Solitary
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DreamFarmer said:
Well Erik wrote an article where he gives his equipment list for a 10.5 lb. pack. You can read on his website:
Fastpacking article by E.S.
Catskill Record
- Thread starter Tom Rankin
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Help Support vftt.org:
Well Erik wrote an article where he gives his equipment list for a 10.5 lb. pack. You can read on his website:
Fastpacking article by E.S.
hermit
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I just got off the phone with Jim Senecal 845 6579777,and he said that about 30 years ago he and a friend Joe Hevesi continuously hiked the 35 peaks over 3500' in 4 days and 14 hrs. unsupported.He has a copy of the Kingston Daily Freeman that has a story about it and will try to get it to ECC.I remember back in 2002 before I joined Cave Dog for 2- 12 hour night hikes during his Catskill record ,that there was some discussion about Jim Senecal and his record.On 9-2003 this site went down and maybe that history was lost.Jim's feat was know then. The Catskill 3500 Club was aware of Jim's record and invited him to the dinner 30 years ago.What Eric did was amazing,but I don't want Jim Senecal and his friend to be forgotten.Jim did have a couple of food stashes along the way tied in trees.Jim and I are planning a hike together soon,and I would like to hear some of the details of his long hike.We have known each other for years,but never hiked together. Better late than never.Jim and Joe were in their late teens or early twenties when they hiked all the 35 peaks continuously.
Last edited:
Mark Schaefer
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The Poughkeepsie Journal recently had an article and photo gallery on his Erik's completion. The article mentions that Erik is planning a similar continuous hike of the New Hampshire 48.
Jay H
New member
name those photos!:
My guessimates:
1) Eagle summit cairn
2) Bridge at the northern start of the Escarpment trail off Rt 23
3)
4)
5)
6) somewhere on the DP?
7) Slide mtn?
8) Black Dome/Thomas Cole? North of the Devil's path with KHP on the left?
9) hmmm????
10) The planks in the "fangorn forrest" on the escarpment trail (blue marker too!)
11)
My guessimates:
1) Eagle summit cairn
2) Bridge at the northern start of the Escarpment trail off Rt 23
3)
4)
5)
6) somewhere on the DP?
7) Slide mtn?
8) Black Dome/Thomas Cole? North of the Devil's path with KHP on the left?
9) hmmm????
10) The planks in the "fangorn forrest" on the escarpment trail (blue marker too!)
11)
halia and flammeus
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11 looks to me like the escarpment trail, east of Black Head's summit, looking east-northeast.
8 looks very interesting to me. I think that view of the devil's path is from the south (right to left I think I am picking out indian head, twin, sugar loaf and plateau, and then the deep clove and hunter), but I am not sure. Could it be from Wittenberg, looking north? But then I am not sure what the two in the mid ground are.
That shot of slide is AWESOME! But I don't know where he was when he took it.
My guess for 4 is Black Dome, from the ascent of Black Head (west side of BH).
My guess for 5 is either Giant Ledge, or Panther.
Halia
8 looks very interesting to me. I think that view of the devil's path is from the south (right to left I think I am picking out indian head, twin, sugar loaf and plateau, and then the deep clove and hunter), but I am not sure. Could it be from Wittenberg, looking north? But then I am not sure what the two in the mid ground are.
That shot of slide is AWESOME! But I don't know where he was when he took it.
My guess for 4 is Black Dome, from the ascent of Black Head (west side of BH).
My guess for 5 is either Giant Ledge, or Panther.
Halia
Erik Schlimmer
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Catskill high peaks hike
Greetings to all.
First off, a hearty thank you to everyone who has commented on this Catskill hike. When I see an adventure positively affect a person – having them notice our potential, the cache of adventures waiting, and the capability of our minds and bodies, – well, that’s what it’s all about. Let me address some comments and questions raised.
“No matter how much someone prepares for that type of thing, you still need a little good luck to get through it...”
Absolutely. Weather was the biggest deciding factor in the success or failure of this trek. Also, staying injury free, which was a realistic concern, is a matter of luck to a certain extent. With one wrong misstep the trip would have ended.
”8.6 lbs of gear - I hope to see his gear list.”
For some reason it comes out to 8.7 pounds here. Special thanks to my sponsors. More information on who supports great adventures can be found here: http://erikschlimmer.com/sponsors.html Not making a hard sell; sponsors enjoy mention. And, they deserve it.
Worn
Asolo Outriders
DeFeet Woolie Boolie socks
Nylon shorts
Long sleeve polyester dress shirt
Leki Super Makalu trekking poles
Home
GoLite Speed pack (modified, lid removed) – 10.8 oz.
GoLite pack cover – 2.7
Contractors garbage bag (ground sheet) – 5.0
Z-Rest Lite (cut to 2/3 length and 2/3 width) – 6.8
Western Mountaineering High Lite, stuff sac – 16.9
Equinox tarp, six MSR stakes, cord – 13.7
Kitchen
Twelve Esbit fuel tablets, plastic baggie – 4.8
Homemade tuna can stove – 0.7
MSR Titan titanium pot, homemade lid – 3.2
Two Lexan spoons, pot grip, two lighters – 4.0
Three one-liter soda bottles – 4.8
Clothing
Two pair DeFeet Woolie Boolie socks – 4.7
Nylon shorts – 4.3
DeFeet long sleeve Un-D-Shurt – 4.4
DeFeet sleeveless Un-D-Shurt – 3.7
GoLite team cap – 2.0
Synthetic winter hat – 1.7
Marmot Essence jacket – 7.4
Extras
Ditty bag (pocket knife, batteries, etc.) – 15.5
First aid kit – 5.2
Sony Cyber Shot camera, batteries, tripod – 15.0
MSR Packtowl Ultralite – 0.6
Twelve baby wipes – 1.4
Total: 139.3 ounces (8.7 pounds)
“[Erik] had outside support… [by] dropping off supplies outside his time frame.”
The above implied that my hike was supported. But this assessment does not stand up to long-distance hiking protocol. My hike was unsupported (also referred to as self-supported). Resupplying is a (no pun intended) staple of long-distance hiking.
If a hiker should not be “allowed” to resupply during a 140-mile hike, how long does the hike have to be to allow a resupply? 200 miles? 400? 800? Carrying two three-day rations is more than reasonable for a long-distance hiker. Of all self-supported long-distance records ever set, the record-holders carried less than six days worth of food at some point in time.
“If there is a record or a list out there, someone will try to break it.”
This person is right. Now that the word is out that a hiker covered the Catskill high peaks as fast as possible in one continuous self-supported hike (a mouthful), other athletes are probably already drooling. However, I am not competitive by nature and find it comforting that I never read about a hiker “beating” another hiker. More often than not, hikers report “breaking records” or “setting records,” concentrating on the experience rather than another person. I do hope someone attempts this Catskill circuit. It was one of the best adventures of my life (but I say that at the end of each adventure).
“Pretty cool although the press release is a bit much.”
I agree. It was pretty cool. And the press release was a bit much. I do not know how the press release reached this forum. Press releases are for the press, of which this forum is not.
A press release was sent to a person involved with the Catskill 3,500 Club’s Catskill Canister to see if they would like to feature this hike (I believe they run articles like the Adirondack Forty-Sixers’ Peeks format). I received a response saying they may feature “it” in a forum. I thought “it” meant a quick little mention of the hike. It turns out “it” meant the press release itself, which I would not have agreed to though I do appreciate their enthusiasm. It was simply a misunderstanding.
“I thought I read an article [where Erik stated]…. he'd completed the [Northeast 770 3,000-foot peaks] in winter.”
I like to work hard, but not that much. I have hiked the 100 highest peaks of the Adirondacks, in winter, and the 100 highest peaks of the Catskills, in winter, but fall about 400 peaks short of the 770 in winter. The article I wrote described climbing the 131 3,500-foot peaks of New York, in winter.
“Jim Senecal…. said that about 30 years ago he and a friend Joe Hevesi continuously hiked the 35 peaks over 3500' in 4 days and 14 hrs. unsupported… What Erik did was amazing, but I don't want Jim Senecal and his friend to be forgotten.”
Concerning this, I came across this post well after my hike. I had not heard from Jim Senecal, Joe Hevesi, Ted Keizer nor the poster above. I could not find the Daily Freeman article, despite an exhaustive search.
Before my trek, I wrote three very experienced Catskill hikers, asking, if I remember correctly, if anyone besides Ted Keizer had tackled the 3,500-foot peaks in one go. Unfortunately, I never heard back from them. I contacted the president of the Catskill 3,500 Club and asked this same question. His response was, "I have not heard of anything other than the [Keizer] supported hike." I searched the Internet, Watermans’ Forest and Crag, Wadsworth’s Guide to Catskill Trails, and McAllister and Ochman’s Hiking the Catskills, but never found mention of a continuous hike.
After my trek I sent an e-mail to Ted Keizer informing him of my successful traverse. However, I never received a response though I asked him to please drop a note at his convenience.
A few caveats must be made concerning the continuous hike from the 1970’s.
1. At the time there were 34 3,500-foot peaks. However, this is inconsequential since the new peak (Hunter Mountain, southwest peak) only added 30 minutes to my trek. No big deal.
2. I completed a self-supported traverse in the fastest solo time.
3. A never-ending debate is that of "What constitutes the right to say 'unsupported'?" (more on this above). It is unclear how many resupplies the duo stashed in the 1970's. Just food, or shelter, too? Two resupplies? Three? Four? Unfortunately, there is little information available. Without knowing the duo's support, it is impossible to call it unsupported or supported. However, it was not solo. Either way, my hike takes nothing away from them and I hope their story is shared when more information is gleaned.
”Name those photos [from the Poughkeepsie Journal]!”
You guys are good. I believe you got five out of eleven.
1) Summit cairn on Eagle Mountain.
2) The end – bridge near Windham High Peak trailhead.
3) 3,500-foot sign on the south side of Eagle Mountain.
4) View of Black Dome from Blackhead.
5) View of Eagle and Balsam Mountains from Cornell Mountain.
6) A section of the Devil’s Path on Twin Mountain.
7) 6:00 AM view of Giant Ledge and Slide Mountain from Panther Mountain.
8) Lone Mountain (in foreground) from Table Mountain.
9) Sorry, this one is my secret spot.
10) Escarpment Trail on north side of Windham High Peak.
11) View northeast from the summit of Windham High Peak.
If anyone has additional comments or questions you can always send a note here: [email protected]
Thanks for your interest. As always, Happy Trails to All!
– Erik Schlimmer
Greetings to all.
First off, a hearty thank you to everyone who has commented on this Catskill hike. When I see an adventure positively affect a person – having them notice our potential, the cache of adventures waiting, and the capability of our minds and bodies, – well, that’s what it’s all about. Let me address some comments and questions raised.
“No matter how much someone prepares for that type of thing, you still need a little good luck to get through it...”
Absolutely. Weather was the biggest deciding factor in the success or failure of this trek. Also, staying injury free, which was a realistic concern, is a matter of luck to a certain extent. With one wrong misstep the trip would have ended.
”8.6 lbs of gear - I hope to see his gear list.”
For some reason it comes out to 8.7 pounds here. Special thanks to my sponsors. More information on who supports great adventures can be found here: http://erikschlimmer.com/sponsors.html Not making a hard sell; sponsors enjoy mention. And, they deserve it.
Worn
Asolo Outriders
DeFeet Woolie Boolie socks
Nylon shorts
Long sleeve polyester dress shirt
Leki Super Makalu trekking poles
Home
GoLite Speed pack (modified, lid removed) – 10.8 oz.
GoLite pack cover – 2.7
Contractors garbage bag (ground sheet) – 5.0
Z-Rest Lite (cut to 2/3 length and 2/3 width) – 6.8
Western Mountaineering High Lite, stuff sac – 16.9
Equinox tarp, six MSR stakes, cord – 13.7
Kitchen
Twelve Esbit fuel tablets, plastic baggie – 4.8
Homemade tuna can stove – 0.7
MSR Titan titanium pot, homemade lid – 3.2
Two Lexan spoons, pot grip, two lighters – 4.0
Three one-liter soda bottles – 4.8
Clothing
Two pair DeFeet Woolie Boolie socks – 4.7
Nylon shorts – 4.3
DeFeet long sleeve Un-D-Shurt – 4.4
DeFeet sleeveless Un-D-Shurt – 3.7
GoLite team cap – 2.0
Synthetic winter hat – 1.7
Marmot Essence jacket – 7.4
Extras
Ditty bag (pocket knife, batteries, etc.) – 15.5
First aid kit – 5.2
Sony Cyber Shot camera, batteries, tripod – 15.0
MSR Packtowl Ultralite – 0.6
Twelve baby wipes – 1.4
Total: 139.3 ounces (8.7 pounds)
“[Erik] had outside support… [by] dropping off supplies outside his time frame.”
The above implied that my hike was supported. But this assessment does not stand up to long-distance hiking protocol. My hike was unsupported (also referred to as self-supported). Resupplying is a (no pun intended) staple of long-distance hiking.
If a hiker should not be “allowed” to resupply during a 140-mile hike, how long does the hike have to be to allow a resupply? 200 miles? 400? 800? Carrying two three-day rations is more than reasonable for a long-distance hiker. Of all self-supported long-distance records ever set, the record-holders carried less than six days worth of food at some point in time.
“If there is a record or a list out there, someone will try to break it.”
This person is right. Now that the word is out that a hiker covered the Catskill high peaks as fast as possible in one continuous self-supported hike (a mouthful), other athletes are probably already drooling. However, I am not competitive by nature and find it comforting that I never read about a hiker “beating” another hiker. More often than not, hikers report “breaking records” or “setting records,” concentrating on the experience rather than another person. I do hope someone attempts this Catskill circuit. It was one of the best adventures of my life (but I say that at the end of each adventure).
“Pretty cool although the press release is a bit much.”
I agree. It was pretty cool. And the press release was a bit much. I do not know how the press release reached this forum. Press releases are for the press, of which this forum is not.
A press release was sent to a person involved with the Catskill 3,500 Club’s Catskill Canister to see if they would like to feature this hike (I believe they run articles like the Adirondack Forty-Sixers’ Peeks format). I received a response saying they may feature “it” in a forum. I thought “it” meant a quick little mention of the hike. It turns out “it” meant the press release itself, which I would not have agreed to though I do appreciate their enthusiasm. It was simply a misunderstanding.
“I thought I read an article [where Erik stated]…. he'd completed the [Northeast 770 3,000-foot peaks] in winter.”
I like to work hard, but not that much. I have hiked the 100 highest peaks of the Adirondacks, in winter, and the 100 highest peaks of the Catskills, in winter, but fall about 400 peaks short of the 770 in winter. The article I wrote described climbing the 131 3,500-foot peaks of New York, in winter.
“Jim Senecal…. said that about 30 years ago he and a friend Joe Hevesi continuously hiked the 35 peaks over 3500' in 4 days and 14 hrs. unsupported… What Erik did was amazing, but I don't want Jim Senecal and his friend to be forgotten.”
Concerning this, I came across this post well after my hike. I had not heard from Jim Senecal, Joe Hevesi, Ted Keizer nor the poster above. I could not find the Daily Freeman article, despite an exhaustive search.
Before my trek, I wrote three very experienced Catskill hikers, asking, if I remember correctly, if anyone besides Ted Keizer had tackled the 3,500-foot peaks in one go. Unfortunately, I never heard back from them. I contacted the president of the Catskill 3,500 Club and asked this same question. His response was, "I have not heard of anything other than the [Keizer] supported hike." I searched the Internet, Watermans’ Forest and Crag, Wadsworth’s Guide to Catskill Trails, and McAllister and Ochman’s Hiking the Catskills, but never found mention of a continuous hike.
After my trek I sent an e-mail to Ted Keizer informing him of my successful traverse. However, I never received a response though I asked him to please drop a note at his convenience.
A few caveats must be made concerning the continuous hike from the 1970’s.
1. At the time there were 34 3,500-foot peaks. However, this is inconsequential since the new peak (Hunter Mountain, southwest peak) only added 30 minutes to my trek. No big deal.
2. I completed a self-supported traverse in the fastest solo time.
3. A never-ending debate is that of "What constitutes the right to say 'unsupported'?" (more on this above). It is unclear how many resupplies the duo stashed in the 1970's. Just food, or shelter, too? Two resupplies? Three? Four? Unfortunately, there is little information available. Without knowing the duo's support, it is impossible to call it unsupported or supported. However, it was not solo. Either way, my hike takes nothing away from them and I hope their story is shared when more information is gleaned.
”Name those photos [from the Poughkeepsie Journal]!”
You guys are good. I believe you got five out of eleven.
1) Summit cairn on Eagle Mountain.
2) The end – bridge near Windham High Peak trailhead.
3) 3,500-foot sign on the south side of Eagle Mountain.
4) View of Black Dome from Blackhead.
5) View of Eagle and Balsam Mountains from Cornell Mountain.
6) A section of the Devil’s Path on Twin Mountain.
7) 6:00 AM view of Giant Ledge and Slide Mountain from Panther Mountain.
8) Lone Mountain (in foreground) from Table Mountain.
9) Sorry, this one is my secret spot.
10) Escarpment Trail on north side of Windham High Peak.
11) View northeast from the summit of Windham High Peak.
If anyone has additional comments or questions you can always send a note here: [email protected]
Thanks for your interest. As always, Happy Trails to All!
– Erik Schlimmer
Last edited:
Peakbagr
Well-known member
Erik,
Your feats are impressive. You mentioned doing the Catskill 100 in winter.
Did you mean the old 'Walking News list of 98 Catskill summits of 3,000', or the Catskill 100 list that was recently revised to include 102 peaks to get to 100(a couple of ties)?
Thanks for the clarification.
Your feats are impressive. You mentioned doing the Catskill 100 in winter.
Did you mean the old 'Walking News list of 98 Catskill summits of 3,000', or the Catskill 100 list that was recently revised to include 102 peaks to get to 100(a couple of ties)?
Thanks for the clarification.
Jay H
New member
Hi Erik, great post and really nice pictures, I think my goal is to find #9... That kind of inspires me more than say trying to do all 35 in one hike. Like you said, I'm not that competitive which is why I don't do a lot of races like some friends of mine. I always do well in them, but it's just not my cup of tea. And I hate "training" for the sake of "training".
Do you have to return the gear to your sponsors??? (eyeing the WM Highlite... as a happy user of a WM Iroquois (discontinued)).
p.s. I find it interesting you bring a pot grip. I usually use my scouring pad as a pot grip as well as a dishwasher...
OOps, yeah, got my directions messed up again...
Jay
Do you have to return the gear to your sponsors??? (eyeing the WM Highlite... as a happy user of a WM Iroquois (discontinued)).
p.s. I find it interesting you bring a pot grip. I usually use my scouring pad as a pot grip as well as a dishwasher...
OOps, yeah, got my directions messed up again...
Jay
Last edited:
hermit
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Hi Eric ,
Jim Senecal dug up the article from the Kingston Daily Freeman dated 1979 about the continuous Catskill unsupported record that he and his friend did and gave it to me today.I will send it to you tomorrow.I think you will enjoy reading it.And once again congratulations on the solo record.They did have 5 food caches placed in the mountains though.One was lost because some animals raided it.
Jim Senecal dug up the article from the Kingston Daily Freeman dated 1979 about the continuous Catskill unsupported record that he and his friend did and gave it to me today.I will send it to you tomorrow.I think you will enjoy reading it.And once again congratulations on the solo record.They did have 5 food caches placed in the mountains though.One was lost because some animals raided it.
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RoySwkr
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Erik,
That surely was an impressive walk you made across the Catskills, and doing it alone distinguished it from similar speed hikes. I couldn't have done it in triple the time regardless of how many caches I placed.
I think you will find that your definition of "unsupported" is below the international standard. For a trek across the Australian Outback to be considered unsupported, you must use water only from natural sources and not any that came from wells. And if you read about UVM graduate Richard Weber whom Wikipedia lists as having been on the only unsupported trek to the North Pole, you'll discover he didn't place a cache every 3 days.
But my interest is really more about style than nomenclature. Doing a trip without resupply is an endurance test of how much you can carry how far and requires careful planning and rationing. Once you allow caches, there is really no limit as to how far you can go and no particular need for planning since you can overstock the caches and binge eat whatever you like when you arrive. Hiking the whole Long Trail without resupply would be quite a feat, while hiking it with resupply every 3 days would be nothing special regardless of what you call it as most backpackers go longer.
Once you decide to allow resupply on a trek, where do you draw the line? If you can have a cache every 3 days, why not every day or every meal? If you can cache food, why not stove fuel and dry socks, or replacement boots? Can you leave a tent and sleeping bag set up in advance for every night? Can you park a Winnebago at a road crossing and nuke a TV dinner, drink a cold beer from the fridge, and sleep in a real bed with air conditioning?
Long-distance backpackers often go a week without resupply, the Hundred Mile Wilderness for example. You could have carried your food for the whole trip and still kept your pack weight under that of a typical day hiker. Lightweight backpacking is less impressive if you do it by frequent caches.
Someday somebody will do the NH 4k Direttissima without resupply, which will trump any treks using caches even if they were a little faster. You might want to consider doing this when you return to the White Mountains.
That surely was an impressive walk you made across the Catskills, and doing it alone distinguished it from similar speed hikes. I couldn't have done it in triple the time regardless of how many caches I placed.
It must be hard for you to acquire sponsors since your lightweight ethos encourages others to do without the expensive gear that many companies sell, so I understand why you have to hype everything. And anything corporate America will give a true hiker is all to the good.Erik Schlimmer said:
You can resupply as often as you want, as long as you don't call it "unsupported".
I think you will find that your definition of "unsupported" is below the international standard. For a trek across the Australian Outback to be considered unsupported, you must use water only from natural sources and not any that came from wells. And if you read about UVM graduate Richard Weber whom Wikipedia lists as having been on the only unsupported trek to the North Pole, you'll discover he didn't place a cache every 3 days.
But my interest is really more about style than nomenclature. Doing a trip without resupply is an endurance test of how much you can carry how far and requires careful planning and rationing. Once you allow caches, there is really no limit as to how far you can go and no particular need for planning since you can overstock the caches and binge eat whatever you like when you arrive. Hiking the whole Long Trail without resupply would be quite a feat, while hiking it with resupply every 3 days would be nothing special regardless of what you call it as most backpackers go longer.
Once you decide to allow resupply on a trek, where do you draw the line? If you can have a cache every 3 days, why not every day or every meal? If you can cache food, why not stove fuel and dry socks, or replacement boots? Can you leave a tent and sleeping bag set up in advance for every night? Can you park a Winnebago at a road crossing and nuke a TV dinner, drink a cold beer from the fridge, and sleep in a real bed with air conditioning?
Long-distance backpackers often go a week without resupply, the Hundred Mile Wilderness for example. You could have carried your food for the whole trip and still kept your pack weight under that of a typical day hiker. Lightweight backpacking is less impressive if you do it by frequent caches.
Someday somebody will do the NH 4k Direttissima without resupply, which will trump any treks using caches even if they were a little faster. You might want to consider doing this when you return to the White Mountains.
RoySwkr said:
Mats essentially did the NH 4k Direttissima unsupported early last September (the only missing ingredient was not carrying his tent and sleeping bag on the Moose to Cannon section, but he carried all his food, fuel, etc., for the 10-day trip).
hermit
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Does anyone know if Eric has started his journey in the White Mtns. yet?The number of hits on this post maybe a record.This must be the year for record attempts ,I heard that someone is going for the A.T.through record.
Last edited:
Tom Rankin
Well-known member
If by start you mean restart, then no. He tried once, but had to stop, due to injury. See:hermit said:
http://vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=22987
for a brief summary.
And WOW! 23,000+ views!
Amazing!
Tom Rankin
Well-known member
I got the TR and it's fabulous!ColdRiverRun said:
ColdRiverRun
New member
I meant posting a TR, Tom.Tom Rankin said:I got the TR and it's fabulous!
I find Roy's previous post pretty much right on regarding my opinion overall for a self supported hike.
albee
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The tradition of starting at midnight seems awfully random and arbitrary to me. Were there a number of other record attempts that all started at midnight, too?
These speed records are nothing but legend and lore. Some make a bigger deal about it than others, but in the end it is just another journey and just another adventure that only truly means something to the person that is experiencing it. These "record-setters" probably care much more about proving these feats to themselves than they care about impressing others. Some make it more of a commercially sponsored and supported quest, and some just choose to leave it between themselves, their friends, and the mountains.
Personally, I know that I am impressed by stories like what Erik has accomplished, but I sincerely hope that he doesn't care what I or anyone else thinks - just keep getting out there and having fun, man!
These speed records are nothing but legend and lore. Some make a bigger deal about it than others, but in the end it is just another journey and just another adventure that only truly means something to the person that is experiencing it. These "record-setters" probably care much more about proving these feats to themselves than they care about impressing others. Some make it more of a commercially sponsored and supported quest, and some just choose to leave it between themselves, their friends, and the mountains.
Personally, I know that I am impressed by stories like what Erik has accomplished, but I sincerely hope that he doesn't care what I or anyone else thinks - just keep getting out there and having fun, man!
JPD1600
New member
In the interest of full disclosure, I want to put this out in support of Cave Dog because my experience with him was very different than Erik's.
I'm not making any accusations towards Erik, but I read Erik's comments about Cave Dog to say that Cave Dog ignored Erik and was dismissive (for lack of a better word) of Erik's record attempt. I'm not doubting the truth of this, but almost exactly a year ago, a close friend and myself were considering making the same "record attempt"* as Erik did this past May. Our plan was to scout, routefind, plan, train, etc. for a year and do the hike at the end of June this year (2008). However, work, as it so often does, got in the way of us completing this big hike. But, our research and planning involved contacting Cave Dog. I emailed Cave Dog "out of the blue" and he responded promptly and was exceptionally gracious and helpful. He offered to share his route with us, he offered his thoughts about route planning and he offered whatever else he could think of to help our attempt. In short, he was a true sportsman and a true gentleman.
*Please don't think the quotes around "record attempt" are meant to mock or to convey sarcasm, that is definitely not my intent. I put record attempt in quotes for identification purposes only so it was clear that we were going to try to do the same hike as Erik (with the obivous difference being that we were doing it as a team while Erik's was solo).
I'm not making any accusations towards Erik, but I read Erik's comments about Cave Dog to say that Cave Dog ignored Erik and was dismissive (for lack of a better word) of Erik's record attempt. I'm not doubting the truth of this, but almost exactly a year ago, a close friend and myself were considering making the same "record attempt"* as Erik did this past May. Our plan was to scout, routefind, plan, train, etc. for a year and do the hike at the end of June this year (2008). However, work, as it so often does, got in the way of us completing this big hike. But, our research and planning involved contacting Cave Dog. I emailed Cave Dog "out of the blue" and he responded promptly and was exceptionally gracious and helpful. He offered to share his route with us, he offered his thoughts about route planning and he offered whatever else he could think of to help our attempt. In short, he was a true sportsman and a true gentleman.
*Please don't think the quotes around "record attempt" are meant to mock or to convey sarcasm, that is definitely not my intent. I put record attempt in quotes for identification purposes only so it was clear that we were going to try to do the same hike as Erik (with the obivous difference being that we were doing it as a team while Erik's was solo).
ColdRiverRun
New member
I'll add that Jan told me he had sent an email to Ted before his ADK record attempt like Ted had asked anyone attempting to do and that he got quickly replied to with a very positive response.
Maybe a common part is they were both before the attempts. Telling him after I'm not sure what kind of response he was looking for.
Maybe a common part is they were both before the attempts. Telling him after I'm not sure what kind of response he was looking for.
dr_wu002
Well-known member
The problem is with the word "record." If you posted something saying someone hiked the Catskills 35 in 3 days people would be like, "Sweet!" but the moment you say "record" people start popping one. Why not just put up a trip report and let people make up their own minds considering there's no like, legal definition of what these records are.
-Dr. Wu
-Dr. Wu
albee said:
The classic midnight start is the H2H in the Whites in an attempt to complete in one calendar day (24 hours), unless you are Alex McPhail and others who have completed the approx 50 miles in 12 to 13 hours.
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