The Arizona Trail (AZT) stretches 800 miles (1287km) across Arizona from Mexico to Utah. It connects deserts, desserts, mountains, canyons, forests, communities, people, and physical discomfort. On Tue, Sep 3, 2019, I will start for a northbound, foolish, ill-prepared, and supported Fastest Known Time (FKT) attempt.
The Arizona Trail (AZT): 800 miles of pure pain.
Arizona Trail (AZT) elevation profile. Not exactly flat, but “only” about 100,000ft of elevation gain. Source: https://aztrail.org/the-trail/map-of-the-trail
[pullquote]”He who would travel happily must travel light.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry[/pullquote]
Michael Veersteg currently holds the supported (southbound) FKT in 15d 22h 39m. Jeff Garmire set a new self-supported and overall (northbound) FKT in 15d 13h 10m in April 2019. Needless to say that these times are very high bars for an old and bald hobby runner like me. This is an entirely new challenge to which neither the 500mi WA PCT nor the 750mi Oregon Desert Trail (ODT) will be comparable. Am I ready? Hell no. I haven’t even finished bagging the Jell-O Pringles yet [P.S.: How Jell-O Could Speed Up Injury Recovery] and the recovery from the Eagle’s 33 attempt has been slow. Thus, my only hope rests on my solid hot yoga and tetris training.
After the R2R2R2R2R2R2R2R2R FKT last year, I was hoping to never ever again having to cross the Grand Canyon on foot. I guess that was wishful thinking. At least I will know my way.
September is by no means the best time for such an FKT attempt, but it’s the only window I have among work, childcare, and gerbil-sitting constraints. For the first few hundred miles, I intend to move mostly at night to beat the heat. How that will work out remains totally in the dark.
[pullquote]”There is more to life than increasing its speed.” — Gandhi[/pullquote]
Wifey crew of one will provide essential support by Jeep and mountain bike (P.S. Michael had a “rotating crew of 15-plus friends”). We’re pretty certain this adventure will lead straight into a divorce.
This trip is not going to be some sort of disorganized Burning Man camp. We have a timeline and rules and regulations.
The support approach is purposely designed to be very minimal in order to reduce the number of resupply stops while still being able to move light. We call it “no frills, no bullshit” support. The goal is to make every stop so uncomfortable that moving on seems like a better option. After all, every stop is time spent not moving, and that adds up quickly over an 800mi distance. Spreadsheets never lie.
[pullquote]”We call it “no frills, no bullshit” support.”[/pullquote]
For the sake of a simplistic example, let’s assume I’d finish in 15 days (= baseline) if I wouldn’t stop (of course I will have to). If we further assume that each resupply stop takes 15min—which goes by quickly in reality—we get the total added stop times as shown in Table 1 below. As one can see, with only one 15min stop per day, I’d be almost 4 hours slower compared to the 15-day baseline. With four stops, that number would grow to a whopping 15h. That can make or break an FKT.
Table 1. Total added stop time as a function of the number of daily 15min stops.
Another logistical ordeal. It feels like I never unpack, I only repack.
Tracking
You can track me in the embedded map below or go to http://bit.ly/AZTFKT
[pullquote]”If everything seems under control, you’re not going fast enough.” — Mario Andretti[/pullquote]
The planned start from the Mexican border (Southern Terminus) is on Tue, Sep 3, 2019, sometime around 5pm hopefully.
There are currently several reroutes in place and more may happen as I’m on the trail. Don’t worry if it looks like I’m not always 100% following the SpotWalla track. He who wanders may not be lost.