Speed Records
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| Socks and shoes after 700 miles of hiking, time for new ones! |
There is no governing body that times people on
these types of record attempts. When it's all said and done, new
records are taken at face value from the individual, believing that the
honor system will prevail. Because of this, I kept a GPS tracking my
position for the entire length of my trip, as well as had other hikers
sign a witness log to add some proof to my claims. The website Fastest Known Time
is the best resource for finding out about specific records on a very
wide range of trails, mainly in the US. These records are not
necessarily verified by outside observers, and again, are mostly
believed on the persons word. Trust in the honor system.
There
are wide variety of records for the Pacific Crest Trail, because one can
hike from south to north (NOBO - north bound) or north to south (SOBO -
south bound) and either hike supported or unsupported. There are
varying definitions of supported and unsupported, however in general
supported mean that you carry a minimum of gear/supplies and other
people aid you on trail by giving you what you need, negating the need
for resupply in towns. Unsupported mean that no outside aid is given to
the hiker and they must carry all their needed supplies and resupply
themselves. Furthermore, there is the overall speed record - simply the
fastest time the
trail has been completed in any way shape or form, regardless of
direction or support.
The following are the current accepted PCT records as found on the FTK website (Link):
Overall Speed Record: 64 Days 11 Hours 19 Minutes - Scott Williamson (SOBO- 2011)
NOBO Speed Record: 65 Days 9 Hours 58 Minute - Scott Williamson & Adam Bradley (2009)
The only known recorded times for completing half the trail (midpoint) and all of California were recorded on Williamson and Bradley's 2009 NOBO record hike. Therefore, by default, these times became new records.
Mexico to Midpoint Record: 34 Days 18 Hours 47 Minutes - Williamson & Bradley (2009)
Mexico to CA/OR Border Record: 42 Days 18 Hours 27 Minutes - Williamson & Bradley (2009)
On
my 2012 speed hike, I managed to best both the Mexico to Midpoint and
Mexico to CA/OR border Records with the following times:
NEW Mexico to Midpoint Record: 30 Days 9 Hours 55 Minutes -Ryan Weidert (2012)
NEW Mexico to CA/OR Border Record: 38 Days 10 Hours 0 Minutes - Ryan Weidert (2012)
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| Tuna Helper resting at the PCT Midpoint after setting a new speed record to that point! |
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| Tuna Helper at the California/Oregon Border after setting a new speed record for hiking all of California! |
My Speed
*Both spreadsheet table files can be found under the 'MY PCT Download' section in the 'PCT Documents' link. on the right side.*
Day to day mileage and therefore speed varied constantly, so a better judge of speed is the overall average of miles per day. This number also fluctuates, but not nearly as much. When I finally got off trail, I had managed 1864 miles in 42.5 days averaging out to be just under 44 miles a day. The following table is a summary of my 100 mile split times and corresponding miles per day average. The mileage split locations are the blue markers viewed on the 'My Nightly Campsite Map' below.
| Place | Date | Time | Elapsed Time | Mile/day Average | UTM E/N Coords |
| PCT Southern Terminus | 5/25/12 | 6:05am | 0 | 0 | 550008 3605930 |
| Mile 500 | 5/6/12 | 11:34:10am | 11d 5h 29m | 44.53 | 354129 3841957 |
| Mile 600 | 7/6/12 | 1:36:46pm | 13d 7h 32m | 45.07 | 382585 3914681 |
| Mile 700 | 9/6/12 | 4:18:56pm | 15d 10h 14m | 45.38 | 397129 3984597 |
| Mile 800 | 12/6/12 | 1:31:40pm | 18d 7h 37m | 43.68 | 371871 4081999 |
| 1/3 PCT | 14/6/12 | 7:49:22pm | 20d 13h 44m | 43.12 | 329161 4151241 |
| Mile 900 | 15/6/12 | 8:15:37am | 21d 2h 6m | 42.68 | 320815 4157967 |
| Mile 1000 | 17/6/12 | 2:38:46pm | 23d 8h 34m | 42.81 | 274963 4230390 |
| Mile 1100 | 19/6/12 | 4:46:24pm | 25d 10h 41m | 43.23 | 749845 4305095 |
| Mile 1200 | 21/6/12 | 9:35:11pm | 27d 15h 30m | 43.41 | 704590 4384563 |
| Mile 1300 | 23/6/12 | 11:19:03pm | 29d 17h 14m | 43.74 | 638237 4432825 |
| Mile 1402 | 26/6/12 | 8:44:30am | 32d 2h 39m | 43.66 | 631509 4527604 |
| Mile 1500 | 28/6/12 | 11:34:15am | 34d 5h 29m | 43.82 | 562958 4554956 |
| Mile 1600 | 30/6/12 | 12:28:22pm | 36d 18h 23m | 43.52 | 503459 4576454 |
| OR/CA Border | 2/7/12 | 4:05:00pm | 38d 10h | 507526 4650182 | |
| Mile 1702 | 2/7/12 | 5:48:21pm | 38d 11h 43m | 44.22 | 509686 4651967 |
| Mile 1800 | 4/7/12 | 7:41:59pm | 40d 13h 37m | 44.37 | 563390 4714546 |
| Off Trail | 6/7/12 | 6:00pm | ~42d 12h | 43.9 | N/A |
I was only
able to accomplish these large miles per day by maximizing my 'moving' time, which entailed limiting my stopped and chatting time,
short 2-3 hour resupplies and usually 18 hour days which normally required hiking until 11
or the latest at 1 am. I averaged about 6 hours of sleep per night. The following map and table are my detailed daily mileage log and the location of where I camped every night, including my 100 mile split locations
View Pacific Crest Trail Speed Record Daily Campsites in a larger map
| Date | Start Time | Finish Time | Daily Miles (Halfmile) | Total Miles (Halfmile) |
| 5/25/12 | 6:05 | 8:35 | 49 | 49 |
| 5/26/12 | 6:40 | 9:45 | 48.5 | 97.5 |
| 5/27/12 | 6:25 | 12:55am | 46.5 | 144 |
| 5/28/12 | 6:10 | 9:45 | 39 | 183 |
| 5/29/12 | 6:50 | 12:40am | 47 | 230 |
| 5/30/12 | 7:10 | 10:25 | 41.75 | 271.75 |
| 5/31/12 | 6:40 | 12:20am | 46 | 317.75 |
| 6/1/12 | 6:20 | 1:31am | 40.75 | 358.5 |
| 6/2/12 | 7:20 | 3:00am | 42.5 | 401 |
| 6/3/12 | 6:25 | 6:00am | 39 | 440 |
| 6/4/12 | 6:00 | 10:30 | 45.75 | 485.75 |
| 6/5/12 | 7:15 | 11:30 | 45.5 | 531.25 |
| 6/6/12 | 6:45 | 6:05am | 46.5 | 577.75 |
| 6/7/12 | 5:10 | 11:40 | 47.5 | 625.25 |
| 6/8/12 | 6:12 | 10:55 | 43.75 | 669 |
| 6/9/12 | 6:35 | 6:05am | 35.75 | 704.75 |
| 6/10/12 | 6:45 | 10:15 | 42.25 | 747 |
| 6/11/12 | 6:25 | 11:05 | 40 | 787 |
| 6/12/12 | 6:40 | 11:00 | 31.75 | 818.75 |
| 6/13/12 | 6:15 | 10:45 | 38.25 | 857 |
| 6/14/12 | 7:25 | 10:45 | 38.25 | 895.5 |
| 6/15/12 | 6:33 | 10:40 | 42.5 | 938 |
| 6/16/12 | 7:09 | 10:27 | 38.5 | 967.5 |
| 6/17/12 | 5:43 | 10:50 | 47 | 1023.5 |
| 6/18/12 | 6:09 | 10:31 | 49 | 1075.5 |
| 6/19/12 | 6:07 | 10:37 | 44 | 116.5 |
| 6/20/12 | 5:56 | 7:55 | 43 | 1159.5 |
| 6/21/12 | 8:26 | 12:05am | 47.25 | 1206.75 |
| 6/22/12 | 7:25 | 11:02 | 49 | 1255.75 |
| 6/23/12 | 6:20 | 11:40 | 45.25 | 1301 |
| 6/24/12 | 7:25 | 11:24 | 47.25 | 1348.25 |
| 6/25/12 | 6:23 | 11:30 | 48 | 1396.25 |
| 6/26/12 | 6:47 | 11:50 | 45 | 1441.25 |
| 6/27/12 | 8:50 | 11:32 | 43 | 1484.25 |
| 6/28/12 | 6:22 | 11:50 | 48 | 1532.25 |
| 6/29/12 | 6:37 | 11:13 | 50.75 | 1583 |
| 6/30/12 | 6:38 | 11:25 | 47 | 1630 |
| 7/1/12 | 6:50 | 11:55 | 44.25 | 1674.25 |
| 7/2/12 | 6:55 | 11:16 | 45.5 | 1719.75 |
| 7/3/12 | 7:02 | 11:00 | 46.5 | 1766.25 |
| 7/4/12 | 8:06 | 11:50 | 46 | 1812.25 |
| 7/5/12 | 7:03 | 11:30 | 35 | 1847.25 |
| 7/6/12 | 7:15 | 6:00 | 16.75 | 1864 |
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| Morning panorama of the the foggy Hat Creek Rim, CA, about 50 miles after the PCT Midpoint. |
