Joe "Stringbean" McConaughy brought the AT record to a new level. He hiked GA to ME in a remarkable 45d12h15m, July 17 - August 31, 2017, averaging 48 miles per day and beating Karl Meltzer's fully supported time by over 10 hours! Stringbean carried a SPOT tracker and typically sent several track points per day, though there were some "holes" in the track of up to 30 hours or so. To avoid unwanted "support", McConaughy kept his SPOT data private during the hike, but did share the real-time track with a few people, including the administrator of this site. His SPOT tracker data are now available here. He also posted daily updates via instagram.com, which were delayed by a couple of days to prevent people from tracking him down. His daily log is here. He posted the following from Katahdin:
Greetings from the top of Katahdin at 6:38pm where I was greeted by 70 mile winds, hail, rain, mist, endless boulder scrambles, @kekiracofe and josh.katzman. After a 37 hour push, i managed 110.8 miles straight to do what I had to do, more than I have run at once by almost 50 miles. I honestly don't know what to say. I'm am in shock and pain, joyful and thankful, humbled and tired, in disbelief and exhilaration. I will be forever perplexed and appreciative of what the wilderness brings out in myself and others. I hope anyone watching is at least inspired to become more involved in the outdoors. Every day has been a battle, but I am very thankful to be safe and have accomplished my dream ever since the PCT. I've had a lot of time in my own thoughts, and what I took away most from this journey is community. It is the people you love and who surround you who provide the greatest joy. It really took a village. I want to give a heartfelt thank you to my lovely girlfriend, Katie, my parents and the Katzmans who came to the start/finish, friends and family who I have HEAVILY leaned on, hikers, trail angels and the trail community who have given me everything from sloppy Joe's to an extra set of batteries to allow me to run through the night, @anishhikes and @meltzerkarl for pushing the FKT record, @efnorthamerica and @efcollegebreak for being an awesome company and letting me take time off work to pursue my dreams, to @heartbreakrunco, @brooksrunning, @palantepacks, @mountainlaureldesigns, and @cieleathletics to help me get here, and everyone who has followed or watched or commented. I've been brought to tears and laughter even though I may have never met you. Thank you all, Stringbean out. OOHYEAH! - Joe "Stringbean" McConaughy on completion of his FKT thru hike
gearjunkie.com had an early report on McConaughy's hike. McConaughy also has the supported FKT for the Pacific Crest Trail.