A Fastpacking Education
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Fa stpacking Education p.038-47 FASTPACK 52 .indd 38 4/1/08 4:38:31 PM Fa stpacking EducationA By Michael Valliant p.038-47 FASTPACK 52 .indd 39 4/1/08 4:38:53 PM lthough I live in the East, first ultra—David Horton’s Holiday Lake of trail, the ability to stay at huts and the my first experiences on the 50K++ in Virginia. Then came thoughts panoramic vistas for which the Whites are Appalachian Trail didn’t come of the Gore-Tex Transalpine stage race in known. Our trek would start at Pinkham until recently, ridge running Europe, which violently shook the “go for a Notch, go up and over Mount Washington along Crawford Path in New run” paradigm. The prospect of that multi- (6288 feet), the Northeast’s highest peak, AHampshire’s White Mountains. Mount day race got us thinking about combining cruise along ridges and through wilderness Washington loomed behind us, while lesser running trails and spending the night out. areas and on and off the Appalachian Trail peaks formed green swells rolling away from My friend and training partner Mike (AT). The goal was to cover ground and see us. Clouds were dangerously close, and fast, Keene, 43, of Wittman, Maryland, is a things we couldn’t on a one-day run. neighbors. Nearing treeline, I noted the White Mountains fanatic, and pointed out rough beauty of the bent, wind-tortured that the Appalachian Mountain Club runs WHO STARTED IT? trees. But the trek’s aesthetic perks were a system of huts, where they feed you, The term “fastpacking” was born during riding shotgun to adrenaline and enthusi- provide shelter, a bunk and water. a trip by Jim Knight, 54, of Orem, Utah, asm, as we raced and changed leads over “We won’t have to carry a tent or a sleep- and Bryce Thatcher, 45, of Rexburg, rock piles on our way to Mizpah Spring ing bag, just water, food, rain gear and Idaho, who in 1988 made a south-to- Hut, which meant dinner and sleep. a few clothes,” the arm twisting began. north traverse of the Wind River Range in I’ve been running for 20 years, with the “You’ll love it. We’ll go light and fast, push Wyoming, chewing up 100 miles, self-sup- last few focused on trail running. But, in ourselves fastpacking in the mountains.” ported, in 38 hours. 2007, my running partner and I upped We mapped out a route that would take “Jim [Knight] had this dream of link- the ante exponentially. It started with our three days, looking for runable sections ing the whole Wind River Range, but Trailrunnermag.com June 2008 40 p.038-47 FASTPACK 52 .indd 40 4/1/08 4:39:07 PM PREVIOUS SREAD: Going deep. Fastpacking allows you to delve into wild places, combining the speed of trail running and the ability to sleep where you please. FAR LEFT: Ah, all the com- forts of home. With today’s light and efficient gear, you can be surprisingly comfort- able with surprisingly little on your back. LEFT: Before you go into the wilderness, learn how to use a map and compass, which will give you a feeling of con- fidence and self sufficiency. Photos (all): Patitucciphoto signed on to head-up product design and 41, of Alamo, California, set the speed development for Nathan Sports, where his record (which has since been broken) for fast-and-light philosophy is reflected in California’s John Muir Trail (JMT), cover- Nathan’s new packs. ing its 222.8 miles in 93 hours 5 minutes. His running excursions have continued, Another is Sawchuk and Andrew Skurka’s though now he focuses on treks that would six-day, six-night circumnavigation of take most people a few days and doing Yellowstone National Park in 2006, cover- them within a single day. Thatcher still ing 180 miles. holds the record for fastest ascent-descent “To me fastpacking is being able to trav- of the Grand Teton—3 hours 6 minutes el light in order to be able to cover a lot for the 18-mile round trip that climbs and of miles, but also to be able to enjoy it,” descends 7000 vertical feet. says Sawchuk. “When I go fastpacking I The term fastpacking is a bit nebulous, go to a lot of places that I couldn’t if I was but most people agree that it involves going slower. The emphasis is not so much covering ground quickly on trails using on speed, but distance and what you are lightweight gear and spending the night able to see and do. I feel so free when I am out, whether that be on the move, on the traveling light and moving fast.” could never take seven days off work to ground or in a hut. Skurka, 26, of Seekonk, Massachusetts, do it so we decided to try it in a week- “The point in fastpacking is to stay and Boulder, Colorado, might be as close end,” says Thatcher. “We did between 40 on the move as much as possible,” says to a national ambassador as the sport of and 50 miles that first day, and by the Ryan Jordan, founder of the website and fastpacking has. On November 3, 2007, he end of the second I got a bit hypothermic, print magazine Backpacking Light. “It finished a 6,875-mile trek of the so-called and wound up in the car with the heat on demands that you have a camp and an Great Western Loop — which links togeth- full blast for about three hours before I overnight component to your trip, but er five existing long-distance trails, includ- came around!” walking or running is your primary mode ing the Pacific Crest, Pacific Northwest, An exploration had begun, both on the of action, unlike backpacking where more Continental Divide, Grand Enchantment trail and in pack design and function. time is spent in camp. You may have two and Arizona trails, as well as a trail-less “Over time, we became more sophisticat- to four days and you say, ‘Let’s burn as segment through the Sonoran and Mojave ed,” says Thatcher, “figuring out formulas much mileage as we can.’” deserts. Skurka averaged 33 miles per for how much further you could go if you In Jordan’s case, a fastpacking trip day for 208 days, which is equivalent to cut pack weight by, say, 10 pounds.” might include covering 40 to 50 miles per 262 marathons or twice the distance from At the time of the Winds adventure, day, with three days being his personal Boston to San Francisco. His effort and Thatcher was designing backpacks and favorite trip duration. creativity landed him the distinction of created prototypes for the trip. He went Since Thatcher and Knight’s trip, the National Geographic Adventure maga- on to found Ultimate Direction, a compa- fastpacking concept has been refined zine’s 2007 Adventurer of the Year. During ny specializing in hydration and fastpack- and taken to wilder extremes. As a his trip, the base weight (without water or ing packs. After selling the company, he recent example, in 2004 Kevin Sawchuk, food) of Skurka’s pack was between six 41 June 2008 Trailrunnermag.com p.038-47 FASTPACK 52 .indd 41 4/8/08 11:33:07 AM and seven pounds, only going above 10 isher (29th out of 270 at Western and 31st TOP: Bryce Thatcher kicked off the fastpacking movement with his and Jim Knight’s traverse of the pounds in the High Sierra section. out of 97 at Hardrock). Wind River Range, Wyoming, in 1988. “On a fastpacking trip, you spend long Sawchuk’s accomplishments also Photo: Thatcher collection MIDDLE: Taking the road less traveled, Skurka covers days, with lightweight packs, doing a lot include trail running at all distances, but big miles and carries a light pack, here on his 6875- of miles,” says Skurka. “You aren’t just out his true love is fastpacking. He started mile Great Western Loop, 2007. Photo: Skurka collection there to explore nature. You are out there backpacking when he was five. It wasn’t BOTTOM: Kevin Sawchuk likes to get away. Miles to explore your own limits.” until medical school in the Midwest, from any road, he explores the Kaweah peaks, Sequoia National Park, Sierra Nevada, California. where he couldn’t find good backpack- Photo: Sawchuk collection GETTING READY ing or the time to enjoy it, that Sawchuk I am a runner, accustomed to pushing turned to running and ultrarunning to from 20 to 30 miles with water bottles, a stay in shape. Ninety-eight ultramarathon waist pack or hydration backpack. Until finishes later—including nine sub-24- our White Mountains adventure, fast- hour finishes at Western States 100—he packing was terra incognita, and I gleaned now balances the two disciplines. His my gear list from books, such as Jordan’s fitness from ultrarunning allows him to Lightweight Backpacking & Camping, cover more ground fastpacking. websites and friends’ advice. “The JMT speed record was something My kit consisted of a 100-ounce hydra- I had wanted to do for a long time, but not tion bladder, trail mix, Balance and Clif the kind of trip I generally enjoy,” says Bars, gels, rain gear, a water bottle, extra Sawchuk. “That trip was all about mile- insulating layers and socks, a headlamp, age, about 55 miles per day, and eleva- a small knife and photocopied pages from tion, about 12,000 feet per day, and I just the White Mountain Guide.