College student Andrew Bentz set the unsupported FKT for the JMT at 3d10h59m40s (from Whitney Portal to Happy Isles) on August 26-29, 2014. Bentz had completed the JMT multiple times, including a 5d2h effort the previous year, and had recently come off a PCT thru-hike of 93 days. He beat Brett Maune's unsupported FKT by 3h13m. His report is here.
I'd like to eat food now. That was crazy. -- Andrew Bentz, moments after finishing his unsupported JMT FKT hike
Andrew's dad, Scott Bentz, gave some updates during the run:
My son, Andrew Bentz is in the last leg of his attempt to beat the existing unsupported record set by Brett Maune. Currently he is between Reds Meadow and Island Pass.
I dropped him off at the Portal on Monday night, August 25. I left about 7:30 and he went down by the river to take a nap before getting on the trail.
I got a ping on his Spot at 12:10 which I assume was when he got on the trail. We had set his SPOT to give locations every 30 mins. and when I got up at about 3:30 am I noticed there were no other traces left. We had upgraded the Firmware that day and something was not working. He got a call out when he was at the summit of Whitney and he also knew it was not working. So, he said he has taken pictures at every pass on his Go Pro. I would imagine there is some sort of time stamp.
The next ping we got was at his first stop. He rested for an hour just past the Charlotte Lake turn off before Glenn Pass. The next ping was when he finished the night on the other side of Mather Pass. Whitney, Forester, Glen, Pinchot and Mather all in one day.
The next time we heard from him was when he took a break in Evolution Valley probably around McClure Meadow.The last ping we got was from about 1.5 miles before Vermillion Lake below Silver Pass.
His batteries are low (they were brand new) and I think it may have something to do with why the unit is not working. He just finished the PCT a week ago, hiking it in 90 days with a friend, and they used the SPOT the whole time. We still don't know what is happening.
I got a call from him on his cell somewhere below Mammoth Mountain and he said he would be in Reds Meadow at about 2:00 this afternoon, so I assume he is well on his way to Island Pass and Donahue.
He plans on getting in at 12:00 noon tomorrow IF ALL GOES WELL. We shall see.
I am on my way to Mammoth right now and then over Tioga and into the Valley to hopefully meet him tomorrow.
I will keep this thread updated when I know anything.
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I was sitting just past the bridge when he came into sight. He called me last night at 2:38 am as he was getting close to Tuolumne. I was at a friends house in Mammoth. I figured I needed to be at my spot before 10:00 am just to be sure, however, I figured it would have been after 11:00 am. He showed up before 11:00 and said his knee was real bad but had to keep going. I think he got to the sign at about 10:57 and said he wanted to get to the road before 11:00. His watch said 10:59:40.
Andrew was pretty beat up. We walked across the street and sat down below the bridge. Lost a toe nail, bad blisters, etc.
He'll give a report later on. We just got home and I am sure he won't be able to do anything as he is soaking his feet and eating pizza.
He said it was brutal.
Here are some splits for Andrew's hike, calculated by Allen Currano:
Whitney 3:52
Forester 9:50
Mile 40 13:00 (1 hr rest about 1 mile below Glen)
Glen ~14:30?
Pinchot 19:33
Mather 23:30 (3 hrs rest)
Muir 34:39
Mclure Meadows 37:00 (1 hr rest)
Selden 43:27
Mono Pass Trail Junction ~48 hrs (6 hrs rest – overslept by 3 hrs)
Silver 55:33
Vivian Lake? 64:00
Donahue 70:28
Bridge near Tuolumne 75:00 (2 hrs rest)
Happy Isles 82:59
Total Moving Time: ~70 hrs
Total Rest Time: ~13 hrs
Avg moving speed: 3.16mph (221 miles in 70 hrs)