Route: Appalachian Trail (AT)

"I found things in the woods that I didn’t know I was looking for..." - Jennifer Pharr Davis
"The trail has a way of answering the questions you most need answered, even if you are afraid to ask." - Heather Anderson

ADMIN NOTE: This is a Premier Route - read the Guidelines.  You must announce your attempt in advance, and track your attempt diligently; live-tracking is strongly recommended for Premier Routes.

It has a solid history in the Fastest Known Time Of the Year Awards:

• 2016: Karl Meltzer, #3 Male
• 2017: Joe McConaughy, #1 Male
• 2018: Karel Sabbe, #1 Male

The Appalachian Trail (AT) runs 2,189 (in 2015) miles from Georgia to Maine. Along with the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail, it is one of the "Big 3" National Scenic Trails. Like many of these trails, the route has changed slightly over the years, and there has been a general tendency for the trail to become longer over time as reroutes are made to take the route off of roads.

Speed records on the AT are known going back to the first true thru-hike by Earl Shaffer in 124 days in 1948 (south to north). In 1960, Lochlen Gregory and Owen F. Allen completed the trail in 99 days (south to north), a time that was matched by Earl Shaffer in 1965 (north to south this time). Then, in 1970, Branley Owen dropped the AT record all the way down to 73 days, using good backpacker style which we call "self supported". Warren Doyle lowered the overall AT record to 66 days, supported at road crossings by his father during much of the hike. This supported style took hold after Doyle's accomplishment, and in 1978 John Avery shaved 9 hours off the FKT, hiking and running for 65 days, and receiving support throughout the trip. These trips established stylistic norms and also guidelines for FKT aspirants. These early FKTs were finally blown away by Ward Leonard's 60.5 thru-hike (self-supported) in 1990 (see below). [I am indebted to Jennifer Pharr Davis for this section. Her forthcoming book The Pursuit of Endurance has very much more detail on these early records and personalities.]

"Grandma" Emma Gatewood was the first woman to thru-hike the AT alone. Here is what Wikipedia says about Gatewood's first AT thru-hike: In 1955, at the age of 67, Gatewood told her children (who were by then adults) that she was going for a walk. They did not ask where or for how long, as they knew she was resilient and would take care of herself. About 5 years earlier, Gatewood read an article in National Geographic about the AT and thought "it would be a nice lark," though in retrospect considering the difficulty she added "It wasn't." The magazine gave her the impression of easy walks and clean cabins at the end of each day's walk. Thus she took little in the way of outdoor gear. She wore Keds sneakers and carried an army blanket, a raincoat, and a plastic shower curtain in a homemade denim bag slung over one shoulder. She would later say "For some fool reason, they always lead you right up over the biggest rock to the top of the biggest mountain they can find." A bestselling book about Gatewood was published in 2014.

My motto is, "Carry as little as possible. But choose that little with care." - Earl Shaffer, first AT thru-hiker

Most people today are pantywaist. Exercise is good for you. - Emma Gatewood, first solo female AT thru-hiker (1955)

"Every morning it's wonderful, every evening I want to quit." - Chris Bakwin (AT hiker, 2017)

Here's a rough timeline of speed trips.  (Women in italics.)

Note: In 2022 Kristian Morgan ran the second fastest AT FKT (NoBo) in 44 days, 4 hrs, 54 mins.

In 2012 PJ Wetzel did an out and back of the AT where he did out & back's section by section in 307d 9h 10m 10s

Seeks It's 2012 Appalachian Trail Journal : Part of Trail Journals' Backpacking and Hiking Journals

Heart and Sole: Appalachian Trail Journal (pjwetzel.com)

https://www.alltrails.com/members/pj-wetzel/recordings?b_tl_lat=43.36188414576296&b_tl_lng=-103.80155896546174&b_br_lat=23.53134411100703&b_br_lng=-55.405811034537436

Another AT record that has been pursued a few times is the most miles that can be run on the AT in 24 hours. In March 2004 Matt Kirk has run 99 miles through Shenandoah National Park, beating David Horton's previous record of 91 miles. Scott Brockmeier started the attempt with Matt, but was unable to complete the traverse.