Sagar initiated the idea of speed hiking/running for around 30 miles a day for 3 days, and 8000 feet of elevation each day. This is done self supported, without caching.
We ran/hiked a total of 73.39 miles in just 2.5 days, and reached an elevation of 18,316 feet – which is what Sagar’s Garmin watch told us. As we still have around 20 miles to go, we made the decision to shorten our trip by cutting short our walk on the third day. Thanks to Sagar’s friend (Harsh) who picked us up from Mowich Lake camp, we arrived safe and sound.
Fastpacking is a more endurance-demanding experience than past trips I’ve done. Thanks to Covid and my wife, I was able to move to Utah and fall in love with solo trail running, which is how this trip would not have been possible without it. This is just the beginning for more fastpacking trips in the future.
The trail is well-maintained, soft, and runnable at most sections. The only scary part of the trip was the bear sighting, but I don’t want to encounter it again. Other than that, I fell in love with my z-pack sleeping bag, Arcteryx alpha 30L backpack, and the occasional fall colors decorating Mount Rainier.
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