Fastest Known Time (FKT) – tracking speed records for hiking routes

fastestknowntime.com

2 points·almog··3 comments

Here are some of the most beautiful routes in the world. Let's focus on how fast we can move past them! It's like a contest to see how fast you can look at all of the paintings in a museum.

I did a long distance hike on the Pacific Crest Trail a couple of decades ago now. For about a mile I kept pace with the guy who held the trail record at the time. He moved that fast so easily that we might have been two different species. What he and I were doing out there were very different things.

Saying you kept pace is like saying you stayed up with the elite, world-class marathon runners at the beginning of a race when you're a weekend warrior who occasionally runs 10K fun runs. Those guys are at a whole 'nother level from us mere mortals.

No kidding. This guy was extremely ultra-light on gear and used his speed and range to make that practical. Like, he didn't carry a very warm jacket or sleeping bag. He said one time he was hiking through a blizzard and it got late at night, but it was too cold for him to stop. He didn't have the right gear so it would mean freezing. So instead he ran 35 miles to the nearest town and got a room there. He ran 35 miles through a blizzard after having run all day on steep trails.

That option wouldn't enter into my planning.

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