How to Plan a Long Fast-Packing Trip

We’ve seen great thru-hikes this summer trying to break records, with some of them achieving the goal of clocking the shortest time ever recorded.  Attempts on the JMT, CT, TRT or the PCT are only a few of them, but there have been quite a few from coast to coast.  Now trailspace.com has a great series of articles for those who have been bitten by the bug of fastpacking and are planning a long trip for next summer. This is a four part series named ‘Planning a Thru-Hike’ which goes through all the details you must keep in mind to finish the trail (and do it safely). The author, Barbara Egbert, writes about gear, training, what to eat and drink (including preparation for desert thru-hikers), and practical advice from experienced backpackers and ‘trail angels’. Jump to the first article and you’ll get the links for the rest of the series. The first article also includes a good list of resources (a.k.a. books) for those planning an AT, PCT, or CD thru-hike.

And talking about the speed hikes of this summer, here’s a couple of links you may find interesting. First an interview with Matt Kirk on Ultra Adventures. Matt completed last May a record-setting unsupported fastpack of the Benton MacKaye trail. And second, Adam Bradley, the Patagonia employee who set the Pacific Crest Trail record together with Scott Williamson, has a new blog called FSTPKR (he had previously been posting over at trailjournals.com) where he plans to write about this summer’s experience and other fastpacking upcoming plans for this winter.