I've posted some similar questions over with the folks at Fastest Known Time, but apparently that forum doesn't see as much action as here, but none the less, I'm looking at attempting an unsupported speed hike on the Colorado Trail this summer and have some general questions to alleviate the inevitable comparisons and discrepancies. The current unsupported record is held by Paul Pomeroy at 14D9H30M set in 2006. By unsupported I am looking at carrying all of my food supplies along the way and having zero support of any sort. Just a few questions to pose to you all.

1. Does any one have Paul's contact info? I can't seem to turn up anything on the cyberweb.
2. I believe the CT has been re-routed in a few places since 06'. Should I follow Paul's route, or stick to the current CT route (if there are indeed differences)?
3. Is it inherent that I travel in the same direction?
4. What would be the best (and lightest) way for verification purposes? It seems like Spot is the standard. Are there lighter and cheaper options?

This will be my first speed attempt on a hike and my first priority is doing it for personal reasons, but if I can compare apples to apples as much as possible then I would like to make those considerations.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Edited by porkpie73 on 01/15/2012 22:52:36 MST.

1. don't know

2. depends on you and what you're trying to do/say with your accomplishment, many routes claim variations,

3. in my view no, unless one direction has a clear advantage over the other, then it would be two separate records.

4. the Spot is merely the most recent and currently preferred verification technique.
if the trail has enough activity to allow frequent human contact, that would serve as adequate verification. pass out a small card with your email address that asks them to email you, stating the details of your encounter. have them email any photo they may take of you. of course this could slow you down a tad if you are the talkative type.

Edited by asandh on 01/16/2012 15:16:01 MST.

1) Paul lives in Lyons, Colorado. You could try the phone book.
2) My feeling is that one should follow the current official route.
Note the differences in your trip report. Is the current route longer
or shorter? You could contact the Colo Trail Foundation to find out
what changes have happened since 2006.
3) Either direction is OK. There will be a directional record and an
overall record. Best comparison with Paul would be to go the same
direction he did.
4) SPOT would be great. GPS track would work - set your GPS to record
every few minutes so that you can store enough track points to cover
the whole trip, and make sure you have enough batteries. Some people
have handed out pre-printed cards to other hikers they met along the
way asking them to email verification of the meeting (place & time).
Announce your intentions & make your itinerary public before you go,
take pictures, write a report as soon as you finish.
5) Paul hiked with a "vow of silence", but I don't think that's a
necessary parameter to beat his record!

PB http://fastestknowntime.proboards.com/