Trip Date: September 1-9, 2016

Area: Superior Hiking Trail

Trip Plan: Canada to Wisconsin, ~310 miles. Finish on the 9th day. Average of 34 miles per day. Solo, unsupported.

From Fastest Known Time archive (FKT Proboards): Unsupported means you have no external support of any kind. Typically, this means that you must carry all your supplies right from the start, except any water that can be obtained along the way from natural sources. This approach has also been termed “alpine style”. The longest trip I’m aware of using this style is Coup’s 20-day thru-hike of the Colorado Trail. For most people, carrying enough food for more than a few days to one week will be prohibitive. Unsupported also means unaccompanied! (i.e., no pacers) Further note: Some people get really crazy about what does or does not fit into “unsupported”.”

For me, that means no outside support, no resupply, food drops, stops in towns, no accepting aid of any sort, and no pacers. Everything I need is on my back from the first step.

Stats:

  • Start time: Thursday, September 1, 2016 at 8:39am
  • Finish time: Friday, September 9, 2016 at 4:38pm
  • Total time: 8 days, 7 hours, 59 minutes
  • Total miles (GPS): 308 miles
  • Total time hiking: 103:04
  • Total time at camp: 96:55

Training: To condition myself for a 310-mile fast thru-hike, I planned 10 trips of varying distance and time. (Turned out to be 7 trips).

Food and Gear (click for spreadsheet): thru hike

(Click each link below for daily synopsis and pictures)

Preamble

Day 1: Thursday, September 1: 270 Degree Overlook to South Little Brule River – 34 miles

  • 11:22:30. Started 8:39am, finished 8:01pm

Day 2: Friday, September 2: South Little Brule River to North Cascade River – 32 miles

  • 10:54:33. Started 7:35am, finished 6:29pm

Day 3: Saturday, September 3: North Cascade River to Springdale Creek – 30.5 miles

  • 10:31:52. Started 7:03am, finished 5:34pm

Day 4: Sunday, September 4: Springdale Creek to East Branch Baptism River – 33.3 miles

  • 11:14:50. Started 6:52am, finished 6:06pm

Day 5: Monday, September 5: East Branch Baptism River to Penn Creek – 32.3 miles

  • 11:48:36. Started 7:11am, finished 7:00pm

Day 6: Tuesday, September 6: Penn Creek to Crow Creek – 35.2 miles

  • 11:52:59. Started 6:46am, finished 6:39pm

Day 7: Wednesday, September 7: Crow Creek to Big Bend – 30.6 miles

  • 10:31:46. Started 6:52am, finished 5:24pm

Day 8 pt 1: Thursday, September 8: Big Bend to Sucker River Shelter on State Trail – 9.2 miles

  • 3:06:13. Started 12:03am, finished 3:09am

Day 8 pt 2: Thursday, September 8: Sucker River Shelter on State Trail to Bagley Campground – 24.4 miles

  • 8:36:12. Started 7:28am, finished 4:04pm

Day 9: Friday, September 9: Bagley Campground to Wisconsin Border – 46.5 miles

  • 13:03:39. Started 3:35am, finished 4:38pm

Afterword