REPORT: Unsupported Fremont National Recreation Trail FKT

Christof Teuscher

On Sun, May 27, 2018, I completed an unsupported Fastest Known Time (FKT) on the Fremont National Recreation Trail in 57 hours 37 minutes. I am unaware of any existing running or thru-hiking times on the entire trail, so this may be an Only Known Time (OKT). My attempt was announced here.

I had a pretty miserable time. Yet, it was good training.

At mile 3 on Yamsay Mt. There wasn’t really anything to celebrate at that point. Quite the opposite.

Movie Clips

Here’s a full movie report, if you are into that and have about 9min of your time to waste. For full resolution, go to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVK6LQvgXbw

And if you’d like to see a preview of the epic trails and scenery, here’s that for you too. For full resolution, go to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbVwUlzyEhM

Route

The Fremont National Recreation Trail is a 135 150 mile long-distance multi-use trail in south-central Oregon’s Fremont-Winema National Forest. There are twro main sections separated by about 13 miles of rural road and highway. The northern part begins on the summit of Yamsay Mountain (8,196 feet) and makes its way south over Hager Mountain and along Winter Rim to the Warner Mountains, where it ends at Vee Lake.

The trail is a stunningly scenic undiscovered Oregon gem far off the beaten track. Both the Oregon Desert Trail (ODT) and the Oregon Timber Trail partly follow its route (see map below).

While the official trail distance is listed as 135mi, my Suunto Ambit3 recorded about 140mi on 1min GPS interval, which typically short-logs between 5-10%, depending on the trail. So I suspect this trail to be more like 150mi.

The 135 150 mile Fremont National Recreation Trail #160. Both the Oregon Desert Trail (ODT) and the Oregon Timber Trail partly follow its route. According to the website, the Oregon Timber Trail now also leads over Yamsay Mt., yet, the downloadable GPS track does not seem to include that change yet.

Signs of Trouble

Several times I had some serious trouble to recover from losing the trail on the Winter Rim at night, in the rain, and in very thick fog. I ended up using two GPS, one to backtrack to the last cairn and one to move forward.

Recorded Data

Visualization

NEWS: 1st 135mi Fremont National Recreation Trail FKT Attempt

Christof Teuscher
I completed this FKT on Sun, May 27, 2018, in 57h37min. More info here.

The Fremont National Recreation Trail is a 135 mile long-distance multi-use trail in south-central Oregon’s Fremont-Winema National Forest. There are twro main sections separated by about 13 miles of rural road and highway. The northern part begins on the summit of Yamsay Mountain (8,196 feet) and makes its way south over Hager Mountain and along Winter Rim to the Warner Mountains, where it ends at Vee Lake.

The trail is a stunningly scenic undiscovered Oregon gem far off the beaten track. Both the Oregon Desert Trail (ODT) and the Oregon Timber Trail partly follow its route (see map below).

I will make at attempt to set an unsupported Fastest Known Time (FKT) on this trail on Fri, May 25, 2018. Unsupported means I will carry everything I need (except water) from the beginning to the end, and I will not receive any external support during the 135 mile journey. I am unaware of any existing running or thru-hiking times on the entire trail, so if successful, it may be an Only Known Time (OKT).

The 135 mile Fremont National Recreation Trail #160. Both the Oregon Desert Trail (ODT) and the Oregon Timber Trail partly follow its route. According to the website, the Oregon Timber Trail now also leads over Yamsay Mt., yet, the downloadable GPS track does not seem to include that change yet.

The trail has roughly 25,000ft of elevation gain. Nothing too crazy for a 135 mile distance.

Perhaps the biggest challenge will be the lack of water on some sections of the trail. For long stretches I’ll have to carry several liters of water to survive. Navigation on overgrown sections as well as the 100% rain forecast for Friday will present additional challenges. I hope it won’t dump snow in higher elevations.

The weather forecast for the start is not looking good. Let’s hope it won’t snow in higher elevations.

Trail Preview

Check out a preview of the epic trails and scenery in the short movie clip below. For full resolution, go to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbVwUlzyEhM

Gear and Food

To prepare for the next big events this year, I will make this attempt with a full gear kit that includes a sleeping bag, bivy bag, and stove. I would not typically need all this gear for this trail at that time of the year.

I will carry about 15,000 calories, including, yes, the infamous JelloPringles.

Tracking

The planned start is at 4am on Fri, May 25, 2018.

You can track me right here on this page or at this URL: https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=18c855af0ea1326a5b&hoursPast=0&showAll=yes