Supported AT Speed Record Attempt - Jennifer Pharr - 2011

[weary]

I think the delays in reporting are less about security - she's got a posse nearby always and is accompanied much of the time - than it is about their desire to maintain control of the depiction of her hike. .....I don't like the idea of the A.T. becoming a heavily used racecourse, but I don't think that's a big worry, not yet.

I suspect another reason is she doesn't want to be bothered by well wishers, and autograph seekers. BTW, the AT may become heavily used. IN some ways I wish it would be. Americans need to appreciate the outdoors more. But it will never be a "heavily" used racecourse. The physical demands are just too great.

[Pedaling Fool]

So many other trails to choose from. I loved my time on the AT..but there are other mountains to climbs, vistas to see and experiences to be had. I don't think I could hike the AT twice in five years..never mind back-to-back for nine.

So many women...

[Hoop Time]

taken at an undisclosed location. Behind her is former VP Dick Cheney

[Hoop Time]

taken at an undisclosed location. Behind her is former VP Dick Cheney

[Driver8]

I suspect another reason is she doesn't want to be bothered by well wishers, and autograph seekers. BTW, the AT may become heavily used. IN some ways I wish it would be. Americans need to appreciate the outdoors more. But it will never be a "heavily" used racecourse. The physical demands are just too great.

I agree across the board. The more people out hiking, be it the A.T. or the local nature path, the better. Doubtless she wants to minimize hassle in all forms while on trail, and that makes sense. Doubtless the Trail is too formidable and overbearing to be just any old body's race course. I think the increasing popularity of trail running and speed hiking is a very good thing, in the first instance. It's important, though, to keep the well-being of the trails and their corridors top-most in mind and, so to speak, to tread as lightly as possible. I reckon we're probably in agreement there, weary.

[Driver8]

She doesn't look thrilled to see you, Hoop. Man, has ol' Cheney let himself go. Good for him - and his heart - that he's getting out and staying active.

[pafarmboy]

taken at an undisclosed location. Behind her is former VP Dick Cheney

Dang, those legs are ripped!

[jersey joe]

[QUOTE=k2basecamp;1178594]Very interesting reading Thompson's 2 unsuccesful attempts. QUOTE] I also found reading the accounts of Thompson's failed attempts very interesting. The frist time I read his attempt that ended in the whites I thought it was his record attempt and felt so bad for him when I read that he stopped.

[jersey joe]

I think the delays in reporting are less about security

Snorkel(going for the unsupported record this year) ran into Odyssa's trail crew and they were telling her about natureboy's attack and said they weren't posting live updates. It certainly seems that the delays in reporting are about security.
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=352837

[k2basecamp]

And. . . Did snorkel get the record for women's unsupported?

[Marta]

If Warren is posting up-to-date info on his Facebook page, they can't be too paranoid about letting Jen's actual location out. I think the whole hike effort is a lot lower-budget and less supported than many people are assuming.

I'm more complaining about a general attitude that I often see on WB where people get all worried about women hiking around by themselves. There are a few prior posts on this thread which take that attitude, but it crops up whenever the subject of safety on the trail is brought up. My point is that hiking is just not that dangerous for anyone, and that it is not more dangerous for women than for men. To state it even more strongly: one of the safest places a person, male or female, can be is hiking alone on the AT.

That said, given the weird events surrounding Nature Boy earlier this summer, I would not be too critical of Jen's group if they decided to be a little evasive around her exact location.

[Driver8]

I generally agree with you, Marta. They're engaged, all of them and especially Jen, of course, in an intensive endeavor, and it's nice that they are posting informative notes along the way, so I shouldn't complain so much about tardiness or evasiveness. A good trail journal is always fun to read, and this one is especially good and fun, the moreso now that her shins seem to be cooperating.

I agree with you, too, that sometime the fear factor of getting out on trail is overemphasized. I admit a few years ago, when I first started to hike a bit more than a bit, I felt vulnerable at times out on the woodsy, semi-wild side of my well-settled suburban home town. Now, having logged a couple hundred plus miles in wilder territory, I feel less fearful and more confident all the time. Similar to my feelings of acrophobia on cliff-walks: with experience, strength, know-how - generally with increasing competence - confidence replaces fear.

Just looked at a rock climb yesterday with increased comfort which, on March 20, I appraised as daunting if not quite overwhelming. Boundaries expand and dissolve. And I prattle on. ...

[Mags]

So many women...

In between trails there were womEn. Now-a-days I'm strictly a one womAn guy.

[Sly]

Snorkel(going for the unsupported record this year) ran into Odyssa's trail crew and they were telling her about natureboy's attack and said they weren't posting live updates. It certainly seems that the delays in reporting are about security.
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=352837

Nothing like a little hearsay to spice up a conversation. Did the "crew" know any of the facts behind NatureBoy's assault, that it was an internet stalker? By the sounds of it, NatureBoy doesn't even know.

[Lone Wolf]

Nothing like a little hearsay to spice up a conversation. Did the "crew" know any of the facts behind NatureBoy's assault, that it was an internet stalker? By the sounds of it, NatureBoy doesn't even know.

i still contend it didn't happen

[Mags]

Just for the record, I did not post anything political. I just asked the political talk to stop..or as I said "Ixnay on the Political talk. Danke..."

With all due respect to our esteemed host, at least edit the posts so I don't look like a bigger jerk than I already am!

[map man]

I've edited post #183 (page 10) through day 16 now. I'm admiring her fortitude more with each journal entry. To hike through shin splints for days and then to keep at it through a day of miserable GI distress -- she's as tough as nails. I'm leaning right now toward believing she's going to pull it off (which I wasn't before she started). It appears she is averaging around 16.25 hours on the trail every day (according to Brew's updates), which is astounding to me. From reading about some of the other previous record setters, I think what's really setting her apart right now is not hiking speed but the amount of time she is hiking each day. I hope sleep deprivation doesn't derail her.

This may be too early to think about this but I'm already thinking about her final push. I'm guessing that if she stays on pace the sleep she gets the night after day 46 will be her last. If she is even as far as Winding Stair Gap (Franklin, around 107 miles from the finish), or closer, after day 46 she is likely that next day to hike all day, all night, and part of the next day to finish things off. If surmises on this thread are correct about the day she started (June 15, 4:06 AM) then she needs to get to Springer before 5:37 PM on August 1 to break the record. Warren Doyle apparently thinks (according to Red Hat) that she is on pace to finish around noon on August 1.

I feel kind of bad that I won't be near a computer on August 1 to see how it comes out, but not too bad since I will be hiking out in Wyoming!

[Driver8]

... I'm leaning right now toward believing she's going to pull it off (which I wasn't before she started). It appears she is averaging around 16.25 hours on the trail every day (according to Brew's updates), which is astounding to me. From reading about some of the other previous record setters, I think what's really setting her apart right now is not hiking speed but the amount of time she is hiking each day. I hope sleep deprivation doesn't derail her.

This may be too early to think about this but I'm already thinking about her final push. I'm guessing that if she stays on pace the sleep she gets the night after day 46 will be her last. If she is even as far as Winding Stair Gap (Franklin, around 107 miles from the finish), or closer, after day 46 she is likely that next day to hike all day, all night, and part of the next day to finish things off. If surmises on this thread are correct about the day she started (June 15, 4:06 AM) then she needs to get to Springer before 5:37 PM on August 1 to break the record. Warren Doyle apparently thinks (according to Red Hat) that she is on pace to finish around noon on August 1.

I'd like to see her near a day ahead of "pace" by Pearisburg. Grayson and the Smokies are not Maine and the Whites, but they are formidable, the weather surely will be hot and humid, and thunderstorms and other weather issues, aside from hazy, hot and humid can always present obstacles. Would love to see her have that cushion. She seems to be coming into strong form - I'd not be surprised to see her blow through to Harper's Ferry by Sunday late, if not sooner. That would stand her in good stead to climb to the Blue Ridge and SNP, crusing along nicely.

If she's down south in late July and it's hotter than heck, I'm sure she'll night hike as much as possible. This thing is unfolding slowly, but it is fascinating to watch.

[Kerosene]

With all due respect to our esteemed host, at least edit the posts so I don't look like a bigger jerk than I already am!

Too late, Mags. You've now been stereotyped and will have to carry this stigma with you for the rest of your days. In fact, you're probably on a government watchlist now (or I am, just by typing this ).

It's amazing to see the difference between Jenn's upper and lower body. If anything her upper torso is thinner than she appeared in her book, while her legs are now incredibly strong. Amazing how the human body adjusts to stressors.

Go Jenn!

[Sly]

And. . . Did snorkel get the record for women's unsupported?

I'm assuming she's finished, or just about finished since she had 214 miles to go, no more than eight days ago. I'd still like to know what the record is and who holds it?