View Full Version : Attempt #2 At The "All In" Hike
RITBlake
07-25-2012, 19:15
I haven't been around WB much lately so I'm guessing someone has already poste this. Looks like this guy is going to make another attempt at the "All In" hike that he made up. How far did he get last time? Not more then a few hundred miles I think but I wish him luck.
RITBlake
07-25-2012, 19:16
http://www.theinitiativesite.com/
Quite a task to take on. He seems to think he can thru the NCT in the winter months. How to do 4600 miles on foot in 3 months, I don't see, unless you are all world, on the level of a Jenn Pharr-Davis. From there, does he expect to do the PCT by mid-summer, so he can do the CDT before it socks in with snow? Does not compute.
I could see AT SOBO first, then NCT, then PCT NOBO from late winter, then CDT sobo. That might work if you're an elite athlete.
rocketsocks
07-25-2012, 20:27
I like the mission statement; To Initiate The Drive Within. Nice!, that is a whole lotta hiking there, yep, good luck! Anyone aiming that high obviously has some snap, with regard to knowing there limits, very cool.
Nice web site, lotta miles, wonder how he financing the trip? gotta cost pretty good. But then how much differant is it than balls and sunshines hikes
Sadly,it doesn't appear he has learned anything from the last time. Seems a nice enough fellow, but is bound to fail once again.
Pedaling Fool
07-26-2012, 07:49
A little history on this guy http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?67471-I-Bet-Against-It&highlight=gardner
And this is when he threw the towel in http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?70219-Samuel-H-Gardner-s-All-In-Trek-Hike-Over&highlight=gardner
I'm not wasting time reading his "new initiative", but I'd recommend putting your wallet back in your pocket if he's asking for money.
Slo-go'en
07-26-2012, 12:44
Humm, apparently he didn't learn anything from his first attempt. Granted, the winter of 2010/11 was one of the snowiest on record, but that might have actually been a good thing. A snow season like last winter where there was snow, but not quite enough to use snowshoes, would really be a pain.
I don't expect him to have any better luck this time then last. He's really not going about this the right way.
RITBlake
12-02-2012, 21:35
He bailed again.
Nice web site,
That's what I noticed. Didn't read anything about the hike.
The logistics and timetable for this hike are ALL wrong. This hike couldn't be done with this proposed route and this proposed timetable--even if fully supported by a team of individuals, slack packing the entire way and staying in an RV or hotel each night (and having daily access to a medical doctor, a physical therapist, massage therapist, ample doses of steroids and anti-inflammatory medications, a chiropractor, a whirlpool bath, and lot's of other therapy equipment).
Furthermore, this hiker had to abandon his hike in 2011 at "just" day 64 due to injuries. He was already feeling injured at least as early as Day # 8. He is still nursing his injuries 20 months later. Those injuries (in my non-medically trained opinion) will be chronic and/or recurring. (Certainly not compatible with a trek of this magnitude--12,500+ miles--average of 35 miles per day for a year). His bio seems to indicate that he had some congenital orthopedic issues too.
Maybe someone will achieve this general feat--but certainly not this injured young man and definitely not on this proposed timetable and itinerary.
One additional note: This guy has my respect for the 64 days that he DID stay on the trail in a rough winter--with snow, ice and injuries. I could not have done it voluntarily--even back when I was younger, 10 foot tall and bulletproof.