’ll manage the time before my 60s
- mbrameld 5y ago
  Anecdotally the biggest factor for that, barring any acute health issue, will be your activity level between now and then.
  - ctrager 5y ago
    Maybe, but I think the game ender for older hikers is knee or back trouble. Is that from too little or too much activity? Or just the genetic lottery?
- ctrager 5y ago
  I'm 65, retired. I'm more physically prepared now than when I was younger and busy with work and kids. I have time and money now. I see plenty of other backpackers in their mid 60s, but hardly any backpackers in their 70s. I've been doing a lot of backpacking in recent years because I know my time is running out. I just got back from 11 days hiking in the Grand Canyon. My left knee hurts, so maybe time is running out...

jean-malo 5y ago

Incredible. I did the PCT in 2019 and considered quitting multiple times. I can't imagine the mental strength required to push through the AT, CDT and PCT back-to-back.

tjr225 5y ago
Sincerely jealous. The one thing I long for most in my lifetime is enough time off from work so that I can actually train for and hike the pct.
- jean-malo 5y ago
  Yes dropping everything for 6 months is probably the biggest hurdle especially for people with kids etc. I was quite lucky, my boss liked the project and agreed to a 6 months unpaid leave.

ctrager 5y ago

There's so much bad policy in the USA that sucks, especially when compared to some European countries, but one thing the USA has done relatively well at is creating lots of public land and the creating these trails. I hiked a section of the PCT starting at a paved road (mile 652 of the trail) and didn't cross another paved road until 290 miles of hiking later. I tear up with gratitude for the vision of the people who worked to protect the land and create the trail. Also, sure, there is awesome gorgeous hiking in Europe too of course, but, say, in the Alps, mostly it's managed more tightly. You can't just hike for the day and set up a tent where you get tired. Camping is much more restricted to right next to the huts/refuges or not allowed at all. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Trails_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Trails_System

helmholtz 5y ago
Yep, hiking in the alps is largely a hut-to-hut sort of affair. It's picture perfect, jaw droppingly so, but it is crowded, tamed and sterile. Goats are about the wildest thing you see.
- saiya-jin 5y ago
  Only if you do few most touristic places in whole range of alps. Most of it is quiet and you will meet few people a day. But sure if you pick one of the most popular hikes in alps then its surprisingly crowded, especially in the summer. Autumn is far superior time for Alps hiking (colors, temperatures, weather). Also don't get that camping restrictions rant in this thread - you can camp literally everywhere outside of natural reserve. If its private property and you have somebody to ask then ask for permission. Otherwise be polite, quiet, don't leave anything after you and that's it. I've been doing it for last 10 years almost every weekend weather permitting, never any issue. Outside of proper alpinism / skialpinism never used huts.
  - la_fayette 5y ago
    You can do it and get away with it, however it is absolutely forbidden in central europe, except Switzerland... biwaking is only allowed in emergency situations. If you are caught you might have to pay high fines...

ctrager 5y ago

This is a quote from the book "The Motion of the Body through Space" by Lionel Shriver. It's about exercise, but it applies to hiking ambition too. "People who exercise less than you are pathetic; people who exercise more than you are nuts.”

JKCalhoun 5y ago
“Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?” — Carlin
- ip26 5y ago
  Do the people doing thirty over really see it that way?
LorenPechtel 5y ago
People who do a single-year triple crown are nuts because you can't take the time to enjoy it at the sort of pace that is required. Head down, dash for the objective is not how to enjoy nature!

TuringNYC 5y ago

I had friends do the Appalachian Trail and much of the decisioning was on how to start it after the winter but complete it before the next winter. I can see how the trail becomes nX more difficult during winter. Doing three in a year is remarkable for this reason, I think the almost mandates you done some through the winter.

LorenPechtel 5y ago
Yup, it means hiking in winter, albeit in the more southern areas. IIRC we are now at the point where there have been the same number of single-year triple crowners as moonwalkers.
ctrager 5y ago
I did a section of the PCT. Too early in the year? Too much snow. But if you go later in the year the melting snow makes the streams too high and fast and dangerous - people drown. But if you go later in the year the mosquitoes will drive you insane. But if you go later in the year, that's when things dry out the fires will drive you off the trail... Pick your poison.
ghaff 5y ago
The limiting factor going south to north is that you have to climb Katahdin in Baxter State Park at the northern end. And you probably want to do this by about October 15 (and will run into park restrictions shortly after that). (There is a lot of steep rocky terrain through northern NH and areas of Maine as well). So you have to work back from that to when you start from Springer Mountain in GA which can be as early as about March 15 I gather although you're still sort of semi-winter conditions. Some people recommend starting more like mid-April for better weather and fewer through-hiker crrowdsbut you're obviously giving up 30 days or so of margin.

pythko 5y ago

I always love hearing about the logistics of trips like these, and this article leaves me with lots of questions. On the AT section, they mention starting out with packs that weighed over 20 pounds, which is extremely light for backpacking. That’s probably a few days of food, a change of clothes, 2-3 liters of water, and an ultralight sleeping bag. But then they mention a tent, too! In contrast, I talked with someone who thru-hiked the AT in the winter, and they said that their packs were routinely over 70 pounds, and that they had ditched their tent in favor of staying in the shelters and wrapping their sleeping bags in Tyvek. How were the guys in the article resupplying? Trips into town every few days sounds very time consuming. The article also casually threw out that they went through 26 pairs of shoes! Are they buying those at retail? Did they get sponsored by someone? It also says they mailed themselves packages of food to be picked up at post offices, but it wasn’t dehydrated backpacking food: “Almost half of the airtight bags they had stuffed with rice and beans, tortillas and other fare broke, leaving their food covered in mold.” Has anyone else heard of people relying on perishable food to sit in a post office for weeks/months? Overall, I read this article with a tremendous amount of respect for the physical and mental accomplishment (that’s a lot of miles and those trails are not easy!), envy, and…bewilderment, I guess? Is dropping $25k and taking a year off school to speedrun three of the most iconic trails in the US a good use of time or money? Part of me would have loved the idea when I was that age, but part of me thinks about all the travel, gear, time asked of family, and time asked of myself, and thinks it would not be worth it.

ctrager 5y ago
My hiking boots were good for about 400 miles. Now I use trail runners and I don't trust them after 200 miles - the souls get too smooth. Their combined 14,000 miles divided by 26 means they were getting 540 miles out of each pair.
LorenPechtel 5y ago
That "20 pounds" is certainly their base weight--not counting whatever food and water they are carrying. Quite possible with ultralight gear, although a little light in the safety department for my tastes. 26 pairs of shoes between the two of them I actually find surprising--that they used that few. I'm surprised at the mold--you don't have it sit around all that long, you update whoever is sending them with your location so they know when to send them. There's a limit to how long a post office will hold a package for pickup. And that sort of fare doesn't sound that perishable. I can't imagine beans on the trail, though--they take too much cooking time. Fuel is weight! (And, no, I've never done any of the great trails, but they certainly sound like an experience. Section hiked in decent weather, not a speedrun like these guys did. I don't think I could handle any of them, though.)

jmnicolas 5y ago

> A black bear charged at one of them in Washington state. I'm a 43 yo French guy. In all my life, I only know one man that had problems with wildlife in France: he was charged by an angry wild boar and had to jump in a river to evade it. So I'm not worried at all about my safety when hiking in France. However if I was hiking in the US I'd probably carry a 44 Magnum at all times (the ultra lightweight one from S&W). I don't know how you guys decide to go in the woods with just some pepper spray and think it's enough! I'd worry that it makes the bear angrier! :D

tastyfreeze 5y ago
Unless you mess with them or their cubs black bears are like big tree climbing pigs.
alphakappa 5y ago
If a bear charges you, chances are the gun won’t be much help.
- jmnicolas 5y ago
  At least I would have a chance. I have a hard time believing pepper spray is anything more than a fell good amulet!
  - hodgesrm 5y ago
    Shooting a charging bear is harder than it sounds. If you don't kill it, chances are you'll just really piss it off.
    - jmnicolas 5y ago
      It seems destiny is reading us: this morning in the news a 70 yo French hunter was charged by a bear and shot it 2 times. The man is gravely wounded (femoral artery) and the bear is dead (she had 2 cubs). I completely forgot that they reintroduced bears in the mountains south of France (Pyrenees) a few years ago.

oblib 5y ago

I appreciate the goals and tenacity to achieve them of the folks who do this kind of thing but it's not my style. I've spent a lot of time in our State and National forests and for the past 15 years most of it has been off trail and the past 10 most of my trips have been solo. Thru hikers tend to focus on the trail and their only goal is making miles. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's not even close to the same as experiencing the "wilderness". It's much more akin to running a marathon. So it's easy to spot thru hikers on a trail. They most always have their heads down and eyes focused on the trail and often won't even say "Hi" as they race by you. To really experience the wilderness you have to learn how to "bushwhack" off trail. To do that you need to learn how to use a compass and triangulate your position on a map. That's not near as common of a skill as one might imagine thru hikers have. For me, making miles was never a goal. Immersing myself in the wilderness and finding "Super Scenic Spots" to hang out for awhile has always been the goal. One of the things you learn when you start bushwhacking is the wildlife will be hiding from you before you even get there. They can hear or smell you coming. But after a bit, if you're quiet, they'll come out and get back their normal routine, and that's really something awesome to experience. I have to give them credit though because it was thru hikers that motivated me to get off the trails more. Over the years I've increasingly had those folks walk into my camp and ask, and just as often demand, that I give them food and supplies because "I'm out" of whatever it is they needed. And over the years I increasingly had to to cut trips short because I couldn't say "No" and some of them were truly in desperate need. The first few times I was glad to help and it felt good to help, but after awhile I noticed this was getting to be too common and I grew tired of it because my trips kept turning into rescue and relief missions for those folks and getting cut short. But when I get off those trails no one ever walks into my campsite. And when I backpack solo I can leave no trace, but when I invite friends who're not really backpackers they tend to want to build a campsite. What I do is much more akin to "Shinrin-yoku".

ctrager 5y ago
I do get that when there are too many people the experience is different. I do get that being in the wilderness with, like, earbuds in your ears is different than listening to the sounds of nature. I do get that being off trail can be different than on a trail. I do get that navigating with a map and compass can be different and fun versus using a GPS app on your phone. But I wouldn't say, "to really experience the wilderness you have to....". Instead I would repeat the maxim, "Hike Your Own Hike".