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Post by Scott Bentz on Sept 3, 2013 18:23:08 GMT -5
Just wondering how these things get noticed. My son started from the top of Whitney on Monday, August 26 at 3:00 pm. He finished at the Happy Trails sign on Saturday August 31, at 5:00 pm and some change. I was with him all the way to Trail Camp and then he took off to the summit of Whitney. A friend of his picked him up. Would that be considered 5 days 2 hours and whatever minutes?
I am pretty impressed with his hike. He has a trip report posted at Backpackinglight.com under Andrew Bentz.
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Post by Peter Bakwin on Sept 4, 2013 9:53:02 GMT -5
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Post by Scott Bentz on Sept 6, 2013 13:57:33 GMT -5
I know it's not the fastest as I'm aware of all the speed attempts. Guess I was just wondering if there was a listing of times. I think his time is about 4th fastest unsupported. He wasn't trying for a record, just trying out a fast hike. He posted a trip report at Backpackinglight under Trip Reports.
Thanks.
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Post by Peter Bakwin on Sept 6, 2013 17:16:22 GMT -5
I know it's not the fastest as I'm aware of all the speed attempts. Guess I was just wondering if there was a listing of times. I think his time is about 4th fastest unsupported. He wasn't trying for a record, just trying out a fast hike. He posted a trip report at Backpackinglight under Trip Reports. Thanks. Well, now it's listed here. I haven't made an effort to list all the "fast" times. Since our focus is on the FKT (and its evolution), my guess is that there are some fast times that never get reported simply because they aren't "records". For example, I'm aware of an effort happening at this moment which was not publicly announced, though the person apparently hoped to set the unsupported FKT. That's not going to happen, but he'll certainly set a fast time if he finishes. I don't know if he'll report his time or not. Personally, I appreciate the experiences that people have when they push their limits, whether or not that results in an FKT. So, I'm happy that Andrew did a very nice trip report (which I have linked above). I'm often disappointed when I hear of failed FKT attempts for which the person never writes a report. We can all learn as much or more from failures as from successes!
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Post by Allen Currano on Sept 20, 2013 9:21:46 GMT -5
Starting early next week, hopefully on Tuesday morning, I will be hiking/running from Mount Whitney to Yosemite Valley in an attempt to beat the Unsupported FKT on the John Muir Trail. I will be carrying a SPOT satellite tracking device, so if you would like to follow my progress you can click on the link below. I have been training but this is going to be the most difficult athletic endeavor of my life. This will be my 2nd full JMT. In September 2012 I hiked from Yosemite Valley to Mount Whitney is 6 days 18 hours and 10 minutes, and in 2011 I hiked most of the trail at a slower pace. My plan is to spend saturday and sunday in Tuolumne Meadows acclimating, drive to Lone Pine on Monday, and start early Tuesday morning at Whitney Portal. My starting pack weight will be about 20 lbs including about 12 lbs of "food" which will be entirely Hammer products - 21,120 calories of mainly Perpetuem with some Recoverite and 12 Hammer bars. I'm not sponsored by Hammer or anyone else, have only run one ultra which was over 3 years ago, and only 30 miles, but for some reason I think I can do this. I did hike/run the Rae Lakes loop in 14:15 a month ago, which made it seem somewhat more plausible to me at least. I only really decided to do this about a month ago and have not trained as much as I probably should have, so I could very well crash and burn but I'm going to give it my best shot and if nothing else it will be a learning experience for next time! I fell in love with the JMT in 2011 and can't wait to get out there again! I will post an update when I get back regardless of the outcome... You can follow this link to see my location updates: share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0CrAmPTnqvmbEGfog7tqdJ6B0NLQaEecWIf the link doesn't work, try copying and pasting it to your browser's address bar. Allen Currano El Cerrito, CA
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Post by Allen Currano on Sept 23, 2013 12:22:11 GMT -5
Update: I am sad to say that I am postponing my trip due to adverse weather conditions. I drove up to Tuolumne saturday afternoon in a major hailstorm, which turned into 3" of heavy wet snow overnight with a low temp of around 20 degrees, maybe lower. The forecast is now calling for cold temps and winds up to 70+mph on Tuesday night near Pinchot pass even at elevations of 10,000 ft or less, with likely precip along the crest and more snow and lows in the teens in Tuolumne Meadows weds/thurs. The crest was coated in white yesterday morning which means ice and snow on the trail at high elevations and with more rain/snow and high winds forecast in the next few days the risks of going fast and light with no stove etc are looking quite high.
It looks to me like I'd need to bring significantly more and heavier gear to do this trip safely, and it could still turn dangerously epic. I needed a close to ideal forecast to make this work and it seems the weather has shifted to cold, windy and stormy conditions which is far from ideal. The days are getting shorter as well so it may have to wait till next year.
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MJ
New Member
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Post by MJ on Sept 25, 2013 15:56:20 GMT -5
On Monday, September 16th, 2013, at 5:25am, I left Whitney Portal to fast pack the JMT. There are many reasons why I decided to do this trail, but the main reason was to do a memorial hike for two people who recently passed away within the last two years. John Rosendahl, who set the men’s solo, unsupported back in 1988, was one of those individuals. He was the reason why I fast packed the JMT back in 2004 (I finished in 8.5 days) and a big reason why I attempted it again this year.
I made it to the top of Whitney at 10:48am, signed the register, and took off from the summit at 10:55am. Monday through Friday I had great weather, bluebird skies, but Saturday's weather did a 180 degree turn on me. Approximately 12pm near Garnet Lake, the winds really started to kick up. Hail began to fall around Thousand Island Lake, followed by snow for the rest of the way over Donahue Pass and down into Tuolumne Meadows. With the snow covered trail, I kicked in my tracks where I finally arrived at the Meadows, 11pm. Sunday morning, cold and feeling beat from the night before, I wasn’t sure if I should even attempt to get over into Yosemite. I weighed in on the pros and cons and, ultimately, decided to go for it.
Hiking in the snow, breaking trail, was not fun. I lost the trail several times, but was able to easily backtrack and get back on the right path. Finally, after trudging through snow, running in flooded trails, on slippery rocks and hard uneven pavement, I arrived at Happy Isles Bridge, 5pm. A new women’s unsupported FKT on the JMT, 6d6h5m from Whitney Summit to Happy Isles (6d11h35m TH to TH), set Sept. 16 - Sept. 22, 2013.
As a means of verification, I started out with GPS on my phone, but the solar charger I brought with me ended up not holding a charge. My phone was down to 21% so I turned it off to conserve battery, ~17.7 miles after I started from the portal. I was able to take a handful of photos with my phone with date and time stamps. A picture of my name in the Whitney summit register, a picture before the Le Conte/Bishop Pass Junction, a couple more pics in Tuolumne after the snowstorm, and a pic at Cathedral Pass. I handed out cards for people to call my friend of my location, but sadly (as I found out later), no one ended up calling him. I was able to make a call with someone else’s phone on Saturday near Garnet Lake and left a message on my friend’s phone before the storm moved in. I meet a solo female hiker, Briana, after Silver Pass and before Tully Hole junction, and can have her verify my position there.
I hope to get a full trip report together with more details of the hike soon. If any of you have questions, please message me and I’d be more than happy to answer them.
Michelle “MJ” Jung Costa Mesa, CA
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Post by Allen Currano on Sept 26, 2013 9:08:00 GMT -5
Wow, nice job breaking the record in adverse conditions! I spent Saturday afternoon through sunday afternoon in Tuolumne and it was pretty much a winter storm up there with hail and heavy wet snow and COLD!
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MJ
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Post by MJ on Sept 27, 2013 16:18:30 GMT -5
Thank you, Allen! Yeah, I wasn't too psyched with the gusty winds, but then the hail and snow started to fall and I thought, "Oh, crap! I've GOT to get up and over Donahue before it gets too cold and icy to descend off the backside. Turn on the turbo boosters!" I was definitely lucky the weather on Sunday was clear. Even if the record seemed out of reach at the time, I thought I should at least try to finish. Why not? I had nothing to lose.
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Post by Peter Bakwin on Sept 29, 2013 9:01:20 GMT -5
Good job MJ - sounds COLD! I have updated the main JMT post above to add your trip & look forward to your trip report. It would be good if you'd be sure to include whether you used the Mist Trail or the "official" JMT route into Happy Isles. I know that Jacqueline used the Mist Trail (and she descended from Whitney via the Mountaineer's Route).
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MJ
New Member
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Post by MJ on Sept 30, 2013 13:40:14 GMT -5
Thank you, Peter! Yes, I completed the JMT on the official route into Happy Isles, summited Whitney via the main trail. I am including that in my TR. And yes, it was cold yet, tolerable. I actually prefer those temps over the heat in August. After spending an unplanned bivy in the summit hut of Whitney 2 seasons ago, the temps this year felt manageable.
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Post by Peter Bakwin on Mar 13, 2014 0:24:00 GMT -5
Just following up on this: MJ did you publish a report? Could you please pm me at pbakwin at comcast dot net. Thanks!
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MJ
New Member
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Post by MJ on Mar 22, 2014 22:00:31 GMT -5
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Post by anishnabe on Jun 18, 2014 11:11:19 GMT -5
I am stating my intention to complete an unsupported fastpack of the John Muir Trail. I will not be accepting aid from anyone along the way and will carry all of my supplies/trash the entire time. I am looking forward to the challenge of traveling light and fast through the Sierra, mountains that I love. I hope that I will be able to bring parity to the men's and women's unsupported records. I will be updating with photos post attempt at facebook.com/AnishHikes. I will carry a SPOT. For safety the SPOT will only be visible to family and close friends while I am on trail, but the data will be posted on above site afterward.
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Post by Ralph Burgess on Jul 14, 2014 23:46:03 GMT -5
Hello guys, I'd like to claim the SOBO unsupported record, Happy Isles to Whitney summit, with 4d 8h 43m. Here is a temporary link to download my trip report, can someone suggest an appropriate more permanent place to post it? [ see below - my trip report is now posted in full on this thread, two posts down ] As you'll see from my report, I planned this just as a personal challenge, and didn't think I'd go so fast. I was aware of Brett's record, and I knew that in my wildest dreams I wasn't in that league. And I only went SOBO out of aesthetic preference, rather than thinking beforehand that this might qualify as some separate record. But I'm certainly proud of what I did, and others have encouraged me to claim it. So here I am! Unfortunately I wasn't aware of this site beforehand, or of Buzz Burrell's suggested protocols. However, I think I can come reasonably close to satisfying them. 1. I'm an active member of the JMT Yahoo Group, and I did announce my intention on there beforehand, on this thread: groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/johnmuirtrail/conversations/topics/44210There's more post-hike discussion here groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/johnmuirtrail/conversations/topics/446712. My trip report, linked to above, was written immediately after my hike, basically as soon as I'd had a decent sleep. 3. My verification won't really be adequate, but here's what I can offer: At the Half Dome Junction, a ranger checked my permit, and wrote a code on it, that I presume will allow me to track down who she is. This will pretty much verify my start time. At the end, another member of the JMT Yahoo Group saw me (quite by chance) a mile and a half from Whitney summit; and on the summit another (previously unknown) JMT hiker signed my permit with his contact details and offered to be a witness. I think both these guys have photos. When I've assembled these names and contact details, should I pass them to Peter Bakwin? As for further verification, obviously I passed hundreds of people on the trail. I'm pretty distincitive, 6'2" with a British accent (and I shout hello to almost everyone and chatted briefly to some) and a distinctive custom Z-Packs pack with a Bearikade suspended at the bottom. Just on the remote chance that anyone on the trail who saw me might read this or the Yahoo forum... but pretty unlikely I guess. I'm can't think that there's much else I can do for verification, unfortunately. Ralph Burgess
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