Imagine hiking a 1,200-mile trail. Now imagine trying to cover that distance in 30 days, and then imagine doing it all without resupplying at any point. That’s exactly what Jamieson Hatt, 46, just did on Wisconsin’s Ice Age Trail. Hatt not only set a fastest known time (FKT) for the trail, but he also completed the longest-ever unsupported FKT.
The Challenge
FKTs are split into several categories: supported (a crew helps you), self-supported (you can send yourself items and resupply), and unsupported. Unsupported means that you have to carry all your food and gear with you from the start.
If a piece of gear breaks or you run out of food, you can’t buy anything. For water, you must only use publicly accessible sources (i.e., streams or public water fountains).
An unsupported attempt is particularly challenging because it means you have to carry all your food and supplies with you from the start. In an interview with GJ, Hatt estimated that his pack initially weighed 70 pounds. Hatt’s base weight was 15 pounds, in part, because he had to use a 5-pound, 100L pack. He wanted to use a lighter 60L pack, but given how much food he had to carry, that simply wasn’t an option.
Hatt’s goal was to accomplish the longest-ever unsupported FKT. The previous record was set on the Arizona Trail, an 800-mile thru-hike across the state. “To be honest, if there was a trail that was 900 miles or 1,000 miles, I would have picked it, but there wasn’t any kind of end-to-end sort of legit trails. The next kind of available one was the Ice Age trail, which was, to be honest, longer than I wanted,” Hatt explained.
“I felt called to try even though I felt like the chances of completing it were pretty slim because it was so long. It was really sort of raising the bar.”
Hatt ultimately finished the 1,200-mile trail in 30 days, 8 hours, and 59 minutes. He estimated that he lost approximately 20 pounds on trail.
The Strategy
To accomplish his goal, Hatt used several strategies. Unlike many supported and self-supported FKTers, Hatt allowed himself ample sleep, around 8 hours a night.
“I knew I was going to be hungry and probably thirsty and I just I had to get myself some luxury, and for me, the luxury was sleep. My body can really recover. At the end of a day, you can feel pretty smashed and you could feel pretty bad, and then if I give myself that eight hours sleep, it’s pretty amazing how that next morning I can get up and there’s a huge difference in how I feel,” he said.
For food, he focused on calorie-dense, fat-rich foods. Essentially, he picked foods that delivered the most calories in the lightest package. His typical day included:
- dark chocolate-coconut bars
- salted macadamia nuts with maple syrup (twice a day)
- sandwich cookies (twice a day)
- peanut butter, chocolate, and honey mix
When it came down to choosing between cutting ounces and having a backup plan, Hatt always chose the backup plan. He didn’t want to bring two pairs of shoes, but he doubted a single pair could make it 1,200 miles, and a blown-out shoe could’ve easily ended his attempt. He debated bringing a heavy-duty or ultralight rain jacket, and ultimately decided to bring the heavier one, which turned out to be a good call when temps dipped below freezing.
Mentally, Hatt, who had previously set FKTs on the 550-mile Bruce Trail in Ontario, knew that however bad he expected to feel, he was going to feel worse. “No matter how hard you think it’s gonna be and how much you prepare, you’re always at a certain point in over your head, and it almost kind of turns into like survival mode,” he explained.
His mantra was “just keep showing up.” “You know it’s gonna be a roller coaster, it’s gonna be highs and lows and you just have to ride the wave.”
While not as mountainous as the Pacific Crest Trail, the Ice Age Trail is no slouch when it comes to elevation gain, with 80,000 total feet. With 5 days left on trail, Hatt began to experience serious shin pain, to the extent that he had to hobble down the trail. With so little time left, Hatt was able to push through and finish, but he doubts he could have gone on much longer.
The Takeaways
Hatt praised the quality and conditions of the trail, which is maintained by a cadre of hard-working volunteers from the Ice Age Trail Alliance. True to their Midwestern reputation, all the Wisconsin folks he met were incredibly kind and positive.
As he sits and physically recovers from the experience, Hatt appreciates all the creature comforts of life that much more. “When I finished … I remember hanging in bed, and I was almost in tears because this bed was so comfortable. It just heightened the experience of everyday life … You don’t get that feeling unless you take it all away,” he remarked.
The trail was also a reminder of his own resiliency and mental fortitude. “I’m pretty humble about these things, and I have no problem saying how bad I wanted to quit early on, even on the first day,” he said. “It was another level of heart to prove to myself that I could sort of hang in there and get it done.”
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