On Saturday, September 21, 2024, Tara Dower set a new record for hiking the Appalachian Trail. The new record for overall supported fastest known time (FKT) is now 40 days, 18 hours, and 5 minutes. The previous record was held by Karel Sabbe in 2018—41 days, 7 hours and 39 minutes.
I Run Far explains that the Appalachian Trail covers 2,197 miles and has 465,000 feet of elevation gain. It stretches from Mount Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia, and winds through New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
The previous record holder, Sabbe, hiked from south to north, while Dower hiked the opposite direction, beginning at the summit of Mount Katahdin at 5:47 a.m. on August 12, 2024 and ending at Springer Mountain at 11:52 p.m. on September 21.
She covered an average of almost 55 miles a day, which is super impressive. I've hiked a tiny bit of the AT and can't really imaging doing a thru-hike, nevermind in 40 days! Kudos, Tara!
To read more about Tara Dower and her record-breaking thru-hike, here's a great piece with lots of details.
Previously:
• Excellent blog about backpacking the John Muir Trail
