Paralyzed Hiker AT and PCT Controversy

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peakbagger

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I had seen numerous feel good news reports about the paralyzed hiker who claimed to have hiked the AT in 2016 and the PCT in 2017 with high tech electronic braces. I had my suspicions at the time as logistically the availability of power to recharge the electronics and her claimed rate of 1 mph didn't line up. Most photos were with standard hiking gear and barring a few sherpas along and out of sight I didn't see how a person could carry enough equipment and food to support the effort. The claims was that they were essentially unsupported hikes. I also heard she was attempting the PCT this summer and given the many reports of very experienced folks getting stranded and having to self rescue due to the snow pack being too deep with the trails impassable that raised even more suspicions when it was announced she had completed it. Many PCT folks have had to do flip flops to work around these issues and others postponed to another year. Unlike the AT, the PCT has very few good resupply points with multiple days between resupply points required. Despite the recent crowding its a very close knit community compared to the AT where there are enough hikers and options that conceivably someone could hike the entire trail and leave little trace. This has actually become a big issue with FKT folks which now have to submit very detailed back up to avoid their attempt being disqualified (as has happened a few times in 2016 and 2017) due to potential hitchhikes or skipping of sections.

It was quite odd that the hiker's progress tended to only be reported at generally accessible areas along the AT and that there was little "hiker buzz" about seeing this decidedly unusual sight along the AT or PCT. Even when events like FKTs are intentionally "stealth" there is inevitably someone who follows the hiker electronically picking up "breadcrumbs" when they appear to report. This again seemed to be missing for this attempt. Especially on the AT, there are almost daily hiker feeds down south that taper off along the way and usually hikers have to make an intentional effort to skip them. Even if the hiker wanted to skip them I expect their celebrity would have brought notice as many of those feeds employ well meaning folks to steer the true thru hikers to their dose of goodies (and inevitably religion).

Unfortunately like a well publicized FKT last year it looks like this effort is tarnished at best

http://claybonnymanevans.com/yes-stacey-kozels-pct-and-at-lies-matter/

I guess it comes down to like any self affirmed goal a person gets out of it what they put into it.
 
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I did hear about her doing the trails. I was very impressed and happy for her. Now, I'm cleaning the pie off my face. I can't fathom the desire to lie, twice!!
 
I did hear about her doing the trails. I was very impressed and happy for her. Now, I'm cleaning the pie off my face. I can't fathom the desire to lie, twice!!

Maybe she did the hike, but just has Munchausen Syndrome? I don't really care though - I just hear for the jokes. :)
 
I did hear about her doing the trails. I was very impressed and happy for her. Now, I'm cleaning the pie off my face. I can't fathom the desire to lie, twice!!

Maybe she was going for the triple crown! Next up: tall tales about hiking the CDT and a few pictures from Rocky Mountain trailheads.
 
I heard that she also took a baby on both trails, the baby's claiming several records!

If you look carefully at the photos from the 2016 and 2017 alleged thru-hikes of the AT and PCT in chronological order, paying particular attention to the baby in the images, it appears over the two-year period that the baby does not in fact, actually age.

;)
 
Some people care a lot about FKTs and I can understand it especially if they have some skin in the game and care to keep it reasonably fair.

Having said this, for me going to the mountains is all about being close to nature, enjoying vistas & flower-covered meadows, spotting wildlife and getting away from city street crowds. Hence I don't really care if anyone (and I don't mean any specific person) is cheating in order to "set" a record - if they do so then in my mind they really cheat themselves out of what a true trail experience could have really become to them.
 
Unfortunately like a well publicized FKT last year it looks like this effort is tarnished at best

Personally I don't really care much about records but I would be interested to what you are alluding to. IMO the FKT has a way of trolling their mentality into what some do that have previously stated that their goals have nothing to do with FKT. FKT is an entity of their own that is not sanctioned by any national or international recognized organization.
 
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Personally I don't really care much about records but I would be interested to what you are alluding to. IMO the FKT has a way of trolling their mentality into what some do that have previously stated that their goals have nothing to do with FKT. FKT is an entity of their own that is not sanctioned by any national or international recognized organization.

There have been a couple over the last year or so. You can usually find these discussed on the FKT board or, in great detail, on whiteblaze.net. Specifically I'm thinking of K.B. who posted some improbable times and was caught "yellow blazing" - hitching a ride to skip part of the trail -, discovered a year ago, and more recently D.B., who had some violations of the "self-supported" rule, but mostly suffered from a lack of documentation, under newly stringent FKT standards. Both cases summarized here: https://www.outsideonline.com/2234601/dan-binde-claims-he-set-fkt-appalachian-trail
 
Like many people, I have a visceral reaction when anyone tries to con me about anything, but this is just sad and pathetic. I have also hiked the Appalachian Trail.
Ok, so maybe only 3-5% of it if you want to split hairs.
 
Like many people, I have a visceral reaction when anyone tries to con me about anything, but this is just sad and pathetic. I have also hiked the Appalachian Trail.
Ok, so maybe only 3-5% of it if you want to split hairs.

Congratulations Grey J! Similarly I have swum the Atlantic myself.
 
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