FKT: Peter Hogg, Nathan Broom - Adventure Hiking Trail (IN) - 2026-03-14

What's better than one loop of the Adventure Hiking Trail? Two loops! Maybe, maybe not. The jury might still be out on that one. I can say that the route is fantastic with great scenery. It also provides a significant challenge. This was the goal when I reached out to Nathan inquiring about getting together for a longer run sometime this winter/spring. I had been struggling with motivation while coming back from an injury. I wanted to get out and do something beyond my current fitness to challenge myself. I wasn't able to motivate myself to do this on my own. Nathan didn't hesitate and communicated his interest. Initially, I think we were both picturing a 20-30mi run together. Through some process I don't quite understand we quickly settled on attempting the FKT for two loops of the AHT.  We both did one long training run and about a month from the time we initially spoke, we were setting out together on the AHT. 

We planned for a self-supported effort and wanted to decrease how much we would have to carry . We parked one car at the lollipop stick end with supplies. We dropped water and food at the second Old Forest rd crossing. Then we drove across the park to start at Cold Friday rd. We ran clockwise. This gave us sections of around 12mi, 5mi, and 8mi between our stops. We started at 5:15am with the temperature in the mid-30s under a clear starry sky. The temperature rose to the low 60s and we had mostly sunny skies. We certainly couldn't blame the weather for anything. Somewhere between 1-2 hours, I spotted eyes reflecting our headlights in the dark. The animal was moving and actually approached us cautiously. I finally got a good look at the entire animal when my headlight illuminated its body as it crept under a tree towards us. I was surprised to see that it was a bobcat. The bobcat's curiosity seemed to fade instantly upon closer inspection of us, and it silently and gracefully disappeared. Not long after this, we crested a ridge to see a red crescent moon. It was certainly a good start to this endeavour. 

We reached our first stop just as the sun was rising. My legs were more fatigued than I hoped but all was going well. The sun came up and we were able to enjoy the beautiful views as we continued around the first loop. We finished the first lap in 5:25. We took some time to refuel. Despite trying to keep our stops short, I think we routinely took 5min at each stop and 10min at the middle stop. It was still cool as we set out on the second loop. Our effort was increasing and our physical ability was fading. I started feeling nauseous here for a few hours. When we reached our next stop at around 38mi and 8.5hours I was predicting a pretty rough finish. I was correct.  But, considering our less than ideal physical preparation and the distance and terrain, I think we maintained a fairly respectable pace until the final 3 miles.  This was far better than I expected but that didn't make the last few miles any easier. Each stick, rock or patch of mud felt almost insurmountable.  But we were close and finishing was not in question. One small memory that I think summarizes our condition for the last few miles - on the last descent to the car, there was a pine tree across the trail that we had to duck our heads maybe 12in to get under cleanly. I hit my head and scratched my face while Nathan hooked his pack on a branch and had to back up to unhook himself. It was comical how neither of us managed to cleanly navigate a very minimal obstacle. However, neither of us fell the entire day. Looking back, this feels like quite the accomplishment.  

This trail is beautiful and challenging. The weather was spectacular. The day and goal were what I had hoped for. This was a challenging objective accomplished through cooperation. I had a fantastic day on the trail with Nathan. I think I can safely say that neither of us would have been there without the other. And I think both of us were very happy to be out there all day.  I'm extremely grateful for days like that.  There's certainly plenty of room to improve on our time. I would highly recommend this trail whether it's just a portion, the full loop, two loops, three?...