The NH Directissima

[peakbagger]

A couple of folks are taking a stroll through the whites in NH starting last Friday, 240 miles, 87,000 vertical feet entirely self supported. The goal is to hike all the 48 - 4000 footers in NH in one continous hike carrying everything they need except water. The tentative plan is to complete them in 11 days

http://www.viewsfromthetop.com/forum...ad.php?t=31679

The strange part is that Mats has already done it south to north.

Other people have done the 4k's in far faster times with support teams but they didnt start out with 65 plus pound packs!

[Jeff]

Keep us posted on the outcome !!!!

[Blissful]

Should be interesting.

[Jack Tarlin]

Pretty cool. I wishe them well.

On the other hand, I'd feel more positive about "personal challenges" like this one if the folks in question didn't feel the need to go On-Line, or to issue what ammounts to Internet press releases before their adventures.

I.e., if you're doing something for fun, or for a genuine personal reason, that's great, and I applaud your efforts. If you're doing it so everyone in your hiking or climbing or whatever club KNOWS you're doing it, well this kinda takes something away.

But how come, every time someone does something like this, whether it's peakbagging, or a speed "record" attempt".......how come, every time it happens, if it's being done as a "personal challenge".......if this is true, then how come everyone knows all about it ahead of time?

[Homer&Marje]

Why are people so pessimistic all the time.

Good luck and have fun! Sounds like a great hike. Tell the whole world about it before and after you get back...no one should care.

[Jack Tarlin]

Homer:

It has nothing to do with pessimism.

All I'm saying is that some people feel the need to let other folks know all about their hiking adventures and what they're doing.

And some people don't.

Most folks I know hike for fun, and personal challenges are just that, they're personal. I can think of all sorts of folks who have achieved some sort of noteworthy achievement while hiking (even a "record" of sorts, assuming any reputable group or authority tracked such stuff, which they don't), but funny thing, with very few exceptions, none of these people are known ahead of time, i.e., nobody knows what they're doing or what they've done until after they've managed to do it. And even them, they don't necessarily go on-line to talk about it.

There's nothing "pessimistic" about talking about this. Just stating facts. The most noteworthy admirable hikers out there are probably folks that nobody's ever heard of.

[Homer&Marje]

Your absolutely right, the most noteworthy hikers probably have never been heard of.

No need to knock someone posting about an accomplishment, before, during, or after.

[max patch]

No need to knock someone posting about an accomplishment, before, during, or after.

Its not an "accomplishment" before its done.

Lot of people get write-ups in their local newspaper before they start their thru. Lot of those people don't make it. Oops.

[Homer&Marje]

Sometimes safe preparation for a hike like this takes careful planning that might involve more people than just those hiking.

That means more people get pulled into the situation and the telephone game ensues. 'Did you hear'....'they are gonna'.....

I tell my mother the day before I'm going hiking so that she doesnt send emails to the whole family about it. No newspaper articles on me yet

Then again, my measly accomplishments are nothing to waste ink on, a little bandwith maybe

[neighbor dave]

Pretty cool. I wishe them well.

On the other hand, I'd feel more positive about "personal challenges" like this one if the folks in question didn't feel the need to go On-Line, or to issue what ammounts to Internet press releases before their adventures.

I.e., if you're doing something for fun, or for a genuine personal reason, that's great, and I applaud your efforts. If you're doing it so everyone in your hiking or climbing or whatever club KNOWS you're doing it, well this kinda takes something away.

But how come, every time someone does something like this, whether it's peakbagging, or a speed "record" attempt".......how come, every time it happens, if it's being done as a "personal challenge".......if this is true, then how come everyone knows all about it ahead of time?

H.Y.O.H.

[Pokey2006]

I love that they're each carrying 50-pound packs, yet are leaving the tent stakes behind to save weight.

Sounds like a cool adventure.

[peakbagger]

As for the 50 pond packs, they mentioned most of it is food. Eleven days with no resupply adds up to a lot of food weight.

Of course I did a Presi Traverse day hike with Mats once and he carried a Heinekin Mini Keg in his pack to tap on Mt Franklin, kind of foamy, but a nice touch.

[yaduck9]

Reading their post, it sounds like they're having fun and they have a good bunch of mates for moral support.

Good Luck to them I say.

[Darwin again]

Are they carrying box wine?

FWIW, the AT from North Adams to Pinkham Notch is 70,000 feet vertical.
No big deal.

[chomp]

FWIW - I know both MEB and Mats and they are not doing this as a publicity stunt. VFTT is similar to Whiteblaze in some ways, but different in others. Most VFTT members live withen a couple of hours of each other, and I've met several hundred members from that site. Its a very close community, and MEB and Mats are two of the most liked memeber of that community. Their posts are to keep friends informed of their adventure, nothing more.