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Father of the FKT – Buzz Burrell

The poster boy for Fastest Known Times is Kílian Jornet Burgada.

As I post, Kilian holds the fastest known time for the ascent and descent of Matterhorn, Mont Blanc, Denali and perhaps Everest.

But it’s  Buzz Burrell who really popularized the concept, co-founding fastestknowntime.com with Peter Bakwin and Jeff Schuler.

Buzz Burrell

Those three run the site on a voluntary basis.  And it’s a ton of work.

Buzz himself had been racing routes for decades. He set the FKT on the Colorado Trail in 1999.  The FKT on John Muir in 2000. 

This interview with Buzz will fill you with respect.  Buzz co-hosts his own audio show called the FKT Podcast. 

19. Charles Pitman – Summit County Search & Rescue – Out and Back

We kick off the first episode of our backcountry ski series as Shanty and Mary sit down with Colorado’s Summit County Search and Rescue mission coordinator, Charles Pitman. Tune in as Pitman enlightens us on what backcountry enthusiasts can do to stay safer this winter, including how to recognize and avoid avalanche danger in backcountry travel, what to do if you need help, and what you should put in your backpack to be prepared in case something goes wrong. Backcountry skiers, winter hikers, climbers, and snowmobilers will not want to miss this behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming snow season and what rescue professionals are doing to prepare for the busy season ahead. Plus, hear a few of Pitman’s most harrowing rescue stories!
  1. 19. Charles Pitman – Summit County Search & Rescue
  2. 18. Courtney Dauwalter (w/ co-host Abby Levene)
  3. 17. Buzz Burrell – "Father of the FKT"
  4. 16. Grizzly 399
  5. 15. Zach "Badger" Davis and The Trek (w/ co-host Real Hiking Viking)
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Barney (Scout) Mann’s Pacific Crest Trail book

In Journeys North, legendary trail angel, thru hiker, and former PCTA board chair Scout spins compelling tales of hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail in 2007 as they walk from Mexico to Canada.

That year terrible snow storms rocked the Canadian border starting the last days in September.

Barney (Scout) Mann hiked with wife Sandy (Frodo) Mann, and recounts fascinating stories of others they traveled alongside that season.

For me, Blazer was the most interesting.

The book is unusual.  Not your standard step-by-step trail journal.

Instead the time line jumps forward and back along the trail, using PCT anecdotes to illustrate bigger life lessons.

If asked to recommend just one book on the PCT, Journeys North would be it.  The best starting point for a hiker considering it. 

Other excellent and inspiring reads include:

Amazon

Barney Scout Mann has hiked the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide Trails. He has been board chair of the Pacific Crest Trail Association and is president of the Partnership for the National Trails System. Mann has been recognized with a Lowell Thomas Journalism Award and is the coauthor of The Pacific Crest Trail: Exploring America’s Wilderness Trail and author of The Continental Divide Trail: Exploring America’s Ridgeline Trail. He and his wife, Sandy, live in San Diego and have hosted more than 7,000 PCT hikers. Visit him online at BarneyScoutMann.com.

 

 

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super hiker Mary Cochenour

Tune in to this week’s episode of the Out and Back podcast as Mary tells a thrilling tale about her early days as a wilderness ranger in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Hear about her first night spent alone in the wilderness and what happened months later when she discovered that a man had been following her around the backcountry. …

Mary … is the Out and Back podcast producer and a writer and editor at Gaia GPS.

When she is not in the office, Mary works as a guide for Andrew Skurka Adventures in wild places around the west, like Rocky Mountain National Park, Yosemite, and the Brooks Range in Alaska. …

Click through to listen to the story online:

Solo Backpacking with a Stalker

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The American Perimeter Trail

Planned is a a 12,000-mile loop of existing trails, roads, and off-trail travel.

Something like this.

Rue McKenrick, a triple crown veteran, walked away from his home in Bend.  And is inventing the route as he goes along.

When COVID-19 hit, Rue kept hiking — but

“no longer resupplied in towns, relying on a 7 day resupply box which was sent to remote post offices. I utilized lesser known trails and continued up the east coast on the avoiding the popular, but closed Appalachian trail. …”

It’s a work in progress.

Click through for details:

americanperimetertrailproject.weebly.com

I learned of this project via the Out and Back podcast interview – episode 10 – Rue McKenrick and the American Perimeter Trail

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Andrew Skurka interview

Andrew Skurka is without question one of the most accomplished hikers in history.  A legend.

  • Alaska-Yukon Expedition (6 months, 4,700 miles),
  • Great Western Loop (7 months, 6,875 miles), and the
  • Sea-to-Sea Route (11 months, 7,775 miles).

He’s run a 2:28 marathon, as well.

The Ultimate Hiker’s Gear Guide: Tools & Tips to Hit the Trail, was published by National Geographic – over 125,000 copies sold.

Today he and his team lead people to exciting destinations, teaching skills along the way: planning, gear, fitness, food, navigation, responding to emergencies, etc.

In a recent podcast interview Andrew explains why he still prefers map and compass, using electronics as a back-up.  And you have to believe him since it was sponsored by the Gaia GPS app.

Click PLAY or listen to it clicking through via Twitter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Out There: A Voice from the Wild by Chris Townsend

Chris Townsend (born 1949) is the hiking author who’s influenced me most.

He’s written over 20 books, including Cicerone guidebooks,  and countless articles

I started with High Summer: Backpacking The Canadian Rockies (1989).

He’s most famous for The Backpacker’s Handbook.

But If you’ve never read Chris Townsend, I’d recommend you start with Out There: A Voice from the Wild. I recently read the Kindle edition while hiking on Vancouver Island.

Chris reflects back on the takeaways from all those trips.

Drawing from more than forty years of experience as an outdoorsman, and probably the world’s best known long distance walker who also writes, Chris Townsend describes the landscapes and wildlife, the walkers and climbers, and the authors who have influenced him in this lucid and beautiful book.

Writing from his home in the heart of the Cairngorms he discusses the wild, its importance to civilisation and how we cannot do without it.

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Meet hiker Kraig Adams

I’m following everything Kraig does.

His YouTube channel. His podcast.

Though young and fairly new to hiking, Kraig impresses me most with his videos.

His hike in Iceland last year, for example, has over 3.3 million views on YouTube.

Stark. Quiet. Elegant simplicity.

Instead of famed Laugavegur, he hiked remote Hornstrandir solo instead.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

One of his personal favourite hikes was Picos De Europa in Northern Spain.

I agree enjoy it immensely in 2009.  And got lost, as did Kraig.

Kraig had planned to do the PCT in 2020.  That was cancelled due to COVID-19.  Like many of us he’s coming up with alternative adventures legal and ethical.

Read a recent interview on hiiker.

 

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Trek to Kanchenjunga Base Camps

Kanchenjunga, the world’s 3rd highest mountain, is on the border of Nepal and India. It’s possible to hike starting from either nation though Sikkim, India is more popular.

Because of Kanchenjunga’s remote location very few trekkers make this trip compared with  other high Himalayan peaks.

Trevor and Emma run Cut Lunch Adventures based in Sydney, Australia.

Adventurers, the duo aspires to trek to the BASE CAMPS of all 14 8000m peaks.

South Base Camp (Oktang)

Here’s their 2018 trip report to both North and South Kanchenjunga Base Camps:

Nepal: Kanchenjunga Double Magic

 

Click PLAY or watch their video on YouTube. (29min)

Related – Cut Lunch is a good place to research WHERE around the world might want to hike.

For example, check the Himalaya trips they recommend.