Striding

Picking up Anne's car

Hot trot

Cardigan with Js and kids

Kiddo causeway

White Mountains Direttissima FKT Attempt Day 4. Note: full description is very long and apparently can only be seen on the web interface.

This day is dedicated to my support at home. My partner Anne Farrell and family have supported me in chasing this absurd goal, helping me get out for the needed training, putting up with me musing about different route options and gear choices, dealing with my many pairs of shoes. My partner’s family have supported her as well, which has made so much of this possible. During the effort, Anne sent me sat beacon messages giving me weather forecast updates and words of encouragement.


I started the day a bit later than I wanted, a bit after 3 am, after treating my feet and distributing the day’s snacks in the front of my pack. This dropped my pack size and weight to the point where I got to sinch some pieces in and tighten some bungees to make the pack smaller and tighter. After a shoes-off creek crossing, I made my way through the sogginess of the Shoal Pond. I was so happy to finish the Shoal Pond trail and looked forward to a smooth AT cruise over to the base of Willey. I hadn’t been on this segment, and quickly found that it’s not as fast as I hoped. After the sun came up and I admired the cliffs above Ethan Pond, I got very sleepy. I admired various flattish spots next to the trail, then decided to stop at the next one and take a quick trail nap. It of course took a while to find anything decent, but when I did, I quickly set out my foam pad, and curled into my bug bivy and at least dozed for about 20 minutes. When a couple of hikers passed me, and were surprised to see me next to the trail, I awoke and stumbled back down the trail.

I felt OK going up Willey at first, but it gets quite steep and I felt very slow and like my legs had no more power on the steeps. Up to maybe 20% grade, I felt OK, but steeper felt almost impossible. This is how my legs had felt since Day 1. When I finally got above the stairs and steeps, I was so relieved, and felt like I cruised the ridge to Willey and Field, then down to drop my pack and jog out and back to Tom. It was already starting to feel warm as I descended down to Crawford Notch, and I filled bottles and dipped hat and arm sleeves as I passed creeks. The climb up to Jackson was more gradual than I expected (having never been on it), which was appreciated. But I was hot, and my feet were hot, and my feet were getting more hotspots. At the top of Jackson, I decided to take a break - there was some wind there, and it seemed like the bugs might be really bad at Mitzpah hut with bugs, so  I decided to try to dry out my feet there. After a break to take care of my feet, I moved on. It was difficult to eat the solid foods I had with me, but I tried to force myself to eat, washing each bite down with water.

After filling bottles at Mitzpah, I continued on, planning on another long break at Lakes of the Clouds to cool down and let my feet dry well before a long, hot section. It was nice to be back in familiar terrain, and I enjoyed topping Pierce and continuing up to Eisenhower and Monroe. I could really finally feel that my pack was dramatically lighter. It was nice to be back up in the alpine zone, and after filling my bottles at Lakes, I put my body into the lake and let my feet dry out as fully as seemed reasonable, re-applied some tape, and started the march to the high point of the route on Mt. Washington. The mountain was kind of making its own cloud, shielding from the fiercest light of the sun, and the wind was strong, preventing dramatic overheating. After the summit, I began my way down the rock pile and over to Davis Path. When I hit the junction with Glen Boulder Trail, I dropped the big pack, took two bottles and some snacks and took off on the 5 mile round trip to Isolation. It really seems kind of silly to go over 1000 feet down, just to go a couple hundred up and call that a peak, when the shoulder of the Mt. Washington massif looms overhead. But I made it over, slowing in spots to avoid overheating and trying not to let my feet get wet, though some  puddle splash was inevitable. Fortunately, I also found a trickle on the trail, from which I was able to fill a bottle on the way back. This was quite a long time between water stops, and it was hot and I was thirsty.

It was a huge relief to return to my pack and head down Glen Boulder. I hadn’t been on the trail before, but it’s a beautiful ridgeline. That said, it’s also incredibly steep, and my beat-up, hotspot-covered, hot, sweaty feet did not enjoy the underfoot sensations of feet sliding forward with every hard footstrike. My legs felt pretty crappy too. As I descended, it got hotter and my feet got sweatier and it hurt more. The lower I went, the thirstier I got, having run out of water, and there were no streams. I couldn’t eat my food without water, and the result was that the lower I went, the worse I felt in every way. I somehow made it to the bottom just before needing a headlamp and managed to shuffle off to the other side of the road and find myself some water and a spot to lay down before heading up the Wildcats. I had planned not to sleep this night and push through, but was so tired that I felt I needed to just lay down. I didn’t even manage to do the intended normal routine of eating a protein bar and brushing my teeth, but just lay down in my bug bivy and felt too sweaty and clammy, but too cool and uncomfortable to sleep. Eventually, I pulled out my sleeping bag, and then slept hard for several hours, without an alarm set. This is probably the moment where I really stopped, almost by accident, striving for sub 5 days.


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Joffrey Peters

Direttissima Day 4: Highs and lows

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Picking up Anne's car

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Cardigan with Js and kids

Kiddo causeway

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