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Post by enmormakencus on Jul 21, 2014 16:53:51 GMT -5
Hello FKT!
I'm a ranger at Old Faithful and a trail runner who will be living here in October, but not working. As such I wanted to do a big run somewhere, and after some brainstorming and googling realized no one has attempted to run through my own backyard.
I did some route planning, and found that one could start in the Lamar Valley and run to Thoroughfare (most remote cabin in the lower 48 states) and over to Bechler without touching road - 122 miles. With a little stretch of road one could actually start at Mammoth Hot Springs and touch all four corners of the world's first national park, covering about 169 miles.
The trails are eminently runnable, and October is a beautiful month. As far as I've seen, no one has ever attempted such a thing before. Probably because due to grizzly bears, it is exceptionally dangerous to do alone. They are an animal that demands respect and probably will be encountered on a run of that length, but their danger is almost entirely mitigated by a sufficient group size.
However, I am the only one around here crazy enough to want to do such a thing. Hence, I found this site, where I'll bet I can find a few other crazies willing to try something new.
So what say you, FKT? Who wants to establish a new classic in the trail running world? Since we would set a record at any pace, we could do it in "leisurely" 30-40 mile stages, taking 3/4/5 days depending on the group. I live here so I can do the legwork in terms of campsites, gear caching, etc. But I need bodies.
Let's hear it!
-Kenny
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Post by Ralph Burgess on Jul 23, 2014 17:30:55 GMT -5
Hello Kenny
I'd love to do something like this in Yellowstone, and I could make it up there for a week or two in October.
However, I don't know if I'm exactly what you're looking for. I do trail run all the time to keep fit at home, and I'd be fine with a schedule of 30-40 miles per day for 4-7 days. But for 120-160 miles and carrying a pack I think I'd find trying to run counterproductive, and I'd prefer to do it fastpacking style - i.e. ultralight fast hiking. I just did the John Muir Trail this way in under 4.5 days, you can see my trip report over on that thread. I guess compatibility on hiking style is going to be really important for a trip like this, since the group would have to stay together all the time.
Send me a PM if you like, if you think that might work, we could chat further.
Ralph
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Post by enmormakencus on Jul 25, 2014 20:43:01 GMT -5
You sound like the guy.
My plan was to actually go out and cache sleeping stuff in the week prior, so we'd only have to carry food and water during the day. We'd cross a road twice wherein I could organize a resupply, helping us travel extra light.
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Post by Ralph Burgess on Jul 27, 2014 14:19:46 GMT -5
I've sent a PM with my email and phone, maybe we can chat and discuss a trip. Mid/late Oct would suit me pretty well. But we still need a couple more people to make this viable.
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Post by gabejoyes on Aug 5, 2014 23:30:14 GMT -5
Hey Kenny (and Ralph), I'm interested in the trip. I live in Lander, WY and I could maybe make it in for a trip this cool. I'm a teacher, and getting big chunks of time off work can be challenging, so I'd need to get this big old run done as quick as possible. I'm doing the Bear 100 at the end of September so later in October would probably be a little better for me so that I can be fairly recovered. I'm down with cacheing stuff and running, but I do love fast packing too and I'd be up for either.
Here is a link to my website to see some of the other stuff I've done: windriverrunning.blogspot.com
Keep me in the loop - this sounds like fun.
Thanks, Gabe
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Post by Ralph Burgess on Aug 6, 2014 3:02:28 GMT -5
Gabe - Kenny set out a spectacular route, ~170 miles from Bechler Canyon via Shoshone Lake, Yellowstone Lake/Thorofare, Lamar River, Specimen Ridge. It sounds like the main problem for you might be the date - the provisional plan is to start Oct 5th or 6th - because (a) there's a full moon that week, and (b) average temperatures plummet pretty rapidly later in Oct. But nothing is firm yet. It's Kenny's decision on the group size - we have 4 probable at the moment - so far as I know it's "the more the merrier", but I don't know if there are permit limitations or other considerations on max group size.
Why don't you PM Kenny & me with your email.
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