REPORT: Washington PCT FKT

Christof Teuscher

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.

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

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

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