Oregon Desert Trail (OR)

[Peter Bakwin]

"The Oregon Desert Trail (ODT) is conceptual in nature; it is largely unmarked, does not verifiably exist in the field and is in essence a name we’ve given to a plausible route on public land and legal rights of way across the high desert." - from the Oregon Desert Trail website Christof Teuscher completed the 750-mile ODT in 17d15h on July 29, 2016 (solo, self-supported).

[cteusche]

The 750-mile Oregon Desert Trail (ODT) is the brainchild of the Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA). Because of its novelty and uniqueness, it was featured in both a National Geographic ("World’s Best Hikes: 20 Dream Trails") and CNN article ("10 of the world's most amazing long-distance trails"). Compared to other long-distance trails, the 750-mile ODT is very challenging for a thru-hiker/runner, both physically and logistically. There are few reliable water sources, the trail is extremely remote, 267 miles (36%) are cross-country, and the environment is very unforgiving.

In 2016, I managed to set a speed record (Fastest Known Time) on the ODT in 17 days and 15 hours. The Restlessly Relentless movie series is an attempt to document the 2-year project from its germination to its termination.

FKT announcement: www.christofteuscher.com/aagaa/news-2nd-oregon-desert-trail-speed-record-attempt
Trackleaders tracked my progress here: trackleaders.com/odt

Other resources:

• Maps
• Gear
• Trail surface by section
• Silence map
• Long distance trail pace comparison