WhiteBlaze Pages 2024
A Complete Appalachian Trail Guidebook.
AVAILABLE NOW. $4 for interactive PDF(smartphone version)
Read more here WhiteBlaze Pages Store

Results 1 to 17 of 17
  1. #1

    Default Enola man attempts to shatter Appalachian Trail record - Carlisle Sentinel


    Enola man attempts to shatter Appalachian Trail record
    Carlisle Sentinel
    That's what Matthew Huffman will be chasing when he embarks on a bold endeavor to "not break but shatter" the Appalachian Trail speed record. The 25-year-old Enola resident plans to depart from the trail's northernmost point in Mt. Katahdin, Maine, ...



    More...

  2. #2

    Default

    Wonder if he knows a) Katahdin will be closed on Nov 10, so he wont be able to go up; b) 60 miles a day in winter, meaning snow in the Whites. Can anybody spell rescue?
    "Take another road to another place,disappear without a trace..." --Jimmy Buffet

  3. #3

    Default

    Just reading his gear list makes me wonder if this guy really has a clue as to what he is in for. A Coleman backpack? MRE's? PVC rain gear? No Fleece listed? 32 lb pack for a speed record? And this:

    "Mount Washington used to have the highest record wind speed of anywhere on the planet," Sickley said of the highest point in the northeastern United States. "There's the potential for some really bad weather, but the greatest challenge now is that the network of support services that exists for hikers tends to be skewed to the northbound [hikers]," he said.

    No, the greatest challenge will be the weather!
    "Take another road to another place,disappear without a trace..." --Jimmy Buffet

  4. #4
    Registered User
    Join Date
    04-01-2006
    Location
    Bastion, VA
    Age
    60
    Posts
    3,603
    Images
    125

    Default

    Job gone, girlfriend gone. Winter speed hike on AT with I think most here would agree inadequet gear for time of year. Not to mention Big K closed. Makes me wonder if it's suicide attempt via wilderness? Presidentials alone have killed better prepared hikers in the summer months. I have hiked the whites in the winter. They demand respect. 60 mpd is a challange in the summer. Add just 12' of fresh snow...short days... There is snow starting to accumulate now. If he intends to "Shatter" the speed record he will have no window for bad weather. He made his choice but worry about SAR people who lives may be endangered trying to rescue him or recover his body. When I did Woofer training at Pinkham Notch years ago I got to meet a person involved with a rescue there that became famous. Two people died during SAR in avalanch. Goodspeed if he can pull this off but I'm just worried about prople around him.

  5. #5
    GA-ME 2011
    Join Date
    03-17-2007
    Location
    Baltimore, MD
    Age
    66
    Posts
    3,069
    Images
    9

    Default

    "...but the greatest challenge now is that the network of support services that exists for hikers tends to be skewed to the northbound [hikers],"

    Wonder what kind of support services he expects the trail will provide?

    "...he will only receive two food drops, courtesy of his younger brother, 22-year-old Adam Huffman - the first in Shippensburg and the second in Harpers Ferry, W.Va."

    Only 2 food drops, what's he gonna eat the rest of the trip?



  6. #6
    Registered User
    Join Date
    04-01-2006
    Location
    Bastion, VA
    Age
    60
    Posts
    3,603
    Images
    125

    Default

    Nuts & berries he finds along the trail & fish he will catch in the streams. Got that para cord & decent sized knife. Maybe he will make a spear & do some hunting too. Hec he is tuff he went threw navy boot camp (No put down on Navy. I respect you guys) I'm sure his wilderness training there taught him to survive.

  7. #7
    1,630 miles and counting earlyriser26's Avatar
    Join Date
    07-12-2005
    Location
    Maidens, VA
    Age
    67
    Posts
    1,007
    Images
    7

    Default

    50/50 Either he never starts or Monson is the end of his hike. Then again, I doubt he could even make it to Monson.
    There are so many miles and so many mountains between here and there that it is hardly worth thinking about

  8. #8

    Join Date
    07-18-2010
    Location
    island park,ny
    Age
    66
    Posts
    11,909
    Images
    218

    Default

    headline reads:"speed hiker loses snowshoe at abol campground, goes home."

  9. #9
    Registered User clsvideo's Avatar
    Join Date
    10-15-2011
    Location
    Gainesville, Florida, United States
    Age
    47
    Posts
    96

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by hikerboy57 View Post
    headline reads:"speed hiker loses snowshoe at abol campground, goes home."
    Don't think I saw a snowshoe on his pack list.

  10. #10

    Join Date
    07-18-2010
    Location
    island park,ny
    Age
    66
    Posts
    11,909
    Images
    218

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by clsvideo View Post
    Don't think I saw a snowshoe on his pack list.
    exactly!current mt washington conditions
    25.5°F
    64.9 mph
    288° (W)
    72.5 mph
    3.1°F
    Tuesday 8:00 AM
    :

  11. #11
    Registered User 4eyedbuzzard's Avatar
    Join Date
    01-02-2007
    Location
    DFW, TX / Northern NH
    Age
    67
    Posts
    8,143
    Images
    27

    Default

    FWIW, you can climb Katahdin in winter. http://www.baxterstateparkauthority....terPolicy.html
    "That's the thing about possum innards - they's just as good the second day." - Jed Clampett

  12. #12
    Registered User
    Join Date
    01-28-2008
    Location
    Spokane, WA
    Age
    71
    Posts
    4,907

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by hikerboy57 View Post
    exactly!current mt washington conditions
    25.5°F
    64.9 mph
    288° (W)
    72.5 mph
    3.1°F
    Tuesday 8:00 AM

    :
    Not an issue. He won't be getting that far.
    "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss

  13. #13

    Default

    I usually don't bother reading the speed hike articles but I'm glad I checked this out.

    This dude is going to have sooo much fun!

    How many monkey butlers will there be?

    One at first. But he'll train others.

  14. #14
    Springer to Elk Park, NC/Andover to Katahdin
    Join Date
    01-04-2006
    Location
    Northport, Alabama
    Age
    76
    Posts
    1,363
    Images
    14

    Default

    Good thing he was in the navy, the Kennebec will be closed.
    I am not young enough to know everything.

  15. #15
    Registered User silverscuba22's Avatar
    Join Date
    08-25-2011
    Location
    Denton, Texas
    Age
    43
    Posts
    84
    Images
    24

    Default

    Im willing to bet you he saw JPD in backpacker or some other hiking mag and was like " if a girl can do 47 miles a day i know i can do 60". guy has no idea what he is in for.

  16. #16
    Registered User
    Join Date
    10-19-2010
    Location
    Pensacola
    Age
    58
    Posts
    761
    Images
    17

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by SouthMark View Post
    Good thing he was in the navy, the Kennebec will be closed.
    If he waits long enough, he won't need the ferry as it may be frozen over. That'll be fun!
    The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not "Eureka!" but "That's funny..." Isaac Asimov

    Veni, Vidi, Velcro. I came, I saw, I stuck around.

  17. #17

    Join Date
    07-18-2010
    Location
    island park,ny
    Age
    66
    Posts
    11,909
    Images
    218

    Default

    he can do it if he yellow blazes the whole way.

++ New Posts ++

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •