[pct-l] Williamson attempting to regain unsupported PCT speedrecord

[Eric Martinot]

The recent discussion about what constitutes an "acceptable" route for a thru-hike speed record has omitted one obvious aspect:  most officially closed sections of the trail have official or unofficial re-routes or alternative routes. So presumably, a record-seeker, if desiring to remain completely "legal," would use those re-routes or alternative routes and thus have to hike a total mileage greater than 2660.  Those extra miles are just as much a part of the trail that year as the normal miles.  

IMHO, anyone desiring to set a record that year would face the extra miles of re-routes and that would simply make setting the record more difficult, but the extra difficulty would be in the same "naturally caused" category as high snow, overgrowth, blowdowns, or other natural impediments.  The difficulty of the trail is not simply a function of how many miles long it is, and that difficulty varies *greatly* year-by-year with seasonal weather and trail maintenance.

Or, if a record seeker does hike officially closed sections to avoid a longer re-route, that should be up to their own conscience and preference for obeying rules, should remain optionally private, and should not be a mandated no-no of any "sanctioned" method of hiking the trail. (Which is another reason for not having any "official" sanctioned method.)

Also, there are many established alternative routes that many or most thru-hikers take, that bypass the "official" parts of the trail even without any trail closures.  Some examples:  leaving the PCT via Trail Pass to get to Horseshoe Meadow and Lone Pine, and then getting back on trail from Horseshoe Meadow via Cottonwood Pass (which still forms a "continuous walking route");  the bypass through Castella, where most thrus will hike directly back to the PCT on alternative trail in Castle Craigs S.P. and miss some official miles of PCT west of I-5; and the WP Guide alternative route along roads north of Cascade Locks to resupply at Stevenson, which cuts off a whooping 35 miles of distance.  (And also the Eagle Creek alternative before Cascade Locks.)  Also, I wonder how many people actually hike the seemingly-permanent  endangered frog detour along the Angeles Crest Highway, when hiking along the highway itself for just a few miles avoids 10-15 miles of the circuitous detour. Many of these alternatives reduce total PCT mileage, and are considered acceptable for thru-hikers without having to "make up" the "lost miles" by walking in circles.  

The main point would seem to be "walk continuously from Mexico to Canada without a (motorized) break in the route." (I.e,. "every step of the way, regardless of route.")

The discussion boils down to 4 different definitions of route, below.  I, and I think most people, would accept both (c) and (d) for thru-hike records, although many might not accept the most mileage-shaving alternate routes under (d), such as the road-walk to Stevenson north of Cascade Locks.  (But then what constitutes an "acceptable" alternative route, such as the short bypass through Castella to resupply? Or do we expect a "pure" thru-hike record to require hiking to I-5 at Soda Creek Rd, then hiking an extra 5 miles back and forth to Castella along the I-5 frontage road?)

(a) Hike 2660 miles between Mexico and Canada.

(b) Hike the entire official PCT route only, leap-frogging by motorized means any sections that are officially closed, taking no alternative routes, and covering every mile of official trail legally possible that year.

(c) Hike the entire way from Mexico to Canada, continuously with no motorized breaks, along as much of the officially open PCT as legally possible, taking official re-routes only where the normal trail is officially closed, but otherwise not taking any commonly-accepted alternate routes.

(d) Hike the entire way from Mexico to Canada, continuously with no motorized breaks, taking officially closed parts of the PCT where personally desired, and also taking any alternative routes or re-routes where personally desired, even if shorter than the official route.

The main problem I see, is where there is no official or even available re-route due to official closures.  This is now the case through the San Jacintos, where the trail remains closed south of I-10 (Snow Creek), and so there is literally no way to get through from I-10 south other than hiking on the closed trail.  And the trail also remains closed from Strawberry to Hwy 74, which currently requires a very long detour through Idyllwild (Deer Springs Trail) and on other trails and roads a long way around to Hwy 74. If those closures remain, they could make a thru-hike record this year very problematic unless they are lifted by the time Scott reaches them.

---Eric (Double Zero)

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Below, the comments that prompted my post; I certainly would not advocate the "yo-yo" proposal below! Once you are done, you are done. Again, its not as simple as just total miles.
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> From: "chiefcowboy at verizon.net" <chiefcowboy at verizon.net
> To: Dan Jacobs <youroldpaldan at gmail.com>; pct-l at backcountry.net
> Sent: Friday, August 23, 2013 2:42 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Williamson attempting to regain unsupported PCT 
speedrecord
> IMHO, the trail is whatever it is at the time it is hiked.  If 59 miles 
> are
> closed, the trail does not include that 59 miles.    We're not going to
> encourage people to hike closed portions of the trail so they have a 
> "pure" record are we?

greg mushial gmushial at gmdr.com 
Sat Aug 24 17:06:46 CDT 2013
Maybe one way around this - to allow less room for protests over an 
attempt - is to simply yo-yo at the end of an attempt and do the requisite 
missing miles so that one has walked the standard 2655 or 2661 miles in the 
end, ie, if nobo, in the case of 59 miles of closures, stop the clock after 
retracing the last 59 miles south of the Canadian border; or if sobo, redo 
the last 59 miles leading to the Mexican border.