That is pretty odd. Almost like she is photoshopped into the photo with a flipped image of the sign photo.
GANC.jpg
That is pretty odd. Almost like she is photoshopped into the photo with a flipped image of the sign photo.
GANC.jpg
Follow slogoen on Instagram.
That was my thought as well. If someone was going to spend the effort photoshopping something like this, I'm sure they would make certain to have the background correctly oriented.
I have no doubt she hiked a large portion of the trail, and after a yo-yo she probably has some amazing stories to share. It's just a shame she chose this one...HYOH...
“He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature.” –Socrates
Reached out on FB directly but...
Here's what I see- though don't have a data book to confirm.
September 4th- Billie Beartrap reports giving Kaiha a ride from Swift Run Gap to Waynesboro
September 4th- Stanimal reports a 4 pm arrival at Waynesboro Hostel
September 5th- Stanimal reports dropping Kaiha at Rockfish Gap early AM.
Reached out on FB- Stanimal replied, "She got a ride into the hostel so I'm not sure where she was picked up be it swift run or Rockfish Gap. All I know is that she stayed the night on the 4th and I took her to Rockfish Gap at 6 am on the 5th from the hostel."
Swift run Gap is 1282.3 miles in.
The hike for our lives FB page has pics tagged as 9/4 at 8:11 pm- though likely that is the date/time stamp of upload- not the actual.
kaiha 3.jpgkaiha 4.jpg
]
No data book but something popped on a quick search showing 1273.3 from Katahdin at Bearface Shelter. Regardless of timestamp she clearly then would have spent the night there or at least stopped by a fire before heading south towards Swift Run Gap.
If so- that means Sept 3 evening she was only uptrail of Swift Run Gap by 9 miles. With 45.5 remaining to Rockfish Gap for a total of 54.5 which roughly matches the "53 miler" comment she likely made to Stanimals.
1-The most likely scenario is that she crashed at Bearface shelter, hiked the 9 to Swift run, spent the afternoon and evening at the hostel (skipping the 45.5 miles) and then continued on from there and told Stanimals she had a "53" the day before.
2-If you were to ignore the 4pm arrival and hitch from Swift Run Gap- it could have been conceivable that she covered the distance from bearface to rockfish and then got a ride to the hostel if she hiked further or part of the evening. An overnighter would have fit her style there I suppose.
For that (outlandish) scenario to work-
Bearface to Swift Run Gap would have happened early in the morning- maybe a hitch into town for a meal. Then an as yet unreported hitch back to swift run gap and hitch/departure from Rockfish to arrive at the hostel.
So if Billie Beartrap can confirm or provide a time that he picked her up- one or the other scenario can be proved out.
Last edited by Just Bill; 09-21-2016 at 11:28.
Before her attempt at the FKT, she hiked from VA south to Springer. Once she reached Springer, she flipped up to VA and continued north to Andover, ME. She then skipped the 250 miles to Katahdin. Once at Katahdin, she started her FKT south.
I'm curious as to why she yellow blazed the last part of Maine? Also, she would've had far more noteriety doing a YoYo hike in one season than a speed hike. The average hiker can have a better grasp on how awesome that is compared to trying to understand how hard a speed hike is.
Maybe she was setting a thru hitching record. From the photos posted she's usually refreshed like after having spent a zero at a hostel, cleaned up with clean clothes and near an interstate. I don't think a young solo female would have trouble hitching a ride. She probably did some hiking to the well known sites on the AT but this sounds like a way to hitch home stay at some places she liked along the way and try and get gullible people to give her more money before she has to return to the real world.
it is interesting to have watched Karl's interview post hike describing how beat up he was and what he did in the little time he had off trail and to compare them to these tales. Maybe she can get a book deal like the NY Times reporter if enough people fall for it.
The more holes that get poked in this story the more I think about all the little details that the people who break this record and their crews have to do at the end of each day to be successful.
Just sent a PM to Billie.
But you are correct on the noon ish arrival- that alone likely discounts any possibility of her pulling of that section in that timeframe.
So she only has:
Evening on the 3rd at Bearface to a noon arrival in Waynesboro to cover 54 ish miles with a sidetrip to town only 9 miles into it with Billie in there for good measure.
Can someone verify the Bearface Shelter location?
Unless Billie somehow picked her up way early in the morning- it is inconceivable that she hiked the 45 miles of trail from Swift Run to Rockfish.
Photo location aside, this simply does not portray the gaunt features of someone who has done the claimed mileage in record-shattering time. And nor does the photo from Rockfish Gap — zero definition in the leg muscles, quads, vastus or calves.
Her picture is definitely of Bearfence Mountain Hut (or Shelter) at 1273.3.
There was a photo of her posted at the beginning of her SOBO in there someplace- where she looks a bit bigger.
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=...2o0&ajaxhist=0
This is Heather (with Snorkel) at Aldha West just 36 hours after her finish- looking generally full of face in my opinion.
All her photos are a bit wildly different really- she looked rail thin at the halfway photo she took- but in pretty good shape just a short bit later at her ATC photo.
That said- not a horrible disagreement with that argument-
But trying to make any real meaningful point when discussing her looks or appearance (or the aforementioned topless photos) is pointless.
If she is right- it's petty.
If she's lying- it feeds into her narrative that she is being dismissed for superficial reasons.
"So I walk like I'm on a mission
'cause that's the way I groove
I got more and more to do
I got less and less to prove
It took me too long to realize
That I don't take good pictures
'cause I have the kind of beauty
That moves"
Ani DiFranco- "Evolve"
Csmoulder- wasn't picking on you either... just seized on your post regarding the appearance comments posted by many.
Last edited by Just Bill; 09-21-2016 at 12:13.
If you're going for a record, use a GPS or some other means to readily document your attempt. That's not to say she's lying. Rather, don't be surprised at the skepticism if you don't have these evidences in place. You can rent a Spot and have Trackleaders track you.
So according to some posts here she didn't get the self supported record because of a hitch. Does that mean the average thru hiker is "Supported"?
It would be interesting to see how many shelter registers she signed.
It's not purely a case of appearance Just Bill, but rather physiology and the basic human response to prolonged demanding physical stress. Adaptation is the key element, and adaptation to this sort of stress is without question observed outwardly. FWIW, I studied exercise physiology (specifically responses and gender differences as they relate) at uni and beyond, and I could throw out plenty of examples, but what's the point? The rest of her body lies just as much as her mouth does. In this case we can judge on appearance, because the feat she professes to have accomplished isn't your average one.
Her cellphone bill would probably be interesting.
Interesting that at every scenic spot there was someone she trusted to take that topless picture..or perhaps she carried a tripod too.
Last edited by MuddyWaters; 09-21-2016 at 13:13.