Pursuing the Fastest Known Time

By Tyler "Future Dad" Socash

IG: @tylerhikes

Using my trekking poles as makeshift crutches, I hobbled up the winding road towards Fontana Village.  Five days and 164 miles into the Appalachian Trail journey, I was already experiencing excruciating pain.  Three separate cars stopped to offer me a ride, but I had to refuse.  No hitches, no trail magic, no cutting corners, these are the main tenants of a self-supported thru-hike.  Finding that the General Store had closed only minutes before my arrival, I cursed the trail gods.  Moments later I collapsed into a hotel room bathtub.  Hot water pouring over me, I clutched my inflamed knees.  How did it come to this?  What am I doing here?  What's the meaning of life?...

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If you are new to this Calendar Year blog, you'll find some of these answers in my first post.  It involves a tangerine Subaru CrossTrek, quitting a job that I loved, and attempting to complete three thru-hikes in one year.  The blog reads like an unfolding story.  It's a story about pursuing your authentic self.  I love three things: wilderness, wildlife, and wanderlust.  Turns out that hiking satiates all of them at once.  Hiking also happens to be the cheapest way to have a long holiday (which is important when you're unemployed).  I believe in unabashedly pursuing what you love.  What follows is all about actualizing a passion.

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"Remote for detachment, narrow for chosen company, winding for leisure, lonely for contemplation, it beckons not merely north and south, but upward to the body, mind, and soul of man." - Harold Allen

The Appalachian Trail was conceived in 1921 by Benton MacKaye.  He envisioned a footpath along the crest of the Appalachian Mountains stretching from Georgia to Maine.  In 1937, this visionary had his dream fulfilled.  And what a beautiful dream it was!  When I set foot atop Springer Mountain in Georgia to begin the final thru-hike of my Calendar Year, a plaque read, "A Footpath for Those who seek Fellowship with the Wilderness." Perfect, this is exactly what I want.

Let's rewind for a second.  Flying back from my Te Araroa trip was very relaxing.  Cruising at high altitudes in a tube in the sky is in itself, an oddity.  During my San Francisco to JFK leg I had a window seat.  I could see the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge connecting to Oakland, I-80 stretching suburb to suburb to Sacramento.  I recalled in my post entitled The Two Towers that I could see this city light pollution from the Pacific Crest Trail.  Pretty soon I flew over the PCT and Lake Tahoe.  Face pressed against the window, I stared down at the snowy mountain ranges of Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming.  I could see the Wind River Range and the Great Basin, which is where the Continental Divide Trail traverses.  

At nightfall you begin to notice something disturbing with your 30,000ft perspective: urban sprawl.  The United States of America was nearly 100% wilderness 400 years ago.  Now we have roads everywhere.  Roads fragment ecosystems, as do dams, shopping malls, and suburbs.  We need some of these things in society, but perhaps we are a bit imbalanced with the natural world now.  Next time you fly at night, look at what has happened to America.  As I've said before, only 2.7% of the contiguous 48 States has wilderness classification.  More fracking, drilling, and development isn't making America great again.  It's actually destroying our natural world.  I try to picture myself as a red fox or a black bear when I look down at the impossible sea of lights from an airplane.  How would I get from one place to another safely?  Where would I find food in this cesspool of civilization?  Where is my place in this human-centric world?

On the Appalachian Trail, there is hope.  It traverses 14 states, 8 national forests, 2 National Parks, and 25 wilderness areas.  This trail is more than just a footpath to Maine — it's a wildlife refuge.  Before my plane landed, I wondered what the Appalachian Trail would look like on the ground.  From the air it looked like a bunch of lights.  Would I find fellowship with what's left of the East Coast's wild side?

The day before I started the Appalachian Trail I got to see the coast from above. Following a short intermission at home, my plane left Albany, New York (thanks for the ride to the airport, Nikki!) and flew down the Hudson River.  I could spot the 3,500-foot mountains of the Catskills, I flew over Harriman State Park and the Appalachian Trail, and then I saw the never ending metropolis sprawl.  Concrete, asphalt, suburbia.  No section of the Atlantic Coast, save the Outer Banks of North Carolina, appeared undeveloped from above.  Yikes.  Vote to protect our remaining wild spaces, everyone.  

Take action by signing a quick petition to save a newly-purchased piece of New York State as wilderness: www.bewildnewyork.org

If you know of another petition to save a wild space, contact me and I'll feature it in my next blog post.

Landing in Atlanta, I was fortunate enough to get an Olympic relay-style ride to the Amicalola Falls trailhead.  Mackenzie Smith took me through the endless Atlanta rush hour traffic to Rome, GA.  Then my old colleague Adrienne Amador took me for a quick resupply run and drove through the night to get me to my destination.  Without their help, this story wouldn't have started so perfectly...

Fastest Known Time (FKT) - Heather "Anish" Anderson set the fastest self-supported thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail last year with a time of 54 days 7 hours and 48 minutes.  Anish also holds the Pacific Crest Trail self-supported record.  She is my idol.  For clarity, it is important to note that Scott Jurek holds the supported AT record (just over 46 days).

Thru-hike - Hiking from Point A to Point B with a continuous, unbroken footpath.

Self-Supported - A thru-hike completed without external assistance.  No hitch-hiking to town for resupplies, no help from a support team along the way, and you must carry all of the gear that you'll need.  I won't even touch Trail Magic left for hikers along the trail.

Purist thru-hike - Hiking a trail in a continuous manner along the entirety of the official route.

White Blazing - The Appalachian Trail is marked with white paint blazes along the 2,189-mile journey.

I am attempting to set a new self-supported FKT on the Appalachian Trail this year.  I will be a meticulous purist, connecting my footsteps along the entire AT demarcated by white blazes.  Whenever I deviate from the trail to retrieve water or provisions, I will ensure that I reconnect my continuous footpath on the actual Appalachian Trail.  

My slight OCD will prove to be quite an asset in this ambitious endeavor!  Below you will find journal entries with each day's highlights.  I have been "calendaring" daily for over 12.5 years, which is a testament to willpower.  I will channel that level of OCD into my purist, self-supported thru-hike.  Here we go...

(Note: to save time, the rest of this post may contain grammatical errors and incomplete sentences.  These entries are fragments of a much larger story, which will be told at a later date.  I hope you can appreciate the shorthand, raw recording aspect of this endeavor.

Furthermore, I can substantiate these distances traveled with a private GPS tracking device.  Other AT 2016 hikers that I meet along the way will be able to add anecdotal tales of this honest FKT attempt.)

4/28 - A Forest Ranger unlocked the Amicalola Falls Visitor Center for me so I could sign the hiker register that morning.  My pack weighed in at 31 pounds (eek!).  The ranger took my picture beneath the Springer Approach Trail arch, and I was off!

8.8 miles later, I stood atop Springer Mountain.  I signed the summit register, at started the Appalachian Trail at precisely 11:11am on April 28, 2016.

 

 Departing from the AT's southern terminus.

My friend Jer from Te Araroa said, "It would be awesome if you made it to Neel's Gap in one day."  So that's what I set as my goal.  I went over Blood Mountain in the dark and arrived at the iconic boot-filled tree of Neel's Gap after 11pm.  31.7 miles complete.  

4/29 - Hiked over the Raven Cliff and Tray Mountain Wilderness areas.  Spotted Brasstown Bald (Georgia's highpoint) through the trees.  Camped just after Addis Gap on the side of the trail.  64.3 miles complete.

 

Flora of the AT in the Raven Cliff Wilderness

4/30 - Made it to North Carolina border in 2 days 1 hour and 1 minute.  Walked over Standing Indian Mountain.  Met Graham from Virginia Beach and hiked over Mt. Albert in the thunderstorm.  Made it to awesome Long Branch shelter soaked at 9pm. 102.5 miles complete.

 

5/1 - 11 hours and 30 minutes of hiking to NOC at 3mph.  Heroic but stupid.  (Starting to feel sore.) At Winding Stair Gap I took a wrong turn and missed the AT.  I turned around to retrace my steps, and then I walked the actual AT to maintain my purist white blaze thru-hike.  Amy at NOC made sure my pizza and burger were waiting.  Met Gritz and Fabulous and Rudolph. Gritz offered me a beer, but I had to refuse.  When I said that I walked here in less than 3.5 days he spun around and shouted, "Whhhhhaaaaattttt?!?!?  I've been out here for 3 weeks!"  Slept near the NOC.  137.1 miles complete.

 

5/2 - Hiked to Fontana Dam.  Cobwebs and morning birdsong. Met Ot-man and Rook and Fun Size.  Rough road walk.  Knees exploding.  Turned down 3 hitches. Wrong Way and Monte Cristo totally saved me from insanity when I discovered that the General Store just closed.  They were so friendly!  We talked about why there's a racial disparity in who participates in long-distance hiking.  We went out to dinner (with Phillip and Rocket Rick and Masa) and had a wonderful night together.  Sat in the shower.  Depressing.  I'm done. 164 miles complete.

 

With Wrong Way and Monte Cristo

5/3 - rested.  Dinner with Snow White, Don Juan, Rudolph, Fun Size.  Walked the road and 1.1 to Fontana Hilton shelter.  Met Sway and Breezy.  Monte Cristo and Wrong Way and Rook and Ot-man were there.  Knees inflamed. 165.6 miles complete. 

5/4 - Hiked into my 19th National Park!  Great Smoky Mountains NP.  Hiked up to the TN/NC border.  Nice views through the trees.  Summited my 9th high point, Tennessee's Clingman's Dome.  Got there in the dark.  Started to snow.  Camped in Mount Collins Shelter. 202.6 miles complete.

 

5/5 - hiked in the snow all day past Newfound Gap and all the way down to Davenport Gap Shelter.  The shelter before that was jam packed with people. I was voted off the island and hiked through the night to Davenport. 237 miles complete.

 

5/6 - Met Wallet from Virginia and Blue Sky from South Carolina.  Hiked to Standing Bear hostel.  Quaint place with an epic Resupply shed.  Hiked 30 more miles over Max's Patch to just outside of Hot Springs, NC. 270.5 miles complete.

5/7 - Hiked into hot springs and ate with Little Griz from Southern Illinois.  Walked by a pink trail magic sign.  Could not tempt myself so I didn't even go over to the hikertrash enjoying the free beer and food.  Firescald Bald and Tennessee city lights.  I made sure to take the white blaze trail instead of the bad weather blue blaze alternate.  Other night hikers!  Climbed over Big Butt Mt. at night.  303.8 miles complete.

 

5/8 - 42.6 miles hiked. Met Sparkles and had a wonderful conversation.  CT girl hiking with bf.  I don't have many long conversations out here!  Uncle Johnnies Hostel for a few minutes. Up 4 more miles at night.  346.4 miles complete.

5/9 - Hiked over Beauty Spot and Unaka and up the last 6,000 ft. Peak til NH, Roan mountain in the dark.  Hiked to Stan Murray Shelter.  382 miles complete.

5/10 - hiked 11.4 miles from 4am to 8:10am to get to Mountain Harbour B&B for the best breakfast on trail.  Met Grandma from Nashville TN and Wind Walker from Fairbanks AK who taught me stretches for the IT band.  Met Cinderella too who has a great trail name story along with a lady named Prince Charming. Met Rush who is going fast as well.  Really nice group of guys and gals today. Met Goner and Wooby and Walkman and Beast as well today.  Moreland Gap shelter 411.5 miles complete.

 

Along the Houston Ridge after Hump Mountain

5/11- walked pond mt wilderness. Met Diatom who I instantly recognized from the PCT!!!  I couldn't believe it!  We had such a great conversation at the Big Lake Youth Camp in Oregon last summer!  Wow!  Such great vibes from this guy!  Good luck Diatom! Met Shutterbug who is completing his Triple Crown.  Saw so many deer that night.  446.5 miles complete. 

5/12  - Woke up in a thunderstorm.  Shouldn't have cowboy camped.... hiked into Damascus and passed the passed out riff raff party animals.  Met Angie from Vasque who invited me to hang out with Sam Mix and the Osprey Team: Chris, Jason, Jen, Rosie, Otis, Andrew, Mackey and Tony.  Angie's friend Julie was there too.  They were all so wonderful and encouraging.  I had a nice evening and enjoyed the very beginning of the Trail Days festivities.  Met great people in town who hiked the trail last year like Fuzz Ball and Brightside and their two friends. Such nice people out here!!! 468.8 miles complete. 

5/13 - Lost mountain shelter lunch break.  Met John and John from NYC. Young John goes to the U of Richmond, what a great conversation!  Nice to see families out on the trail.  Buzzard Rocks was awesome.  Mount Rogers and Grayson Highlands ponies!  Feral ponies!!! So cool.  My knee started to act up again.  I've had bad pain in my left knee since the NOC and Fontana Village section.  506 miles complete.  

 

5/14 -  messaged my family saying my speed record attempt is over.  I moved like a slug.  My knee hurts so much.  At the Trempi Shelter I made the decision to push through the pain and get to the Partnership Shelter.  This shelter is famous for pizza and Chinese food deliveries.  As a self-supported hiker, I cannot indulge.  (I have to hike into all towns on my own to get the food I need.)  I meet Norway and Jesse's Girl and another section hiker.  532 miles complete.  

Hello from The Barn Restaurant off of I-81 in Virginia!  It is 5/15, and I'm 544 miles into my thru-hike.  It took me just under 17 days to get here.  (11:11am is my reference point.)

Things looked dire yesterday, but today is a new day!  The 25% marker of the Appalachian Trail is just ahead.  Sometimes I feel like I'm in a game of Mario Kart, always chasing the Anish ghost.  I'm traveling exactly 32 miles a day, while the record holder traveled just over 42 miles a day...  She's currently way out in front, but I'm happy.  The people along the AT have been so kind!  All of the other hikers have been radiating positivity out here, and I try to radiate that energy back.  

I try to be an exceptional steward of the land while walking everyday.  I pick up micro-trash accidentally discarded along the trail, I help brush in the switchbacks that people cut, and I practice Leave No Trace principles while recreating.  

The Appalachian Trail is beautiful.  It's such a great way to see and experience America.  Almost like a time warp, you can envision yourself in colonial times as you navigate the wonderful wilderness areas and National Forests along the way.  

More trail updates to come!  I'm going to try to pick up the pace soon.  Hopefully my knee is on the mend...  No matter what life throws at you, remember to stay wild.  

Following the White Blazes to Katahdin!