Edge of Appalachia Buckeye Trail Section (OH)

Submitted by 13golda on Fri, 04/16/2021 - 09:09am
Description

The Edge of Appalachia nature preserve spans 20,000 acres in Southern Ohio. Like the name suggests, this region of Ohio sees a dramatic shift in landscape as the Midwest borders Appalachia. A new (as of 2019) section of the Buckeye Trail moved almost 16 miles of Ohio's Buckeye Trail that had previously been on roads onto brand new singletrack. This route is ~50k out and back on that new section of beautiful trail. Like the rest of the Buckeye Trail, it is marked with blue blazes. The start/finish point has a small parking lot with bathrooms at 3223 Waggoner Riffle Rd.

Episode 133: Ben Thompson - Why was the coolest FKT in New England Flagged?

Category
Person-Person

The FKT scene in New England has always been very competitive - rather than inventing obscure new route they go faster on the existing lines.  The Presidential Traverse is the marquee route - new fastest times often are better than the previous by less than 2 minutes!

"People now will train specifically for a route, then do a full taper; the FKT is their race, not an extra thing they do on the side."

So why did Ben try the Presi in winter conditions?

Mafadi (South Africa)

Submitted by Louis le Grange on Fri, 04/16/2021 - 12:30am
Description

The route entails starting at any EKZN office and going to the highest point in South Africa, Mafadi, which is situated at an altitude of 3451 meters above sea level.  The timer starts and stops when you are at the EKZN mountain register.  The route entails using the northern high approach via Corner Pass up towards Mafadi, tagging the highest point, and returning via the same route.  There are other route options available, but the described one is the fastest to date.