kdub
New Member
Posts: 4
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Post by kdub on Dec 13, 2015 2:07:52 GMT -5
There are 9 "Great Walks" that the Department Of Conservation has deemed the most scenic and most developed of the tracks in New Zealand. The tracks all have huts along the way and they each take 2-7 days to compete. They include the Rakiura Track on Stewart Island, the Kepler, Milford, Routeburn, Heaphy, and Abel Tasman on the South Island, and the Tongariro Northern Circuit and Lake Waikaremoana Track on the North Island. For those of you adding, the ninth "walk" is actually a paddle down the Whanganui River, not a walking track. If one does all the eight runnable tracks, the mileage adds up to 248 miles/400 km. The Whanganui paddle add another 90 miles/145 km. The tracks are spread apart geographically by thousands of kilometers they cover a variety of terrain tips and ecosystems.
In 2009, Mal Law ran the seven mainland runnable Great Walks in 7 days, which is chronicled in his book "One Step Beyond." (Anyone know his official time?)
In 2014, Ben Southall, Luke Edwards, and Patrick Kinsella made an attempt to finish all nine, including the Whanganui, in nine days. They aborted their completion of the Whanganui due to high river levels, but scrambled in time to finish the eight land walks in 9d23h20min.
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kdub
New Member
Posts: 4
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Post by kdub on Dec 13, 2015 2:09:20 GMT -5
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kdub
New Member
Posts: 4
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Post by kdub on Dec 13, 2015 2:21:14 GMT -5
On Tuesday, December 13, 2015, I will make an attempt on the FKT for the "Eight Great" (the Nine Great Walks, minus the Whanganui River paddle). I intend to break the record set by the three Aussies set last year, to be the first solo self-supported* person to do it, and the first woman. I will run them south to north, and hope to finish in 8.5 days.
*self-supported is a tricky moniker in this case, as I will not have any sort of dedicated crew to help run or drive, but I will rely on local car relocation services and the necessary ferry rides to and from the Milford Track and between islands. If one were to truly "self-support" this endeavor with no hitchhiking or motorized transport, it would take probably two or three months and you'd have to be an expert paddler to cross two massive straits!
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Post by BB on Dec 13, 2015 5:15:37 GMT -5
Good luck kdub! Please update!
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Post by Peter Bakwin on Dec 23, 2015 16:00:34 GMT -5
Ryan Thompson did New Zealand's 9 "Great Walks" in a time of 6d15h, Dec. 15-22, 2015.We hope our Kiwi friends will let everyone know what are the FKTs for each individual "Walk"!Starting on December 15, 2015, with the Rakiura Track on Stewart Island (off the south coast of NZ), Ryan Thompson of the Team Bivouac/Inov-8 Adventure Racing Team did all 9 of New Zealand's "Great Walks" (one of which is actually a down-river kayak) in a total time of 6d15h. The trip was completely supported, with drivers, crew and pacers at times. The total distance is about 550km. Thomposon reported the following individual times for each track, with Strava tracks (in order of completion): 12/15 | Rakiura | 32km | 4.5h | 12/16 | Milford | 54km | 8h13m | 12/17 | Kepler | 60km | 8h45m | 12/17 | Routeburn | 32km | 4h57m | 12/18 | Heaphy | 78km | 10h45m | 12/19 | Abel Tamsman | 60km | 9h8m | 12/20 | Whanganui (kayak) | 145km | 13h35m | 12/21 | Tongariro | 43km | 7h37m | 12/21-22 | Waikaremoana | 46km | 6h59m |
The previous FKT for all 9 tracks (sort of) was 9d23h20m by Ben Southall, Luke Edwardss and Patrick Kinsella in 2014 is outlined above. Ryan Thompson
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kdub
New Member
Posts: 4
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Post by kdub on Jan 26, 2016 21:48:00 GMT -5
My Great Walks journey came to an end after just four of the tracks due to knee pain. It was a beautiful, beautiful journey, and I feel tickled that I got to join Ryan for a day on the Milford Track. He is a beast! Anyone would be hard-pressed to beat his record - his crew was flawless and his running was incredibly evenly paced. I hope more women will give it a go, though! And I hope someone else will try to self-support it the way I did - super complicated, logistically, but also a really beautiful way to take on the challenge.
A few haikus I wrote from my four tracks... Rakiura Track: Rolling, winding muck AND gravel, through rain forest. Pristine beaches, too.
Kepler Track: Snowing and blowing. Thank you for a white Christmas. Lonnnnnng flat. Legs tired.
Milford Track: Almost threw in towel. Cascades, mountains, and keas Gorgeous, "totes" worth it.
Routeburn Track: Favorite track yet Glorious mountain valleys Knee little less psyched
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Post by bensouthall on Mar 15, 2018 23:27:41 GMT -5
Awesome to see all the recent attempts since we did 8 in 8 in 2014. Ryan you did amazingly well and took the mantle back to NZ, kDub what's next then??
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