Long Path FKT Day One
Miles: 46.17
Total: 46.17
Tired Day & Heavy Pack
Tired: It was a tough start to the trail, which is to be expected. I spent a lot of the morning worrying about not getting enough sleep and should have taken a caffeine gummy earlier. I only managed to sleep from 3 AM to 5 AM because I couldn’t sleep on the train, which took a toll on me. By noon, I started feeling a bit better despite the lack of sleep, but I’m concerned about how this will affect me as the trail progresses. I reached camp around 11 PM and hope to get about four hours of sleep before starting again.
Looking back, I wish I had slept in until 6 or 7 AM to avoid starting the trail in a sleep deficit. At the beginning, it felt nearly impossible to get energized, and I should have considered the impact of sleep deprivation from the start.
Tomorrow should be better since it’s a non-elevation day, but we’ll see how it goes. Time for some jambalaya and then to get some rest.
Pack Issues: My pack is quite heavy, and my left shoulder is really hurting. It weighs 30 pounds, but since it uses vest straps, it’s not designed for more than 20 pounds comfortably. It works well under 20 pounds, but anything over that becomes quite cumbersome. Despite having a lot of hiking experience with this pack, 16 hours with 30 pounds is taking its toll on my shoulders.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Long Path Unsupported FKT day 2
Mils:44.7
Total: 90.88
The lack of sleep is really hitting me hard. For the first 5 hours of the day, all I could focus on was how exhausted I felt. I took a quick 10-minute dirt nap, which was refreshing, but the benefits didn’t last long.
I made it to Mine Kill State Park, but the trail was a challenge. I tripped on barbed wire twice where it hadn’t been properly cleared. On one occasion, it hyperextended my knee and scared me that I might have injured myself, but luckily, I managed to get through without serious harm.
To make matters worse, there were sections where the trail was just a series of blazes in the woods without an actual path. I’m hoping that as I reach more traveled areas, the trail will be better defined. Following these blazes in the dark has been mentally and physically draining, as I need to use a higher brightness on my headlamp, which drains the battery faster—a situation I’d like to avoid.
I ended the day 1.5 miles short of where I intended to be due to the slow progress with bushwhacking and trail finding.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Long Path Unsupported FKT Day 3
Miles: 28.4
Total: 119.28
I’ve officially fallen behind the Supported FKT Pace. Today, lack of sleep really caught up with me, so I took an unexpected 1-hour nap in the afternoon to combat the exhaustion. Although it revived me for a while, the second half of the day proved to be much tougher than I anticipated.
After my initial 10 miles, I faced an 18-mile segment through the Windham-Blackhead Range Wilderness. I didn’t research this part well enough and was caught off guard by the incredibly challenging trail. There were steep, scrambling sections that slowed my pace to just 2 miles per hour. By the time I reached North Lake Campground, it was already 7:30 PM.
I had chosen a poor sleeping bag for the conditions and knew it would rain. To avoid being soaked and having a rough night’s sleep, I decided to stop early at 7:30 PM instead of hiking further.
This decision set me back about 18 miles from my original goal, and I doubt I’ll be able to catch up to the original pace.
In hindsight, I should have brought my 35-degree sleeping bag. I opted for a Sea to Summit liner bag because I thought the weather, which was supposed to be in the 60s with a few 50s days, wouldn’t be too cold. However, this liner bag offers minimal insulation and felt much colder on a wet day. Worrying about staying warm in camp was far from ideal, but my gear choice left me with no other option.
The lesson here is clear: I need to bring a sleeping bag that keeps me warm through the night. This is my fourth FKT attempt, and I’ve only brought the right bag once because I’m always trying to save weight. I’ve learned that sleep insulation is one area where I can’t cut corners if I want a good night’s rest.
Lastly, since I knew I was falling behind and only packed a limited amount of food, I skipped dinner tonight and just ate some extra snacks.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Long Path Unsupported FKT Day 4
Miles: 30.2
Total: 149.48
This is the first time in my long hiking history that I’m voice-dictating this note to save time while on the trail. I usually write these updates in camp, but since I’m pushing hard today, I figured this would help me speed up my process and get to sleep faster.
It’s about 10:20 PM right now. I estimate I’ll reach camp in about 10 minutes and hope to eat, inflate my sleeping pad, and be asleep by 11. That would give me around four hours of sleep.
The weather tomorrow should be great, and I want to make the most of it. I woke up today at around 5 AM and was slow to get moving due to the rain. Since there won’t be any rain tomorrow, I need to take full advantage of it. Friday is expected to be rainy all day, and tomorrow will likely be the most challenging day elevation-wise that remains, similar to today.
Today, I officially entered the Catskills, and wow, they are tough. Yesterday’s steep trails were a good preview, but the Catskills are even more challenging due to their height. Despite taking minimal breaks, I only covered 30 miles in about 17 hours of hiking. In these mountains, every mile is a battle, and carrying a 24-pound pack only makes it tougher.
At one point, I slightly twisted my ankle, which made things even more difficult. I had to be very careful while moving, trying to go quickly without risking further injury.
I’m not thriled that tomorrow will be as hard as today, but at least the weather should be good. That’s a silver lining.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Long Path Unsupported FKT Day 5
Miles: 29.1
Total: 178.58
For the first time on this trail (besides day one), I'm feeling good!
You might wonder why I’m in good spirits. Despite getting drenched by rain and my feet feeling like mashed potatoes, I’m finally starting to feel like I’ve got this FKT attempt under control.
Looking at my original plan, every day was supposed to be 45 miles, but these last "two days" had around 10,000 feet of elevation gain each. I knew this section would be extremely challenging, but I didn’t fully appreciate how tough it would be. I was too focused on the mileage and didn’t consider enough the elevation gain and trail difficulty.
A 1,000-foot elevation gain can vary in difficulty—it can be easy, hard, or very challenging. The climbs in the Catskills are nearly always steep and require scrambling. On top of that, Hurricane Debbie brought torrential rain, making many parts of the trail feel like walking through shin-deep puddles. This made a 45-mile day impossible and even my near-30-mile effort was very tough.
I ended up camping at the Bouton Memorial Lean-to again at 7:30 PM, instead of pushing further. I couldn’t handle another day of being wet and shivering in camp. The lean-to has three walls, so as long as the wind doesn’t come from the wrong direction, I should stay reasonably warm. I wish I had brought my 35-degree bag; it would have allowed me to camp anywhere and stay warmer. I should have done more research and planned my gear better. I’m disappointed in stopping so early, but at least I’ll be semi-warm tonight and protected from the elements.
Technically, I haven’t finished "day 4" of my route yet; I still have 7 miles left. However, since the trail should start to level out now, I can push harder today.
Tomorrow, I'll be dealing with more rain from the hurricane. It doesn’t bother me much because I plan to sleep in a bit and cover as many miles as I can, adjusting my food intake accordingly.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Long Path Unsupported FKT Day 6
Miles: 32.9
Total: 211.48
You never really know how these FKTs will go until you’re deep into them.
Right now, I’m in a distinctly “not killer” mentality. I started at 9:30 AM and finished around 10:00 PM, despite not being completely exhausted, which is usually my signal to call it a day on FKTs.
There are a few reasons for my lack of drive on this hike:
- This is the first time I haven’t had to "beat anyone," so my motivation has been harder to find.
- The weather has really worn me down.
- My sleeping bag isn’t keeping me warm at night.
Despite the rain, today was about 30 percent easier than yesterday, which makes me feel a bit foolish for sleeping in so long.
It’s tough to gauge the rain accurately when you’re in a shelter. The sound of rain on the tin roof makes it seem worse than it might actually be. Every time I woke up, I almost immediately went back to sleep. When I finally started walking at 9:30 AM, I realized that most of the noise was just residual rain falling off the trees, and the actual rain at that moment was minimal. Still, it was raining earlier, so maybe sleeping in was the right choice.
The one bright spot of the day was that, after the first 5 miles, the trail was mostly flat, allowing me to make good progress. Despite feeling confident I could hit 40 miles, I crashed on the side of the trail as soon as the sun.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Long Path Unsupported FKT Day 7
Miles: 39
Total: 250.48
*Path note: during this day I took South road instead of the trail because it is a suggested route when the water is too high, and after all of the rain.....The trail was covered in water.
Just recovering from my feet throbbing, which is a typical issue when you push too far. On the bright side, they weren’t soaked all day, which is a win.
Today was my first dry day on the trail. Technically, it rained until about three in the morning, but since I didn’t have to walk in the rain at any point today, I’m counting it as a dry day.
There are so many factors beyond your control during an FKT, but weather is one of the biggest. I've had terrible luck with it on this trail. Whenever the forecast said "it might rain," it did. And when it said "it will rain," it poured. If not for the weather, I’d probably be at least 15 miles further along. Choosing the wrong sleeping bag has also forced me to let the weather dictate where I camp.
I treated this trip like a sprint in my mind, but I should have packed for what I wanted to handle over eight days, not just what I could manage for eight days.
For example, I made a fire to warm my food instead of cold-soaking, which I could tolerate for a short time but not for extended periods.
I’m going to sleep now and plan to wake up early.
Lastly, my pack rash was really irritating today. Towards the end of the day I was just keeping my upper body completely still as I tried to mitigate the pain. This worked to minimal effect
I’m not looking forward to dealing with it for the last two days. My plan is to tackle a 50-mile day and a 55-mile day, hoping it won’t be too much of a struggle.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Long Path Unsupported FKT Day 8
Miles: 49.7
Total: 300.18
*Path Note: I had to detour off the rail trail at some points because the trail was closed.
Today can be split into two sections:
Section 1: 25ish Miles - Road & Rail Trails
It was a long day, mostly flat for the first 25 miles. While I initially moved quickly, averaging over 3 miles per hour, an ingrown toenail on my left foot made it painful to walk, which slowed me down. Additionally, there was almost no water on the trail, which I hadn’t anticipated. Despite making good time, I was extremely thirsty throughout the hike.
Sectin 2: 25ish Miles - Trail and Herriman
Once I reached Herriman, the lead I had built up in the morning started to disappear as fatigue and challenging trail conditions slowed me down. I began to worry that I might not finish the final 105 miles in 2 days. To stay on pace and keep myself awake, I started jogging, which I typically avoid during FKTs to prevent injury. But given that I’m nearing the end, the risk seemed worth the extra sleep.
Just one more tough day of pain to go.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Long Path Unsupported FKT Day 9
Miles: 54
Total: 354.18
Nothing can be good in this life.
I worked so fucking hard to make it to this bridge over the past two day. I slept three hours total and covered 104 miles only to show up to a locked gate at 12:20 at night.
Today was one of the most goal oriented hiking days Ive ever had. Its hard to conceptualize when you see a hill/mountain/landmark in the distance and know that you will be moving on foot all the way to it. 10 miles into the day I could see the NYC skyline from a shelter I took a quick break at as I tried to drain some pressure from my toe. Fortunatley some fluid came out which made it manageable (but not great) to push off of.
Even though I knew the skyline was only 42 miles away from me, it seemed impossible that somehow I would make it all the way there on foot.
In order to put up as competitive as a time as i could (i kept jog walking as much as I could) and so in 54 miles i only sat down at mile 11, 26, 40 and 48.
The jog walking was working perfectly until about mile 30 where my left food which had the ingrown toe and pressure started to feel numb and tingly. I had problems with compartment syndrome on the final day of the SB6K hike and I think it was due to the same problem. In both trails for different reasons because I wasnt pushing off using my big toe the ball of my foot kept hitting the ground first causeing my nerves to not like the sensation until it got numb. In this trail I am lucky i was so close to the finsh that I could just walk it out and prevent some serious pain that I had at the end of SB6K.
With about 6 miles left I was dead tired and flirting with the idea of sleeping "just a little bit" which is a lie i knew i was telling myself. I knew if I slept i would be adding at least 2 hours and since I folded so many time before because of weather I decided I was going to do whatever I needed to fnisht today.
To combat with the numb toes I put both shoe insoles in my left foot (one went in upside down so it fit "alright) and started to jog. Then the song "Holding out for a hero" came up on my run playlist and I played that song for the remaining one and a half hourse. That song made me feel so good and was inspiring me to push on at the end of my 4th longest day ever.
Turns out I was only doing 14 minute miles, but after 50 miles, i think 14 minute miles are respectable.
when i got to the GW bridgeafter all that work, all that pain at 12:15 AM turned out to be for no reason as the gate was locked. I called the number on the bridge and asked "is the bridge closed to pedestrians at night" and the Bridge worker said "yes" I took this as my cue that sometimes its just not meant to be and camped in a VERY SKETCHY AREA right next to the bridge wating for the gate to be unlocked at 6AM
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Long Path Unsupported FKT Day 10*ish
Miles: 1.6
Total: 355.78
At 6 AM, as the worker unlocked the gate, I explained that I had to camp there because the gate was locked when I arrived. He said, "If you had told us you were locked out, someone would have opened the gate. This is not a safe area."
In my mind, I was fuming.
Why lock the gate if it could still be crossed? When I called last night, the person I spoke to made it seem like pedestrians couldn’t cross at midnight, so I waited until morning.
This gate issue added about 6 hours to my time, causing me to fall short of my C goal for the hike:
A Goal: Finish in less than 7 days and 8 hours (Supported FKT Pace)
B Goal: Finish in less than 8 days and 9 hours (Self-Supported FKT Pace)
C Goal: Finish in less than 9 days
There are so many “what ifs” and “could have beens” on this trail. Honestly, I shouldn't dwell on the gate situation. If someone beats my FKT, I hope they finish faster than 8 days and 20 hours so that this lock fiasco isn’t seen as the main reason for my time.
Overall, I’m pleased with my FKT time. I’m not ecstatic, but completing such a long and challenging trail with everything on my back is an accomplishment I’m proud of.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------