I started this unsupported FKT attempt on April 25, 2025 at 6:24 am. I was carrying 6,000 calories of food/day, a sleeping bag, a couple of layers, five pairs of socks, iodine tablets for water treatment, and a few other odds and ends. My plan was to sleep no more than a few hours per night, so I had no tent. In case of rain overnight, I intended to walk instead of sleep.
The walk went mostly as planned. My daily mileage was 58.15, 50.31, 52.82, 46.35, and 28.61. Achieving this mileage was harder than expected and required me to sleep even less than intended. I slept 2.5 hours on night 1, 1.5 hours on night 2, 0:55 minutes on night 3, and 60 minutes on night 4. This is because frequent water crossings put my feet in tremendous pain, so I walked much slower than expected.
The frequency of water crossings was by far the biggest challenge I faced on this trip. They were too frequent for my feet to dry out in between, and to achieve the FKT, taking time to dry out my feet was not an option. Even though I had five pairs of socks, humidity prevented them from drying out to be rotated through. This meant I had wet feet the entire trip, which caused huge blisters unlike any I have experienced before.
Another major uncertainty was the crossing of Courtois Creek, five miles from the terminus. High water can make this stream impassable, and I didn't know what water levels would be. It started raining two hours before I reached the creek, which made me very nervous. I was prepared to swim across if necessary, but not if that would put me in danger. When I arrived at the creek the water was high but passable. I packaged all of my gear inside my pack and crossed without having to swim. The water depth was to my armpits (I'm 5'10"), but I kept my feet planted and did not have to swim.
I removed over 100 ticks from my legs over the duration of the trip.
Despite the challenges, I had a great time and enjoyed learning what I am capable of. I learned how to suppress pain, confirmed that I can function on minimal sleep, and experienced almost total solitude for 4.39 days (I only encountered two other groups hiking the trail).
If I were to do this again, I would make the attempt in the fall when water levels tend to be lower and dry feet would be more achievable.
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NOTE: This report is partial in the interest of submitting ASAP after completion. It will be updated once videos and blog-posts from the trip are generated.