John Anderson AT through Shenandoah National Park

[matthew.d.kirk]

It's been quiet here so here's something to follow for the next day: https://www.strava.com/beacon/j8wrW23jcEh
Posted by John Andersen on https://fastestknowntime.com/route/t...tional-park-va :

I will be attempting a supported FKT of the AT through SNP on Friday October 18th, 2019 at 6:00pm. I will be starting at the AT trailhead parking on 522 in Front Royal and finishing at Rockfish Gap at the map/kiosk/parking area on the AT immediately south of the I-64 bridge. This route is 107.8 miles. I have 3 goals for this attempt:
1) Establish a "standard route" from 522 in the north to Rockfish Gap in the south. Regarding Rockfish Gap in the south, the AT leaves and reenters the SNP boundary several times between Jarmans Gap and Rockfish Gap, leaving Rockfish Gap as an obvious choice for a "complete" route through SNP. The kiosk just south of the I-64 bridge is a natural start/end point. Regarding 522 in the north, the AT officially leaves the SNP boundary at Possom's Rest Overlook, at which there is no parking or nearby road, it is just a spot on the AT. Someone starting or finishing their route would have to hike to/from this spot from either 522 or from the Compton Gap trail, so why not carry on north from this point a few miles through AT conservation land to the 522 trailhead so all northbound and southbound attempts have a consistent start/end point.
2) Matt Kirk's time of 23:20 is from Jarmans Gap to 522, 99.1 miles. Although I intend to go further, I aim to beat Matt's time to Jarmans Gap before any claim of an FKT is made.
3) Establish a record for most miles covered on the AT in 24 hours. Matt's 99.1 miles is currently the record as far as anyone seems to know. Although Matt did those miles in one calendar day, starting at midnight, I am simply going for "most AT miles/24 consecutive hours" and the pundits can establish the merits and faults of each
I will be crewed by Michael Dubova, Michelle Andersen, and David Horton and will record the attempt on my Suunto 9 GPS watch as well as on my phone using Strava Beacon. I will post a Strava Beacon file on my personal FB page tomorrow at the start, https://www.facebook.com/JohnAndersenCrozetVA. Happy Trails everyone, so excited to spend a day in my favorite park on my favorite trail!

Good luck to John! Here's a data sheet with some checkpoints to watch on the feed:
Mile | 4.492 | 4.243 mph
000.0 18:00 | 18:00 US522
019.1 22:15 | 22:30 Elkwallow Gap
027.7 00:10 | 00:30 US211
046.2 04:17 | 04:53 Big Meadows
062.3 07:52 | 08:41 US33
079.7 11:44 | 12:47 Loft Mtn
099.0 16:00 | 17:20 Jarman
107.8 18:00 | 19:24 Rockfish