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  1. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by TNhiker View Post
    yeah.....
    i put together that spreadsheet back in 2003...
    Very cool. You've certainly helped hundreds of hikers then. Thank you! Elizabeth Etnier also has a free spreadsheet with the mileages available here: http://smokymountainshiking.com/ She also has an interesting spreadsheet ranking all the trails by Energy Mile Theory. As for accuracy, there seems to be less than a 1% discrepancy between the spreadsheets, which seems acceptable. It would certainly be advantageous to beat a preexisting record by a wider margin if at all possible.

    Update on Jeff:

    Elapsed time*: 8d, 11h, 3m
    Staged time: 2d, 20h, 53m
    Total miles**: 266.38
    New miles***: 224
    Projected total miles: 947.4
    Projected total days: 32
    Projected days (staged): 10.2
    *assumes same start time each day, based off Jeff's Strava
    **uses Jeff's GPS data, shown to err on shorter than actual mileage
    ***estimated from quick nightly tally of $1 park map mileage, unofficial

  2. #22
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    her book has helped a bunch of people who dont wanna spend a night in the Park....

    i took a different approach on it....

    and her book came out essentially when i was almost done mine so i had my last routes planned out...

  3. #23
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    Etnier's book is a convenient place to start if pondering a go at the GSMNP 900. I picked up a copy back around 2010. Nice to have a well-organized itinerary spelled out, even if it's over 100 miles longer than it need be (1,090).

    I haven't delved into her Energy Mile Theory (NRG) stuff, but it reminds me of a passage from a book I read years ago:

    My legs had been trained on miles, yet the maps I carried had a scale of kilometers. Most Chinese, however, used their own peculiar unit of distance- the li, a flexible measure which considers the nature of the terrain (as any sensible measurement for travel on foot should). The li is approximately one-third of a mile, though an uphill li is much less, and a downhill one much more.
    –William Lindesay, Alone on the Great Wall

    Also Tobler's hiking function: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobler...iking_function Interesting stuff, but hasn't been applied to my current itinerary.

    Maybe it should: according to my spreadsheet, GSMNP 900 routes collectively have an average climb of 222 ft/mile vs 212 ft/mile for the length of the Appalachian Trail.

  4. #24
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    Etnier's book is a convenient place to start if pondering a go at the GSMNP 900


    i found that the dollar map was the most convenient place for me to start my pondering......

    that and the brown book.......

    just opening that map and gazing at it for hours peaked my interest....

  5. #25
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    Matthew Kirk-thanks for such a thorough answer, it’s a treasure. But honestly I already knew all that, learned it years ago from the real Pros- Like you for example. My question was not how does one re-supply, but rather how is he resuppling? Over the years I’ve seen it done on a skeleton budget with the athlete sleeping in open bed of a pick up truck (total success) to having a large crew large RV multiple vehicles etc. (for the tenderFoots IMHO - ha!). Do you know the details on his crew/Resuppy method?

  6. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by TNhiker View Post
    i found that the dollar map was the most convenient place for me to start my pondering......
    Very true!

    Quote Originally Posted by treroach View Post
    Do you know the details on his crew/Resuppy method?
    Sorry, but it wasn't me responding to your earlier post. I don't personally know Jeff and can't view his FB page. From posts on FKT site and what I've learned from his Strava page: he's a local ultra runner (Knoxville), 8-time finisher of GSMNP 900, and he's working part time while attempting this FKT, which might explain his average daily moving time of less than 8 hours. I would bet he has friends/family helping shuttle him where necessary. Based on Strava, he's likely utilizing front country camping with vehicle access and time every day to go into nearby towns (or maybe even commute home) as needed. Hope that helps answer your question. Again, I don't know for sure.

    However, it seems like the faster pace may have caught up to him. From his latest Strava post (day 9):
    A bad day! Dealing with major pain above the ankle making it difficult to walk, hence the slow pace today. May have to take some day’s off and deal with this. Today: Bradley Fork, Chasteen Creek, Hughes Ridge, AT, Balsam Mtn, Beech Gap (to road only), Hyatt Ridge, Enloe Creek.
    Last edited by matthew.d.kirk; 08-01-2020 at 13:32.

  7. #27
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    Ha! On AT, in tent, mixed up HooKoo with MKirk! Seriously, one thing I’ve lost is my reading glasses... but not my mind as seems to be happening to so many these days! Thx to HKDK et al. So does anyone know how he’s re supplying?

  8. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by PatmanTN View Post
    How do they determine the most efficient route? I thought I saw that a University of Tennessee grad student had written a piece of code to calculate that but can't find the reference now. When I intentionally marked off the 900 the first time around I had to repeat and overlap a lot of it. I've done all the trails multiple times now but in separate trips and at my leisure. All in one go is a lot to conceptualize. Very cool.
    I was wondering that myself. It's kind of like mowing the yard. There are those spots that you have to go over again and again to get it all done.

    The postman algorithm looks useful.


    Recently I ran across an old black and white photo of myself on the big rock at the base of the trail to Clingman's Dome tower made about 1960. My parents said I wanted to check out the trails then. I may be working on the Longest Known Time to do the trails.

  9. #29
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    After a day off, Jeff is back at it:

    Elapsed time*: 10d, 7h, 49m
    Staged time: 3d, 4h, 42m
    Avg daily time 7h, 26m
    Avg daily miles 26.7
    Total miles**: 294.1
    New miles***: 246.6
    Projected total miles: 950.2
    Projected total days: 35.5
    Projected days (staged): 10.3
    *assumes same start time each day, based off Jeff's Strava
    **uses Jeff's GPS data, shown to err on shorter than actual mileage
    ***estimated from quick nightly tally of $1 park map mileage, unofficial

  10. #30
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    "Day 13 (Day 12 was a rest day)
    Pretty easy day. Pain level in the bum leg was down a few notches. Rich Mtn (out/back), Ace Gap, Beard Cane, Cooper Rd tr, Beard Cane, Goldmine Road tr."

    Elapsed time*: 12d, 5h, 54m
    Staged time: 3d, 10h, 35m
    Avg daily time 6h, 26m
    Avg daily miles 24.5
    Total miles**: 318.29
    New miles***: 265.6
    Projected total miles: 954.8
    Projected total days: 39
    Projected days (staged): 10.3
    *assumes same start time each day, based off Jeff's Strava
    **uses Jeff's GPS data, shown to err on shorter than actual mileage
    ***estimated from quick nightly tally of $1 park map mileage, unofficial

  11. #31
    GSMNP 900 Miler rmitchell's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by treroach View Post
    . So does anyone know how he’s re supplying?
    I'm under the impression that he's doing this all as day hikes.

    The is a facebook post copied from an article in the Nashville Tennessean that indicates that he is working at night after he hikes. Remotely I presume.

  12. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by rmitchell View Post
    I'm under the impression that he's doing this all as day hikes.
    The is a facebook post copied from an article in the Nashville Tennessean that indicates that he is working at night after he hikes. Remotely I presume.
    Thanks for the heads up on the article: https://www.tennessean.com/story/spo...rd/5566401002/

    His average pace thus far is 3.9 mph, which is a solid running pace IMHO. After about 545 miles running what I can, I'm at 3.5. Lowest mileage map completion is off the table but sounds like it never was in his cross-hairs. Despite his injury, he's still in good shape to nab both an overall and staged FKT.

  13. #33
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    Quote Originally Posted by matthew.d.kirk View Post
    His average pace thus far is 3.9 mph, which is a solid running pace IMHO.
    Just another update below. As pointed out to me by someone more familiar with Strava, I was reporting Jeff's moving time earlier, not his actual elapsed time on trail, which as posted in another thread here is a rather "rosy way" at looking at any kind of FKT data. I'm new to Strava, maybe someone can explain the rationale of posting moving time over elapsed time of route? Here's Jeff's progress (adjusted for elapsed time) through day 15, still looking good:

    Elapsed time*: 14d, 7h, 38m
    Staged time: 4d, 11h, 11m
    Avg daily time: 7h, 25m
    Avg daily miles: 25.3
    Avg pace (mph): 3.5
    Total miles**: 379.41
    New miles***: 319
    Projected total miles: 947.6
    Projected total days: 37.5
    Projected staged time: 11d, 3h, 41m
    *assumes same start time each day, based off Jeff's elapsed time from Strava
    **uses Jeff's GPS data, shown to err on shorter than actual mileage
    ***estimated from quick nightly tally of $1 park map mileage, unofficial

  14. #34
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    Through day 20:
    Total time*: 19d, 8h, 40m
    Staged time: 6d, 10h, 35m
    Total miles: 503.39
    New miles**: 449.1
    Projected total miles at finish: 946.2
    Projected total time at finish: 36d, 9h, 24m
    Projected staged time at finish: 11d, 10h, 15m
    *uses Jeff's GPS data, shown to err on shorter than actual mileage
    **estimated from quick daily tally of $1 park map mileage, unofficial

  15. #35
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    Through day 25:
    Total time: 24d, 1h, 11m
    Staged time: 8d, 3h, 37m
    Total miles*: 663.13
    New miles**: 555.1
    Projected total miles at finish: 951.7
    Projected total time at finish: 34d, 12h, 21m
    Projected finish date: 8/27/2020
    Projected staged time at finish: 11d, 16h, 45m
    *uses Jeff's GPS data, shown to err on shorter than actual mileage
    **estimated from quick daily tally of $1 park map mileage, unofficial

  16. #36
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    Hola again matthew d Kirk - pretty sure I got the right person this time. I had the good fortune to meet Sundown on and around the AT recently, said I would pass along his good word to you here on WB... I think he’s doing every trail in the East this year and doing it right!

  17. #37
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    Quote Originally Posted by treroach View Post
    Hola again matthew d Kirk - pretty sure I got the right person this time. I had the good fortune to meet Sundown on and around the AT recently, said I would pass along his good word to you here on WB... I think he’s doing every trail in the East this year and doing it right!
    Thanks treroach! Good to hear Sundown is living it up

  18. #38
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    Through day 30:
    Total time: 29d, 13h, 58m
    Staged time: 10d, 4h, 50m
    Total miles*: 816.41
    New miles**: 683.93
    Projected total miles at finish: 951
    Projected total time at finish: 34d, 11h, 0m
    Projected finish date: 8/26/2020
    Projected staged time at finish: 11d, 21h, 12m
    *uses Jeff's GPS data, shown to err on shorter than actual mileage
    **estimated from quick daily tally of $1 park map mileage, unofficial

  19. #39
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    Tomorrow, 8/25 Jeff is on track to finish his GSMNP 900 FKT. Congrats to him (a bit early) for gutting it out!!! It's been fun (for me at least) tracking his progress and playing around with a few spreadsheet formulas to guess the outcome. I'll indulge myself once more and post some unofficial stats and a (sloppy) daily route map below. Having it all on one map and one spreadsheet is far easier to reference than strava IMHO, but I applaud his use of GPS and his transparency. Obviously still waiting for official finish times as he bags the last of the Le Conte and Sugarlands trails tomorrow... it looks roughly like 33.5 days about 10 days faster than Braden's 2017 record.
    Based on his anticipated concurrent staged FKT(?) of 11.5 days, Jeff was only on the trails 1/3 of the elapsed time?!? An impressive feat to be sure!
    JeffWoodyGSMNP900FKTmap.jpg
    Edited to update:
    Day Hour Min Miles* New** Total miles Total New Staged time***
    1 8 7 27.65 24.5 27.65 24.5 0d, 8h, 7m
    2 9 13 35.27 33.3 62.92 57.8 0d, 17h, 19m
    3 7 3 27 23.4 89.92 81.2 1d, 0h, 23m
    4 8 50 30.12 28.7 120.04 109.9 1d, 9h, 13m
    5 9 23 33.5 29.5 153.54 139.4 1d, 18h, 36m
    6 0 53 2.6 2.6 156.14 142 1d, 19h, 29m
    6 4 51 16.37 14.5 172.51 156.5 2d, 0h, 19m
    6 0 43 2.4 1.2 174.91 157.7 2d, 1h, 2m
    6 1 50 6.6 3.3 181.51 161 2d, 2h, 53m
    6 1 29 4.6 2.3 186.11 163.3 2d, 4h, 22m
    7 2 25 7.57 6.5 193.68 169.8 2d, 6h, 46m
    7 0 18 1.52 1.5 195.2 171.3 2d, 7h, 4m
    7 2 32 9.13 8.8 204.33 180.1 2d, 9h, 37m
    8 6 46 24.9 18.6 229.23 198.7 2d, 16h, 23m
    9 12 30 36.67 26.1 265.9 224.8 3d, 4h, 53m
    10 0 0 0 0 265.9 224.8 3d, 4h, 53m
    11 8 50 27.72 22.6 293.62 247.4 3d, 13h, 43m
    12 0 0 0 0 293.62 247.4 3d, 13h, 43m
    13 6 22 24.19 19 317.81 266.4 3d, 20h, 4m
    14 8 42 34 31.3 351.81 297.7 4d, 4h, 46m
    15 7 32 26.61 23 378.42 320.7 4d, 12h, 18m
    16 11 1 38 32.8 416.42 353.5 4d, 23h, 20m
    17 2 24 8 4 424.42 357.5 5d, 1h, 43m
    17 6 51 21.53 20.5 445.95 378 5d, 8h, 35m
    18 6 2 21 20.2 466.95 398.2 5d, 14h, 37m
    19 5 28 16.04 14.1 482.99 412.3 5d, 20h, 5m
    19 5 45 21.01 15.6 504 427.9 6d, 1h, 50m
    20 8 40 28.85 22.3 532.85 450.2 6d, 10h, 30m
    21 9 31 31 26.2 563.85 476.4 6d, 20h, 1m
    22 1 46 5.73 3.1 569.58 479.5 6d, 21h, 47m
    22 8 13 27.49 26.7 597.07 506.2 7d, 6h, 0m
    23 6 53 22 17.4 619.07 523.6 7d, 12h, 53m
    23 1 42 4.95 4.1 624.02 527.7 7d, 14h, 35m
    24 11 46 35 26.7 659.02 554.4 8d, 2h, 20m
    25 1 11 3.6 1.8 662.62 556.2 8d, 3h, 31m
    25 0 54 2.3 2.3 664.92 558.5 8d, 4h, 25m
    26 7 27 22.36 18.8 687.28 577.3 8d, 11h, 52m
    27 6 35 22.5 22.4 709.78 599.7 8d, 18h, 27m
    28 11 16 36.34 34.9 746.12 634.6 9d, 5h, 44m
    28 0 6 0.33 0.33 746.45 634.93 9d, 5h, 49m
    29 8 57 29.33 22.5 775.78 657.43 9d, 14h, 46m
    30 13 58 40.12 26.5 815.9 683.93 10d, 4h, 44m
    31 4 11 15.24 12.6 831.14 696.53 10d, 8h, 55m
    31 2 22 7.71 7.1 838.85 703.63 10d, 11h, 17m
    31 2 2 7 2.9 845.85 706.53 10d, 13h, 19m
    32 6 6 19 16.6 864.85 723.13 10d, 19h, 25m
    32 3 8 13 11.5 877.85 734.63 10d, 22h, 34m
    33 1 15 4.62 2.3 882.47 736.93 10d, 23h, 48m
    33 5 46 21.28 21.8 903.75 758.73 11d, 5h, 34m
    34 5 40 18.84 17.8 922.59 776.53 11d, 11h, 15m
    34 0 44 1.7 1.7 924.29 778.23 11d, 11h, 59m
    *uses Strava GPS unless corrected by Jeff's texts, shorter than actual
    **estimated from $1 park map, omissions likely, Porters Cr closed
    ***uses Strava elapsed time rounded down to nearest minute
    Last edited by matthew.d.kirk; 08-25-2020 at 19:32.

  20. #40
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    Reconciled mileage courtesy of Jeff.
    Day Total Miles New Miles Elapsed Time Staged Time
    1 28.8 25.7 0d, 8h, 7m 0d, 8h, 7m
    2 66.1 60.9 1d, 9h, 14m 0d, 17h, 19m
    3 93.2 86 2d, 8h, 12m 1d, 0h, 23m
    4 124.6 116 3d, 8h, 56m 1d, 9h, 13m
    5 158 143.4 4d, 10h, 14m 1d, 18h, 36m
    6 190.2 168.2 5d, 11h, 56m 2d, 4h, 23m
    7 209.5 186.6 6d, 9h, 6m 2d, 9h, 38m
    8 234.4 205 7d, 7h, 46m 2d, 16h, 25m
    9 272.1 231.4 8d, 12h, 11m 3d, 4h, 55m
    10 272.1 231.4 9d, 4h, 5m 3d, 4h, 55m
    11 301.8 255.8 10d, 4h, 50m 3d, 13h, 44m
    12 301.8 255.8 10d, 20h, 44m 3d, 13h, 44m
    13 327 275.8 11d, 19h, 1m 3d, 20h, 6m
    14 361.3 307.7 12d, 19h, 38m 4d, 4h, 48m
    15 389.2 331.1 13d, 19h, 4m 4d, 12h, 21m
    16 427.2 363.6 14d, 22h, 0m 4d, 23h, 21m
    17 457.6 389 15d, 23h, 9m 5d, 8h, 37m
    18 479.3 409.6 16d, 21h, 6m 5d, 14h, 38m
    19 518.1 441.1 18d, 0h, 13m 6d, 1h, 52m
    20 548.6 464.2 19d, 0h, 48m 6d, 10h, 32m
    21 580.1 489.2 20d, 2h, 13m 6d, 20h, 3m
    22 615.7 519.1 21d, 4h, 7m 7d, 6h, 2m
    23 643 540.9 22d, 4h, 36m 7d, 14h, 37m
    24 678.4 568.3 23d, 8h, 17m 8d, 2h, 22m
    25 684.5 572.6 24d, 2h, 16m 8d, 4h, 28m
    26 706.8 591.2 25d, 1h, 38m 8d, 11h, 54m
    27 729.2 613.6 26d, 0h, 8m 8d, 18h, 30m
    28 767.6 649 27d, 3h, 24m 9d, 5h, 52m
    29 797.8 671.6 28d, 4h, 16m 9d, 14h, 48m
    30 839.5 698.6 29d, 10h, 8m 10d, 4h, 47m
    31 872 721.4 30d, 10h, 38m 10d, 13h, 22m
    32 905.4 749.8 31d, 11h, 46m 10d, 22h, 36m
    33 933 773.9 32d, 10h, 42m 11d, 5h, 36m
    34 954 794 33d, 9h, 0m 11d, 12h, 0m
    Notes: Trails closed (or taken off map by 900MC) and unavailable: Scott Mountain (3.5), Cooper Creek (0.5), Porters Creek (2.7)

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