So, If she finishes today, what records does she crush? Or does nobody know when she started?
I think Anish posted her intent on ProBoards on or about July 30, so I am guessing her "official" start was Aug 1. That would put her 53 days into her hike and earlier today, she posted a photo at Clingman's Dome. So she's less than 200 miles from Springer and averaging somewhere around 38 miles a day, which means she will finish the trail in less than 5 days, assuming she keeps up the pace.Originally Posted by upstream
The current FKT for a self-supported thru is Matt's record of 58d 9h, so barring any unforeseen circumstances, she will beat that record, and it could be by as much as a day.
you left to walk the appalachian trail
you can feel your heart as smooth as a snail
the mountains your darlings
but better to love than have something to scale
-Girlyman, "Hold It All At Bay"
Also - Anish has kept her whereabouts on the down low, so it is possible that her posts on social media are intentionally a day or more behind. ;-0
you left to walk the appalachian trail
you can feel your heart as smooth as a snail
the mountains your darlings
but better to love than have something to scale
-Girlyman, "Hold It All At Bay"
I always wonder how those with multiple thousands of posts in a relatively short time manage to read, think about, and reply to so many threads, all while working full time.
That said, it's 4:30a.m. and time to go to work.
Long-winded is one thing. Obnoxious is another.I think I may have you all beat in the "long winded and obnoxious posts" department. It comes from never having enough time to get out and hike for longer than a clueless weekend.
Whose posts do I scroll through without reading all of it?
Not going to name names...
Of the long-winded people currently under discussion, I can think of one that almost always has valuable information, a well thought out argument, and an error-free write-up. I don't scroll through his posts.
I can think of another that often posts valuable information, but I tend to scroll just because it's tiring.
Another is excessively long-winded, but occasionally entertaining.
I confess that I often do scroll through verbose whines and poorly formatted ramblings.
But remember that the post count doesn't correlate with being long-winded. Pithiness has its place.
A very large percentage of my posts were in a now defunct community thread. We played games in there and purposely ran up post counts. Much of that stuff was meaningless, but fun.
I answer the easy newbie questions that have been asked 10,000 times. Many people are sick of those questions. Many forget that they once were just starting out.
I answer questions about areas that I have been through. I have a good memory and take notes.
I am passionate about tinkering. I am obsessed with tinkering. When someone posts about things that I have built a few hundred of, I might make a few hundred comments.
As to the post count in this thread, Anish desires to make it difficult to know where she is. I am doing my part here by distracting and filling.
Probably the main reason for my post count is my OCD. I have been know to read 500 page books in a sitting. I have been known to tear apart things that I have never seen just to see how they work. I have been known to lock myself in my den for 3 days solving a problem. I am obsessed beyond measure. Presently, I am obsessed with consuming as much hiking information as possible. My post count is nothing compared to the information I have read, processed, and cataloged. I log on whenever I have a free moment. I have a free moment right now. After this post, I will shower, fill the birdfeeders, tackle that honey-do list, and eventually go to work. In between projects and customers (a deceptive term), I will glean information. I try to segregate topics and totally ignore others. I try to read every post in topics of interest. Along the way, I work the above list.
Hopefully this helps. I suspect it was rhetorical. Most people are not as obsessed as me to actually want an answer to such a question.
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln
Enough with the navel gazing about post counts, long-windedness and other folderol. Can we keep the focus on Anish and her attempt, please?
The more miles, the merrier!
NH4K: 21/48; N.E.4K: 25/67; NEHH: 28/100; Northeast 4K: 27/115; AT: 124/2191
Ya. I'm sorry for derailing an otherwise awesome thread
The thread has circled the bowl a few times and it really is about the superhumandrivenfemaleultrahikingmonsterknownasani sh.
Stay focused.
cotd_email_1430404369_00025.jpg
How about Anish's pictures on Facebook. She looks like a ghost in the clingmans dome photos. Only a few more days.
oh brother.
I don't know- the one from 9/12 at 4:06AM?
I am watching for the finish with a flourish of envy.
There is a rawness and a wonder to life. Pursue it. Hunt for it. Sell out to get it.
Your goal is not to live long; it’s to live.
I was lucky enough to meet Anish on the first day of this long walk she's on.
I didn't realize what she was up to then and she didn't mention it.
She took time to talk to me on her way down Katahdin. (I still had a lot of "up" walking left before I could start back down…she was quick!)
She seemed like a classy person.
Can you imagine if some of these athletes got together and started at the same time and actually had a real race….from either Katahdin or Springer.
That would be something I would enjoy following in my spare time!
Stumpknocker
Appalachian Trail is 35.9% complete.
Can you post the date?
Nah Sly…I figured she would have posted it on Facebook if she wanted it known.
I'm not on Facebook, so I was kind of surprised when I heard the date wasn't posted there.
Stumpknocker
Appalachian Trail is 35.9% complete.
Seems silly since it's 50+ days later and won't change a thing but ... your call.
IMO, except for her chocolate bar sponsor placement ads, the "secrecy" makes this hike Anish's and Anish's only. Contrary to past attempts, any record almost seems meaningless.
Which past attempts?
This record specifically-
Ward- casually mentioned his record in an interview x? years after it happened. Never shared a trip report...
Matt Kirk- no facebook, crappy camera phone- sent short video updates to a friend who delayed posting them on Matt's wiki site.
Joey Camps- sporadic blogposts and facebook posts.
Scott Williamson- no updates, ever. (That I am aware of) Rare, and generally brief trip reports.
As a fella who is somewhat directly involved in cleaning up the fallout from Jurek's "full transparency" effort I'd think you'd appreciate a hike like Anish's.
While I can appreciate the argument that she has to involve her sponsors and any animosity towards that; I sure as hell would pay that price if it meant being able to hike full time. I admire those that find a way to do what they love.
It's really only the past 5 years or so that the technology (if you choose to adopt it) existed to make any meaningful updates possible.
But look at someone like Karl Meltzer, who went full circus route and came to the realization it took something away from his hike and said never again.
It is certainly in my memory and hiking life that I recall developing film weeks later and once every week or two payphone calls...
Or even before the internet when a blurb in a magazine, a book, or slideshow tour was how we learned of big adventures.
I'm not sure where the outdoors community as a whole has lost that perspective. Even if we have to artificially re-create it by limiting our electronic connection, isn't that one reason most of us go? Even if it's an illusion, there is still something powerful to me about simply being "out there".
Even an FKT- your only burden is to prove you did it. Pictures and an eventual spot track is plenty of technology for me.
Hell, I'd rather wait for a trip report, magazine article, or book.
In the hangover of the Jurek hike, I think we should encourage more hikes like this; if nothing else because the lower profile is respectful of those who think the whole concept is disrespectful to the trail as a whole.
Succinct as I can.
Big change compared to the ATC (harpers) photo... she looked rather unchanged in that one I thought.
Though she did have that one post about weight loss that got PF in a tizzy.
Those pics bring back painful memories.
Watching the finish with a flourish of gratitude... That I'm no longer starving. Go Anish!
Props to you Mr. Kirk. You did something that no one had done before. Opinions are like ass****s. You did something very amazing, and there are only a very few people in the world who have accomplished what you have. Those few, are the only ones who can have a valid comment on your accomplishment. The rest of us are just armchair quarterbacks, spewing hot air.
“Every path but your own is the path of fate. Keep on your own track, then.” Thoreau.
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