Great effort Jeff.
Sounds as if there will be a "next time" for you.

Peter
Great analysis regarding the sleep issue.

Edited by asandh on 09/01/2009 18:09:31 MDT.

> One such adventure is laconically recounted by one Slavomir Rawicz in "The Long Walk".

However, ... the veracity of the book was challenged after it was published. I don't know either way.

As to how many copies he sold - a bit more than a few hundred imho. It does seem to have got a fair bit of international recognition and discussion. My copy was given to me in the mid-60s.

Cheers

Thanks Peter for posting the first report on Jeff's JMT attempt. I was able to convey it to Brett this morning.

Good work on the trail Jeff. Thanks for updating this thread so quickly afterward.

If all goes well, Brett will be starting his JMT attempt tonight. I will update the thread as soon as I hear from him again, which most probably would be from Reds Meadow.

Brett decided not to start yesterday night. He is now planning to start tonight.

Thanks, Jeff, for the quick recap. It looks like you had a good time, but sleep deprivation caught up with you. I slept even less. I think 3-5 solid hours a day is a ticket. There's also an idle time, before you go to bed and after you wake up. That needs to be taken into consideration too.

I'd also change shirts and gloves in the later stages for the fresh ones. Every time you move your arms or take a sip from the bottle, you get this sour whiff of dust, sweat, wet leather and spilled liquids.

How was Evolution crossing? You'll probably mention it in your report anyway.

Looking forward to the full report!

We need to start being called the JMT Vampires as we only come out on a full moon.

Great job Jeff.
I sure is hard breaking that 200 mile zone on such little sleep or more like the hardest 4th day you'll ever have on a trail.
Can't wait for a report. Hope your comatosed state of recovery is going well.

Aaron,

Don't want to freak you out, but vampires are active any night and every night. Werewolves are the beasties that only come out on a full moon.....you boys hairy, by any chance?

We sure are, Nate, you don't want to know.

I don't know what it is though, the moon or the moonshine. Both grow hair on your chest.

Brett was able to call today from Crater meadows. He started his hike Thursday 12:45AM from Whitney portal. He reached Crater meadows today, took a nap, and restarted the hike at 4:00 PM.

If all goes well, I will meet him tomorrow at Happy Isles trail. He or I will update once we get web access again.

Thanks for the update, Hareem!

Okay,
So what the above means is Brett left Crater Meadows, mile 162.2 in 63:15.
This is an average speed of 2.56 mph.

He just got some sleep with 60 miles to go and has 28:45 to do it in.
This means he only has to average 2.1 mph to get under the record.

Brett is flying!!!

Even if he averages only 2.25 mph, he will beat the record by over 2 hours.
This is over the supported record too, but Brett is doing this Unsupported.
The U/S record is 101 hours 25 mins.
Thanks for the update...

Edited by awsorensen on 09/06/2009 20:00:59 MDT.

I am writing from a motel where Brett's resting now. I met with him at the first bridge on the Happy Isle trail and walked to the terminus with him. He was emotional, delirious, and in pain. YAE!!! I will let him tell the final time :)

Awesome !

That is a tremendous accomplishment, I can't wait to read more about his run.

Wow!

CONGRATULATIONS!

Eagerly await the story...

Congratulations!!! Awesome accomplishment!!!
I can't wait to hear your story.

Just some quick stuff for now I still haven't slept.

First, thanks to all for the heartfelt advice given through this forum. They dramatically improved the probability of success (from 0!). Even if I didn't use someone's advice on the actual run, everything was still part of the learning process.

The times: I don't trust myself with math right now so I'll also give starting times.
I started thursday at 12:45 AM from portal and left the summit at 5AM.
I reached the trail marker sign today @ 2:58(~35 seconds) PM
So I think that makes:
time from portal: 3 days 14 hours 13 min
time from summit: 3 days 9 hours 58 min (IMHO real FKT JMT)

some other things:
Aaron--i think you mentioned the JMT cough in a previous posting. What is this disgusting yellow crap I'm coughing up? Should I be concerned? My knees are also 'very' tight and painful. I can't really walk at the moment.

As I suspected/feared, I think I burned up 'all' of my body fat at the end of the second day. Is this really bad? Funny I didn't examine the consequences of this beforehand.

Coincidentally, Ian was acclimating in the Whitney hut when I reached it!!! He was planning on starting an hour later--at 6 AM. Anyone hear anything?

The TR may take a while. I'll try to get it finished this week. I still need my car. Highway 120 is closed! :(

Brett

Great job Brett!

Can't wait to read your report. I hope you enjoy your well deserved rest.

Mark

Brett if you or your wife are still following posts...

120 is NOT completely closed..you CAN get to your car!

There is a detour set up, it's much longer, but do-able. Should be signs up. FWIW read on:

Hwy 140, west, out of park. Get onto 49 and go north. Switch to 120 east. You can then get back into and through the park all the way to the east. (These are directions posted on YNP website)

Good Luck, Rest up!

Congratulations!

Edited by kent on 09/07/2009 00:55:40 MDT.

I LOVE it! Some unknown kid comes out and puts his heart
and soul into this thing for the whole summer. His first
attempt he crashes & burns on Day 1, as everyone expects.
Learning his lessons, and steeling his resolve, he comes
back a month later and CRUSHES it in classic style.
Great job Brett! I look forward to the full report.
PB
(who now has the FOURTH fastest JMT time...)

Brett
Very amazing feat.
Still trying to rap my head around it.
Congratulations on a great job.