Karl finished the AT today

unauthorized photo from whereskarl.com

Karl Meltzer completed his AT run today. He did it in 54 days. The record was 47 days.

Karl got trenchfoot from the mud up in Maine which eventually led to a 3 day rest. The injuries took a while to heal which led to further delays.

He is one tough hombre. Looking through the pictures, it's clear that this man has a higher power when it comes to pain.

Apparently he's sleeping now, after completing the last mile with friends while drinking beer.

from the site:

"Official Start: Tuesday, August 5, 2008, 7:08 a.m.

Official Finish: Monday, September 29, 2008, 4:20 a.m.

Though the way it's been recorded on this site is deceiving, that's a total of 54 days 21 hours and 12 minutes.

Unofficially, Karl's is the fourth fastest thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail.

In order, the fastest finishers:

Andrew Thompson: 47 days 13 hours 31 minutes (2005)

Pete Palmer: 48 days 20 hours 11 minutes (1999)

David Horton: 52 days 9 hours (1991)

Karl Meltzer: 54 days 21 hours 12 minutes

Scott Grierson: 55 days 20 hours 34 minutes (1991)

Jennifer Pharr Davis: 57 days 8 hours 35 minutes (2008)

(I've had to scrounge a little to find these times. Please feel free to let us all know if I missed someone.)"

Previously

Yosemite FREE this weekend September 27 & 28th

Yosemite Blog is reporting that Yosemite admission will be FREE on September 27 to celebrate National Public Lands Day. Then, on Sunday the 28th they'll be free again to celebrate newly naturalized citizens.

Normal admission is $20 per car for 7 days. 

It's $10 per person if you are coming via an environmentally friendly means though. (bike, walk, bus, motorcycle). See Yosemite admission fees.

Other parks are apparently taking part in this as well. Stay tuned for updates.

World's 50 Best Walks

Ranging from Pub Crawls in England to month long treks in the mysterious Kingdom of Bhutan, the Times (UK) has created a list of the best hikes in the world. Our favorite walk, the John Muir Trail from Yosemite Valley to Mt Whitney isn't listed but many ones we've completed are there including #6 the Fez of Medina, where we will spend a year someday. #9 Sydney-on-Sea from Bondi Beach on down to Coogee. #12 The Big Apple. There are a lot of other hikes here to keep one walking for years. It's time to set up a spreadsheet and start tackling these.

Link to The Times World's 50 Best Walks

Anyone completed any of these trips?

Lance Armstrong "Tired of being tired" is coming out of retirement

Velonews.com is reporting that Lance Armstrong will be coming out of retirement and racing for the Astana Team. Races will include  the "Amgen Tour of California, Paris-Nice, the Tour de Georgia, the Dauphine-Libere and the Tour de France".

It was also reported that Lance will publish his internally tested blood work online to show that he is a "clean" athlete. He will be joining his former team manager Johan Bruyneel at Astana. The story will be published in the upcoming Vanity Fair.