In your world maybe..... just sayinOriginally Posted by Lone Wolf
If it's legal, doesn't ruin the Trail environment, and doesn't discredit AT hikers - section, thru- or otherwise - who am I to criticize? FKT, SKT, who cares? If someone wants to have the fastest time hiking the Trail in bunny slippers, go for it. That's what's great about America. As for me, I hike the Trail for the Trail and what it has to offer. I just want to make it to Katahdin before the snow flies.
An FKT is just a hike. One of many that take place every year.
This past season we highlighted two hikers of the several thousand attempts and successful completions that took place on the trail.
One FKT (Jurek) could be termed an event if you'd like; it had "media" coverage, a relatively well known participant, and some clear violations of rules and ethics. The degree to which each feel these items should be penalized is more personal than relevant really...
To the best of my knowledge; there were no dogs, drunks, drugs, hiker feeds, littering, trashed shelters, illegal activities in town, abuse of free or discounted services provided by trail angels, forcing locals (like Palmerton Jail) to close, hostel owners ripped off, or shuttle drivers abused.
Not a single shelter was forced to bursting, a privy filled with garbage, a single hiker added to the april starters. Nor were any of the million others who visit the trail, a single day hiker or overnight user pushed aside under the towering wave of entitlement flowing behind a thru hiker as they partook of their glorious pilgrimage.
By all accounts all who encountered Cirque de Jurek were pleased with the encounter. Some were truly inspired, some just noted it's passing. Though by and large most were unaware that it came to town at all to be blunt. It really wasn't that big a deal really. Just some dude hiking his own hike. One person among many.
One FKT (Anish) had so little fanfare during the hike that it could scarcely be called a thru hike really. No journals, no hitching, not a pizza delivered to the trail, or elaborate doodle in a shelter register. Over in under two months, often under the cover of darkness. In off season, in the wrong direction. No family driving out to see her off, no friends joining for a section, not even a minivan full of loved ones to hike the final summit with her. Quiet, quick, and done. Almost like it didn't happen, like someone actually truly "Left no trace".
Course that's only two hikes.
Of the 4000-5000 that started. Of the 10's of thousands that went out for a section, or the 100's of thousands who day hiked, of the 2-3 million who visited the trail. Clearly that one "really bad" hiker ruined it. It couldn't have been the decades of straws piled on the camels back, nor the over exuberant bureaucrat who pointed it out. Clearly that other gal went on to fame, fortune and riches at the expense of the trail and her little "act" of humility was just a clever bit of anti-marketing.
Someone mentioned taking personal responsibility for our our actions in another thread.
One FKT got a bit out of hand. The very next FKT attempt went overboard to avoid any "impropriety". Matt Kirk recently attempted an FKT with a very conscious effort to develop a better system overall for all FKT's to be done responsibly- not simply the one he's on. Jennifer Pharr Davis now serves on the board of directors at the ATC. Scott appears to be using his position and influence in the running community to assist all who love the outdoors to tread responsibly. Karl Meltzer went the "runners" route the first time; sponsorship, promotion, interviews. He did not go that route his second time. I doubt he will on his third try. In fact I doubt the FKT community will again.
So thankfully all hundred or so of the folks who are capable of doing an FKT will likely not darken the door of the AT with any misdeeds other than the sin of enjoying themselves slightly differently from the millions of hikers who set foot on the trail.
So now that all the FKT folks are taking personal responsibility for their actions and the running community has been properly chastised and shamed...
What does the hiking community plan to do as they properly traverse the trail?
Let's not be too ambitious though...
How about the next crop of thru's who will travel at the proper 14.2 miles per hiking day and 1.5 zero's per week.
Sleeping on each other in shelters, passing noro, living on the trail for 5-7 months of the year.
Insisting on starting at the same time as each other, demanding that Baxter admit them simply because they walked there from Georgia and there is no way their tramily should be expected to disperse for the ascent.
Will they leave their dog at home, their booze in town, refrain from having a safety meeting on every ridgeline and overlook?
Will they learn to navigate for themselves, take responsibility for their actions, and pay fines and fees when they don't?
Will they disperse their "crew", ask their family and friends to stay off the trail, pay for the services they use, pick up their trash, or leave no trace?
Will they step up publicly and let everyone chastise them, trash their name, invalidate the hike they chose to take on, and take blame for everything done wrong ever on the trail? Or even for one thing?
Thus far, in my experience and observation...
The average FKT does more to highlight what it means to get out into nature and embody what the trail should truly be.
To immerse yourself in nature, master your body, transcend your gear, and travel as freely as bounding deer in the place you call home.
To challenge yourself to pursue with all you have what you enjoy.
Most important of all though... is taking responsibility for all that you do in choosing to do it.
Think very hard about who you'd like to stop showing up each season to hike the trail.
Last edited by Just Bill; 12-21-2015 at 12:45.
FKT types turn being outdoors on foot, which as Just Bill says there are millions of participants, into a focus on competition and speed and daily miles gained, and in my opinion away from the outdoor on-foot experience.
In other words, I could care less about the labels and how these labels identify people, but I care about what forest they are in and for how many nights. And since we're right in the middle of a War on Nature, I care about what these hikers think about their experience of nature versus modern American culture and the destruction of wilderness and natural places. A speed record of the Appalachian Trail is meaningless.
Nature experience and appreciation is the focus, not cuben fiber or 50 mile days or speed hiking egos or SUL packs or the drooling fascination with endurance athletes.
Not the only part. There is some stuff out there on the AT I'ld rather avoid, drunks etc. So what do you think I'm missing?
I'm not sure why FKT is being equated with partying and breaking trail rules, simply because of one well published incident. I'm kind of a statistics fan, and one event, no matter how well known isn't a great predictor of future actions. I tried googling FKT problems, and didn't really find much information.
I see one guy who trail runs all the time and pretty much every day he flies by me. He always slows enough to say hello and share a kind word. Probably one of the nicer people I run into consistently on the trail.
There was a trail running race on my local trail a few months ago. I noticed the super athletic racers as I was heading back down hill, they also waved and panted a greeting as they were struggling up the hill. There was a small pavilion of horribly out of shape onlookers set up at the trail head, drinking sodas and sitting in lawn chairs just generally getting in my way for all of 20 seconds. There were some fat kids lounging around, and some skinny kids running around in the woods, off of the trail. The next day, I couldn't tell that they'd been there.
All in all, it made me ponder the culture/dichotomy of athletic/out of shape people within the same family, but I can't say that it really ruined my hike.
It gives you a reason to extend your foot or trekking pole to one side as they try to race by you.
(I am, of course, talking crap)
squeezebox,
I don't think you've thought this through. Consider: If everyone hiked faster, they'd spend fewer days on the trail therefore, each day there would be fewer people on the trail. If everyone hiked longer each day, there would be less of the behaviors you find distasteful. Finally, you can't advocate a "Hike your own hike" philosophy then admonish those who hike differently than yourself.
I'll stop here as I am about to get a whole lot of snarky.
Good day...I SAID GOOD DAY!
Speed hiking the AT is kind of like a hot dog eating contest IMHO. It is interesting to watch but kind of pointless (not that there is anything wrong with doing something pointless).
And yet, hardly any backpackers ever carry a pair of binoculars. Or a loop.
And even the most dedicated of hikers with $500 tents will only see summertime stars at night if they need to pee.
I don't see what the price of a tent has to do with it. Some friends and I once took our sleep mats out onto Avalanche Lake in the Adirondacks at -20°F on a crystal clear night to watch a meteor shower, and we sat outside for a long time in the Uintas just looking at the Milky Way. I had a Bibler at the time (fairly pricey in adjusted-for-inflation dollars) and it had nothing to do with it one way or the other.
And there's plenty to see without binoculars or a loop (loupe?).
Oh dear, my trail life is about to be ruined … I carry binoculars and a loupe …
… Perhaps my salvation will be that I'm more likely doing a SKT …
(Sorry for the sarcasm. … Maybe …)
Bruce Traillium
Of course you are right-- spelling included.
Just saying there is more to backpacking than appreciating nature-- and hopefully suggesting that pushing yourself physically and feeling a sense of accomplishment in doing so is part of the attraction. Speed hiking taps into that, I think.
For some it maybe SKT, see the birds, stars, animals etc
For others it maybe about the personal challenge, the mental exhaustion, the fresh air, and the change of scenery (however slow or quick that maybe).
and yet for others it might be all about the social bubble, the several friends, the beer, the women, the safety meetings.
For a "sport" (hiking) that requires patience and tolerance of many things, we as a whole don't seem to be patient or tolerant...
HYOH is meant for everyone on the trail. Including Them, me, and YOU!
Hiking could be about the hike, the trail or the hiker(individual) and mostly some percentage of all of them.
To me it seems "speed hiking" focuses mostly on the hiker(individual) than the other two. Accomplishment you may say, proving something to someone , even if that someone is the hiker him/herself.
I have nothing against speed hiking as long as it is not affecting the trail and other hikers. That is up to individuals to decide what is more important for them, the hike, the trail or the hiker, not me.
FKTs are about claiming " Im the best"
Not about personal challenge, this is why some quit when its out of reach. Trail is still challenging, why quit?
Not about enjoying nature
Sure you can enjoy nature while doing it, but thats not the focus, or motivation.
Its about bragging rights. Pure and simple.
Otherwise there is no need to tell anyone.
Last edited by MuddyWaters; 12-21-2015 at 23:28.
I like the way Wingfoot put it in the old Thru-Hiker's Handbook;
Competition and records have their place in the world of organized sports, but both are out of place on the Appalachian Trail. Competitive activities, record-setting attempts (fastest thru-hike, most thru hikes, etc.), and similar efforts to claim superiority over one's fellow hikers have been deemed from the earliest days of the Trail project to be a serious degradation of the egalitarian and recreational (some say re-creational) values of the AT, not in keeping with it's primary purpose of allowing individuals to "seek fellowship with the wilderness." For this reason, no responsible organization has ever established competitive standard, sanctioned attempts to set records, or recognized records for thru-hiking the AT.
Seems the ATC now wants it both ways...pretend it's not happening while using it to their advantage and endorsing it at other times.
The trouble I have with campfires are the folks that carry a bottle in one hand and a Bible in the other.
You never know which one is talking.
Eh, sometimes it's alright to tell people, and it might just inspire some couch potato to get moving and try something new. For me, it was reading "Dove" by Robin Graham when I was a kid. If I could afford it, I'd be sailing the world right now.
I'm sure there's a selfish component, getting sponsorships, getting internet famous, and all that, but maybe the next FKT person will write about it eloquently and inspire someone as well? Or... maybe they'll just do annoying interviews where they plug their sponsors product over and over.
This comment bothers me on multiple levels. I will explain why and maybe you can correct me or explain where I am not thinking correctly.
1.) .. Claiming "im the best" Not about personal challenge...
a) I dont think those can really be separated. The personal challenge is to beat the record or to make your own record. Either way it is still a personal challenge to try and break it. Why does that matter? Why does it matter if it motivates someone to try, to strive to do better?
2.) ... this is why some quit when its out of reach ... why quit?
a) here it seems you are trying to get inside each persons head and claim to know why they quit. Maybe they didn't want to risk injury, maybe they only allotted the record amount of time to do it, maybe they could only get a certain amount of time off work and its not feasible for them to do section hiking. There are a million different reasons for a single person to get off the trail. Trying to single out one reason for a whole bunch of people that prefer a different way of traveling the AT is pretty single minded.
3.) ...Sure you can enjoy nature while doing it, but thats not the focus, or motivation...
a) Why does the Hike NEED to be SOLELY about nature? Yes, traditionally hiking was/is about nature and enjoying the beauty. I prefer to hike this way as well. But why does it HAVE to be about nature? Maybe runners are tired of hitting the pavement over and over and they want the challenge of different activities (i.e roots to watch for, rocks to hurdle/climb etc.). Maybe party people are tired of hitting the same bars/hotels/homes. Why does it HAVE to be done ONE way to be correct?
4.) ... Otherwise there is no need to tell anyone...
a) Have you ever been proud of your accomplishments? Did you tell anyone? I know I have been braggadocio at times when I have been proud of an accomplishment. To break an unofficial record (or better an official one) is a pretty big deal to some. If I ever break a record for something, I am going to tell someone. I just never have (that I know of, maybe if you count klutz moments in an entire life I might break that record). Maybe you are right to a very certain extent that its about being proud that you beat those that tried. But I would tell people because I am proud of my accomplishment, not to rub it in everyone's face.
Now, I respect the crap out of a great deal of the posters here on WB. Many of them have hiked more than I ever will. Many of them have forgotten more than I will ever know about hiking and nature in general. That includes you Muddy and I often like many of your posts but, why is there so much hate on the way people enjoy the AT (or trails in general)? Why does it have to be hiked the slow traditional way? I am not excluding the obviously rude, rule breaking, self entitled brats that give a bad name to any type of group (and I never will). When I hear people complaining about how someone is hiking/enjoying the trail I hear self entitlement in the other direction. The nature loving, slow hikers, feel self entitled and want everyone to hike their way or not at all. I personally think that is a shame and wish the community attitude could change. That being said, I am one of the slow moving, taking in every caterpillar and leaf that I can, hiker but that does not mean I should open up judgement to everyone that doesn't do it my way.
Again, this is just my opinion and I hope I don't offend everyone by my stance. YMMV HYOH
The problem arises from a certain rule breaking brat that currently is trying to claim fastest known time. If I may paraphrase? Respect for the trail and other hikers is a must.
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