Saturday, June 1, 2013
Leg 7: Highway 58 to Kennedy Meadows, California
Overnighting: off trail at saddle (Red) & Kennedy Meadows (Dufresne)
Walker Pass trail angels brought ice cream sandwiches and a relative feast for hikers. Feeling good, a few hikers dreamed up the "Walker Pass to Kennedy Meadows 24-Hour Challenge." That's 52.5 miles of hiking in under 24 hours! Mathes took the challenge, and Flanagan carried much of the "extra" gear to allow the lightest possible pack for Mathes.
Five hikers took the challenge. Mathes started about 5am, assuming the other four would catch up to him half-way through the day. The team of hikers never caught Mathes, who finished in about 18 hours.
One of the four hikers -- UB --created an amazing 4-minute video of The Challenge (http://vimeo.com/67612312). A few highlights from the video are typed below.
...The Walker Pass to Kennedy Meadows 24 Hour Challenge...
Start at 7am
The Challenge is 52.5 Miles in under 24 hours
3 climbs, over 6,969 elevation, and one of the driest sections on the PCT
Our first water stop took us over 90 minutes to get enough water to push on
The first climb -- one hiker down, three remain
6pm reached Fox Springs without water
Spent an hour refueling at the springs before the last 19 miles
Averaging 3+ miles an hour
Sun setting over the first views of the Sierras and six hours to go
1:28am challenge completed = 18h 28m
