PCT- Joey Camps

[Just Bill]

Yar- The razor is much more likely, even if it's a close shave.

I sent him something to Kennedy Meadows and his window was 6/1-6/4. Assuming he held the 50MPD average that'd put him there today, but falling off a bit in that stretch isn't too unrealistic either.

Bit concerned about him pushing in the desert but as we all like to advise- technology is a fickle friend easily lost, damaged or failing when you need it- so likely worry over nothing.

Probably best to give it the day... I reached out to a friend of his to contact his brother but no word yet. If it stretches out much further it might be time to put the word out on the trail and see if anyone has put eyes on him- but guessing most NOBO hikers are clear of there by now.

[Just Bill]

Good news-
Talked to Kennedy Meadows) and Joey picked up his package on 6/3. They said generally cell service is blacked out a few trail days in either direction so looks like old Occam is correct as usual.

I called the wrong Kennedy Meadows (around mile 1000) first time around and by happy accident a few PCT hikers were in there and they thought Joey was a few days behind them.

So 5/19 start and 6/3 arrival- 16 days to mile 703. Still sounds good overall in terms of pace- 44 mpd assuming he made no miles further that day as a worst case scenario.

Anish is at 43.88 MPD roughly.

I don't see anything else about Tuna Helper- his attempt is listed on FKT but doesn't appear to have started?
One attempt by Adrian Poli is already a bust and another is set to begin in a few days... From FKT-


Hello All,

My name is J. Darman AKA SWIZ PCT 2012,2014. On June 8th I will leave from the Mexican border in a attempt to best Heather "Anish" Anderson's time of 60d 11h 16m . I will be doing this as a "Self Supported" THRU-HIKER and will follow the example of all previous record holders. I will document my hike in three manners. 1) I will hand out cards with my name and web site address and ask the recipients to leave a comment when and where they saw me. 2) I will take pictures at resupply towns and other points of interest with gps and time stamp . 3) I will use Strava app when I reach my nights camp www.strava.com/athletes/jdarman - When I'm done hiking I will make all data available for review.

Thanks and Happy Trails,

SWIZ

[murphyw]

I don't see anything else about Tuna Helper-

Ryan is on trail. I txt'd with him yesterday. Sounds like he is doing well, compared to last attempt he says this time is like 5% fun. Bad news is camera got dropped and developed a crack in the screen. Overall, what I hear is he is in high spirits and moving along well. Still taking pictures too. He anticipated being out of touch next 2 weeks or so, as not really any cell coverage.

[ExNihilo]

Joey is back on the air
http://www.enjoygram.com/joey.camps
Looks like he was indeed just without cell signal.
Apparently he's been dodging some storms

[Just Bill]

Yar- got a chance to connect with him. He's in good spirits and did get some weather. But somehow he's kept his mileage remarkably high.

There are a lot of unknowns, causes for worry, recklessness and nailbitting balls to the wall scariness to Joey's style; but it is very inspiring to see someone just flat out going for it.

We can reserve a little excitement for now, but if he stays healthy and strong this may turn out to be an incredibly exciting and truly amazing attempt.
Cart before the horse for certain; but the possibility exists that he could take back the overall record for team backpacker. He is chasing a 50 MPD average, and not doing a bad job of holding close to it... the supported record stands at roughly 49.9 MPD.

I'm not trying to hype it, I personally hope that he turns the discipline knob up just a hair and stays focused on the unsupported record. He is very gifted but at the same time so very green. An unsupported record would be an amazing achievement. I truly hope for his sake that it remains his focus and his goal.

But still... call it a whisper.

Somebody sent me a PM on facebook on the subject of Joey and opened my eyes a bit while he made an excellent point; "And to think that thousands have an eye on Jurek and something more magical is going on under the radar."

Many make comments about Jurek being past his prime, I don't think so, and I wish him all the best. Many like to point out that an AT hike is a mental game; so why discount a fella at his mental prime? A true master at his craft. Keep in mind that JPD set her record by doing things vastly different than any before her, and there is much to be said for her style. Who knows if Scott's choices will pan out, but I really hope they do, or at least make a good showing. I can think of few things going right now that could be better for the trail than to have the entire running world awaken to what a marvel the AT and all our long trails truly are. By far they vastly outnumber our humble little community, what a boon it would be to have just a fraction of their support behind our nation's backpacking trails.

Perhaps a photographer will turn out to be the most valuable member of the crew in that regard. All ready I note in many of the comments what amazement and wonder that such a place exists, that such beauty is in our country, and on the AT. How many of us have fallen in love with a picture of the trail. How many runners are focused on the big name western trails and races, yet unaware of the east.

However it turns out- there is a also a kid out there exploding on the trail.
In him you have the opposite of Scott, an athlete on the rise, still coming into his own; with a style that even I find insane.
Maybe with a style not so dissimilar to Jurek after all.
Implosion or rocket to outer space I am as yet unsure- but either way- it's very inspirational.


Both could implode, wreck, self destruct or just plain get unlucky. They could fail as I type this.

But both could succeed; a master of the running world and a brave kid with itchy balls from left field might just put team backpacker and team runner together, and that would truly be something to get excited about.

[MuddyWaters]

Glad hes OK and on pace.
Gonna be fun to watch.
He will give it 100%, theres no doubt.
He seems to have the mental side under control, confidence, unfazed by the adversity. Just keeps truckin.

[Chair-man]

Glad to see Joey is still moving along quite well. He mentioned on his Instagram page a few days ago that he was still averaging 47 miles per day which is 3.4 mpd more than Anish's 43.6 mpd record pace. Still a long way to go.

[Just Bill]

Joey is going to open up the throttle a bit the next thousand miles and see how it goes and how the trail treats him.

He is in good spirits and health coming out of the sierra;
The possibility of setting the overall record is indeed on his mind. If he has a good few weeks here it is a real possibility.

Very excited for him. A bit concerned he could blow both records trying to go big but I suppose it's a bit silly talking outta both sides of my mouth on the matter... Kid's got a huge heart and big balls, playing it safe isn't really in his vocabulary and that is what makes him interesting. So however it turns out my best to him for sure.

[Malto]

Joey is going to open up the throttle a bit the next thousand miles and see how it goes and how the trail treats him.

He is in good spirits and health coming out of the sierra;
The possibility of setting the overall record is indeed on his mind. If he has a good few weeks here it is a real possibility.

Very excited for him. A bit concerned he could blow both records trying to go big but I suppose it's a bit silly talking outta both sides of my mouth on the matter... Kid's got a huge heart and big balls, playing it safe isn't really in his vocabulary and that is what makes him interesting. So however it turns out my best to him for sure.

He cranking huge miles. Agree completely on the anatomy assessment! It is an interesting conundrum, push hard for it all or play it a bit safe. Based on following his trek last year, I don't see him doing anything but full on throttle.

[Odd Man Out]

Wondering if there is a list of the miles Anish hiked each day on her record hike to make a day by day comparison to Joey?

[Just Bill]

Wondering if there is a list of the miles Anish hiked each day on her record hike to make a day by day comparison to Joey?

I swear I saw one, but can't find it.
Malto was kind enough to send me the rundown of Scott Williamson and Adam Bradely's hike which will have to do.

[Just Bill]

Quick update-
He hit cell service issues again but-
As of 6/15 he was at mile 1302.
Sounds like he fought a bug for a bit but is feeling better. Likely a bit of biteback from his Sierra push.

MPD average- 46.5, so climbing back a bit with a recent 53 and 51 mile day.

Linear pace-
The overall record- 98 miles behind. If he does well into washington it may be a possibility...

The Unsupported Record- puts him 42 miles ahead of Anish!

He's likely passed the halfway point as I type this... continued best of health to Joey!

[Chair-man]

Wondering if there is a list of the miles Anish hiked each day on her record hike to make a day by day comparison to Joey?

OMO, found some #'s you posted here on an old Amish Whiteblaze thread, post #16. Don't know where the #'s came from.

[Chair-man]

Joey hit the half way point in 28 days 4 hours 27 mins. Anish's record time for the whole trail was 60 days 17 hours 12 min. So, linearly, Joey is a little more than 2 days ahead of Anish's pace. Is the northern half of the PCT more difficult than the southern half?

[centerfieldr162]

I'm way more interested in Joey's PCT attempt than Jurek's AT attempt. For whatever reason, when I followed his AT record attempt I found that I relate to Joey. Just followed him on instagram. Go Joey!!

[Odd Man Out]

Interesting that Scott is averaging 48.5 MPD after 22 days on an AT supported hike and Joey is averaging 46.5 MPD after 28 days of a PCT self-supported hike.

[ScottS]

Vastly different terrain.

[Lone Wolf]

Interesting that Scott is averaging 48.5 MPD after 22 days on an AT supported hike and Joey is averaging 46.5 MPD after 28 days of a PCT self-supported hike.

too bad Scott doesn't have a crew willing to set up a camp each night past road crossings

[Just Bill]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

[Wyoming]

S**t! That's too bad. Guess he didn't know that you NEVER touch a baby deer. There is a good chance he just killed it. It now has human scent on it and that can result in the fawn being abandoned or sniffed out by a predator.