2017 FKT Plans: The Current Record

Three Fingered Jack (Day 42)
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If I were really organized, I would have posted this a week ago on the "day without women" because it is an amazing story about a woman who has been a game-changer in the hiking world.

Mount Jefferson (Day 43)
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Heather Anderson, who is also called "Anish" on the trail, was just another unknown hiker on the trail until the summer of 2013 when she set the current unsupported record time on the PCT, beating the legendary Scott Williamson by about 5 days! I won't go into the details more than that. Instead, I will direct you to a source that narrates the feat better than I ever could. Read her amazing story here!

Ramona Falls (Day 44)
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Since breaking the record on the PCT, Heather has hiked record times on two other trails, including the Appalachian Trail! She is the first in history to do that! This is all the more impressive when you consider the demographics of people doing things like this. There is definitely a "macho" crowd of primarily guys on the trail who hike major miles and don't mind telling you all about it... and some girl came up and quite simply hiked harder than them because she wanted it more. It makes me smile to think about it.

Cascade Locks (Day 45)
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So I want to tip my hat to my current trail hero, Anish:

Anish,

You are an inspiration to me and countless other people! Keep on hiking your own hike. I am gonna try really hard to beat your record. If I fail, I will be disappointed but glad to have pushed myself as far as I can go like you did. If I succeed, I will have all the more admiration and respect for you, having experienced many of the same things. Thanks for really pushing yourself to the limit. I find that inspiring. In fact, I do not know if I would have attempted this without hearing your story, so no matter what happens, you get a bit of the credit!

P.S. If I do have this kind of hike in me, I will try to take the record from the runners too... us thru-hikers deserve the overall FKT! ;-)

Sincerely,

Me

Blue Lake in Indian Heaven (Day 46)
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