An outdoors fanatic, Samuel H. Gardner, plans on beginning his "All-In Trek" expedition on January 1st, 2011. He will be hiking the countries four longest trails within a year, and will start with The North Country trail in the dead of winter. He will only be the second to ever complete this trail during the winter months. Did I mention that he is in his mid-twenties??? This guy amazes me.
During his interview with CheapTents.com he disclosed that he is planning on going through 22 pairs of shoes over the year he will be on the trail. So how many miles will he need to cover each day if he is going to meet his goal? He will need to average 34 miles a day which, those of you who hike know, is quite the feat. For food he will be mailing ahead boxes to drop-off points where he can re-stock his supply and will use whatever transportation he has access to in order to get from one trail to the next.
The first time I was able to really understand what is required of such intense thru-hikes was when I read "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson (which I just found out will soon become a movie produced by Robert Redford). It's hard enough for me to imagine the amount of preparation (both physical and mental) which goes into planning such a long trip, but I think the hardest part for my head to wrap around is how someone is able to take months, not weeks, off from work and family to achieve something as intense as one of these hikes. So how does someone like Samuel take a full year off from life to carry out his "All-In Trek?" I hope to one day hike the PCT, but can't see any way of doing this without either doing it between jobs or once I retire, but who wants to wait until they are out of their prime condition to do something like this?
To pay for his expedition, he will be relying on his sponsors who include the Ultralight Adventure Equipment company which is located in Logan, UT. If you want to contribute, or want to learn more about the All-In Trek than check out his website HERE. He will be updating his website along his journey.
To pay for his expedition, he will be relying on his sponsors who include the Ultralight Adventure Equipment company which is located in Logan, UT. If you want to contribute, or want to learn more about the All-In Trek than check out his website HERE. He will be updating his website along his journey.
That is pretty cool. The guy obviously has sponsors, there really is no other way to be able to do anything like this. Check this guy out. http://www.justinlichter.com/
ReplyDeleteLove it! Pretty sure that I'll be dedicating a number of posts to those who are more hardcore than I will ever be
ReplyDeleteI was talking to one of the girls i traveled with to the south pacific about just traveling for a year without work breaks. she told me of a friend of hers who had. apparently he didnt buy more than a t-shirt and the smallest amounts of food for more than a year and was able to save enough. I don't know this guys story but if he has sponsors and a giving family, or if he's a really hard worker and with sponsors on top of that- it's definitely possible. I'll be keeping up with this guy though, i'm sure he'll have some great stories.
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