Matt Squeeky Hazley, a Brit, is the first person to thru’ hike America’s 3 foremost long distance trails within a calendar year – and in the process set new speed records for two of them. This despite bungling the logistics & suffering some of the worst weather in history.
Matt, 25, hiked the trails known collectively as the Triple Crown – the Pacific Crest (2650 miles), the Continental Divide (around 2800 miles) and the Appalachian Trail (2170 miles) – between May 4 and December 29.
That’s more than 7600 miles in 260 days, at average of around 30 miles a day; take rest days into account and his average walking day was more like 40 miles.
Matt’s achievement is all the more remarkable because he deliberately hiked the trails “out of season” to reduce his chances of success.
Tiime for a rest?
Nope. He plans more long distance record breaking hikes. Walking he expects to average well over 50mi / day which would put him faster than trail runners.
Around the campfire, hikers frequent debate the pros & cons of different cooking systems.
Rick McCharles 