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Jeff “Legend” Garmire Breaks Colorado Trail FKT
Jeff “Legend” Garmire has broken the unsupported speed record for a thru-hike of the Colorado Trail, completing the west to east hike in nine days, eight hours, 18 minutes. The result is still awaiting verification from fastestknowntime.com.
According to his trip page, Garmire set out from Durango on Friday, August 28, at 6:25 a.m. MT and arrived at the Waterton Canyon trailhead at 2:43 p.m. MT on Sunday, September 6. If his claim is accepted, he will have beaten the previous unsupported record of nine days, 12 hours, 32 minutes, set by John Zahorian in 2016, by over four hours.
In contrast to Garmire, Zahorian hiked the trail east to west. Until now, no unsupported FKT on the west to east route has been officially recorded—Garmire’s would be the first. The result will not be official until Garmire’s satellite tracking data and trip report have been reviewed and accepted on Fastest Known Time’s website.
The Colorado Trail stretches 485 miles between Durango and Denver and includes some 90,000 feet of elevation. Garmire averaged nearly 52 miles per day in order to beat the previous record.
Because he was attempting an unsupported FKT, he had to carry all his food with him throughout the hike and could not leave the trail to resupply (FKTs that involve resupply are considered “self-supported.”)
Garmire set FKTs on the Long Trail, Arizona Trail, and Pinhoti Trail in 2019 and completed a calendar year Triple Crown hike in 2016. He is the author of Free Outside: A Trek Against Time and Distance, an autobiographical account of his calendar year Triple Crown.
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All images, including featured image, via Maggie Slepian
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