REPORT: Washington PCT FKT

Christof Teuscher
See the WA PCT FKT page for the latest records.

On Tue, Jul 31, 2018, at 2:56pm, I reached the middle of the Bridge of the Gods after completing a self-supported traverse of the 515-mile (829km) Washington Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) section. I started at the Northern PCT Terminus (US/Canada border) on Sat, Jul 21, 2018, at 1:30pm.

The Fastest Known Time (FKT) attempt was announced on Jul 18, 2018, on this blog post and on the new FKT website.

Self-supported means that I didn’t carry everything from the beginning to the end, instead, I relied on resupplies. During my traverse, I did not have any dedicated, pre-arranged people helping me.

Direct link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-mN3l4-Su0

Direct link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgsTHN-kccc

FASTER was on tour at the 2018 Trail Running Film Festival.

On Fri, Jul 20, 2018, I started my leisurely 30mi approach hike from Hart’s Pass to the US/Canadian border. I reached the Northern PCT Terminus shortly after noon on Sat, Jul 21, 2018. Instead of spending another night, I decided to start the FKT attempt the same day. According to my estimates, I was going to be able to make it back to Hart’s Pass by 11pm the same day. That worked out quite well indeed. I slept for 4h and continued my journey at 3am the next day.

A fresh and clean start on Fri, Jul 20, 2018, towards the US/Canadian border.

The goal was to crank out more than 50 miles each day. That turned out to be mission impossible for me. I don’t think I ever reached my daily mileage target during the following 10 days. That was very frustrating and demoralizing. Contributing factors for being slower were the heat and the bugs. There was little to no protection available from both, which added to the overall stress. Running with a bug net and with a jacket in the heat is neither fun nor efficient.

The scenery was absolutely spectacular in every possible way. As opposed to the ODT, there was obviously a lot more traffic on the PCT. Everybody asked for my trail name. Since I’m not part of the thru-hiker community, I have none.

Despite the heat and the bugs, I was able to make decent progress. But I only realized that at the very end.

Somewhere between Goat Rocks and Mt. Adams I met Dave and Will, who were on a mission to grab the very same FKT as I, but had started 5 days later and were northbound. We exchanged some trail intelligence about the upcoming sections and cruised on. And in the Indian Heaven Wilderness I finally met team Ultrapedestrian, aka Ras and Kathy, who are currently attempting to complete the epic UP North Loop.

Unfortunately, my wheels came off during the last night and day. I decided to move through the night to make up for some time. But alas, in a matter of hours, my feet more or less disintegrated in front of my eyes. Perhaps it was because the skin was unable to dry out during my few regular hours of sleep. Perhaps it was just the cumulative wear and tear. Perhaps it was the fact that I ran out of fresh socks and that the only socks I had left contained a deadly mix of sand and dirt particles that felt like sandpaper. Over the last 40 miles I was so much slower than anticipated that I ran out of food for several hours. The foot pain because of the blisters was excruciating. Several times I feared I would collapse in the heat because I had not eaten for hours. I had trouble walking straight.

But on Tue, Jul 31, 2018, at 2:56pm, after incredibly long and painful hours, I finally reached the middle of the Bridge of the Gods. It took me 10 days, 1 hour, and 26 minutes to complete the entire Washington PCT section. By the time I finished, three sections of the WA PCT were closed because of fires. So, clearly, I got very lucky.

An overview map of the Washington PCT section. About 515 miles (829km) or so, with 110,000 feet (33’528m) of elevation gain. Yes, I made this graph. It’s fine to use it, but include at least a link to this post.

Numbers

I witnessed the erection of the new monument.

Start: US/Canada border, PCT Northern Terminus, Sat, Jul 21, 2018, 1:30pm. The time is the bottom number. Not sure why the pace shows a number because I did not move yet. Perhaps some GPS noise, or because I moved my arm.

Finish: Middle of the Bridge of the Gods, Tue, Jul 29, 2018, 2:56pm.

GPS Data

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Gear

I think I would go with the very same gear kit again. It’s a nice balance between weight and safety. It would be possible to go even lighter and more minimal, but that would significantly increase the risk of failure, I believe, especially if you hit bad weather. For example, two first nights were unexpectedly well below freezing and I needed all my layers (and more).

What I was wearing
[table width=”640″ colwidth=”40″ colalign=”left”]
La Sportiva Sonic shirt
Salomon S-Lab Exo TW shorts
Outdoor Research Spectrum sun sleeves
Glacier Glove Ismorada sun gloves
Skins calf tights
Knee sleeves
Drymax Trail Run 1/4 Crew socks
Hoka ATR4 shoes
Leki Micro Trail Pro poles
Julbo Venturi sunglasses
Ultimate Direction Desert Hat
Suunto Ambit2 GPS watch
Suunto Ambit3 Peak GPS watch
[/table]

The pack
[table width=”640″ colwidth=”40″ colalign=”left”]
Raidlight Ultra Olmo 20l with 4l front pack
Western Mountaineering SummerLite sleeping bag
Hyperlite Ground Cloth
Mountain Hardware Ghost Whisperer down jacket
Raidlight bottles (750ml)
GoalZero battery pack with 4 AA batteries
Klymit Inertia X Lite sleeping pad
Ultimate Direction ultra rain jacket
Salomon S/Lab hybrid pants
SPOT satellite transponder with 4 AAA lithium batteries
Arc’teryx Norvan rain jacket
Ultimate Direction Deluge rain pants
Ruta Locura Wasatch bivy bag
Petzl Myo headlamp with 3 AA lithium batteries
North Face 5″ shorts
GoPro Hero 5 Black camera
Extra socks
Sea to Summit bug head net
Zpacks waterproof overmitts
NW Alpine Helmut Hat
Arc’teryx mitts
Inov8 buff
Toiletries and floss
Suncreen
Tape and medical kit
GoPro charging cable
Suunto Ambit charging cable
Repair/backup kit + 4 spare AAA lithium batteries
MSR foldable spoon
[/table]

I wore this T-shirt for 10 days nonstop, day and night.

FAQs

  • Why did you start earlier than planned? I had initially planned to spend a night by the border and to start on Sun, Jul 22, 2018. However, I got there earlier than anticipated, I was very impatient to get started, I felt rested and ready, the border was not a nice place to hang out, and the previous night was below freezing. So I decided to start the FKT attempt on Sat, Jul 21, 1:30pm.
  • Why did you go southwards? It felt better to run “home” and it put the more difficult sections first. Also, the 30mi approach hike from Hart’s Pass to the border turned out to be a useful and nice warm-up.
  • Why did you not carry a cell phone? It’s too heavy, requires to be charged, and is of limited use.
  • How many toe nails did you lose? 1
  • Are you retired? No.
  • How much weight did you lose? 7lbs
  • Could you have been faster? Sure, for example if I had not recorded 4h of video.
  • Did you floss? Daily. Definitely.
  • Did you listen to music? I did not carry a music device. I listened to the sound of nature instead.
  • Did you sing? Yes.
  • Did you swim in lakes? Only once. The bugs made any stopping unpleasant.
  • Did you see bears? Yes.
  • Would you do it again? No.

Acknowledgments

A huge thanks to:

  • Kam Pierce
  • Ursina Teuscher
  • Claire Wairing

NEWS: Area Man’s Frontal Lobe Too Degenerated for Him to Realize He Is Too Old to Set Washington PCT Record

Christof Teuscher
Update: I finished the self-supported WA PCT record attempt on Tue, Jul 31, 2018, in 10 days, 1 hour, 26 minutes. A rather minimal initial report is available here.

On Sun, Jul 22, 2018, I plan to start for a self-supported Fastest Known Time (FKT) attempt of the 505-mile (813km) Washington Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) section. I will start at the Canadian border and—in the rather unlikely case things will go both well and fast—finish at the Bridge of the Gods. Self-supported means that I won’t carry everything from the beginning to the end, instead, I will rely on resupplies in the traditional thru-hiker style. During my attempt, I will not have any dedicated, pre-arranged people helping me. However, if you feel inclined to spontaneously join me for some miles anywhere on the (long) way, that is acceptable, as long as it is not pre-arranged and planned.

Preview

Check out the WA PCT FKT preview movie clip at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3nUR9BneSE

From Plan A to Plan D

For this summer, my plan A was to compete in the 560-mile Transpyrenae race, which crosses the Pyrenees between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic ocean. Sadly, that race was canceled two weeks ago, so I suddenly ended up with a huge summer mileage hole that desperately needed to be filled. I then spent a week on a plan B: going after Brian Donnelly’s Oregon PCT FKT. When my planning was finally done and ready to be executed, the Klamathon wildfire spread on the California/Oregon border and closed the PCT. While there is some hope that it will reopen soon, I didn’t want to wait. As of today, Jul 18, it is still closed.

Thankfully, the alphabet has enough letters, so I moved on to plan C: the Washington section of the PCT. Yet, after a day of intense planning, I discovered that there is no legal way to enter the US from Canada on the PCT, which was part of my initial southbound plan. And entering Canada from the US requires a special entry permit that I would have had to request weeks ahead. So that’s how plan C went down the drain.

The current plan D is to access the northern terminus of the PCT from within the US. That means I will have to “hike” in 30 miles (48km) from Hart’s Pass, the last access point one can drive to, tag the border, and then turn around to do another 505 miles (813km). That is precisely what UltraPedestrian Ras did on his unsupported FKT.

I hope there won’t be any need for a plan E, or more…

Static overview map of the Washington PCT. 505 miles (813km), 110,000 feet (33’528m) of elevation gain. Discomfort included at no additional cost. See below for tracking.

Current Records

According to the new FKT page, no one has claimed an official self-supported Washington PCT FKT. However, Heather “Anish” Anderson completed the WA section self-supported in 11 days 3 hrs (267h). UltraPedestrian Ras did it unsupported in 13d 14h 58m (327h), i.e., he carried all the food.

There is no doubt that it will be very hard to beat Anish’s time on the tough Washington section, which is slow and does not allow for as much running as the Oregon section. And Anish is known to be absolutely relentless.

But there is more: as I discovered during my last-minute planning, Dave and Will announced a northbound FKT attempt starting on Jul 27. So that should add some additional excitement for the dot-watching spectators at home.

Gear

It’s been said before: if you want to go fast, you have to go light. Gravity is not optional after all, whether you believe in science or not. My base pack weighs well below 10 lbs without food and water. That weight will increase considerably on the long(er) stretches, when I’ll have to carry food for 2 or 3 days. My longest section without any resupplies is 123 miles. There’s plenty of water, so compared to the Oregon Desert trail FKT, my pack will in general be much lighter. But alas, I’m also much older and weaker.

My monstrous calories spreadsheet tells me that I will have access to a whopping 73,066 calories. Sounds like this is going to be a real feast—I can’t wait!

Like a pro, I will carry the bare minimum. Dental floss not pictured. But rest assured, Stephanie and Dr. Kaip, that I will floss daily.

Tracking

You can track me right below or at

http://bit.ly/WAPCTFKT

The planned start is at 3am on Sun, Jul 22. That may change depending on trail and my very own condition after the “leisurely” 30-mile hike-in to the Canadian border from Hart’s Pass. I may decide on a rest minute/hour/day/night before I turn around and start the actual FKT. I will not use my SPOT transponder on the access hike.

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