Toughest dayhike?

“I just read in Backpacker that the toughest dayhike is the Devil's Path in the Catskills, NY.

26 miles, 7 peaks, and 18,000 feet of elevation gain. This is sick, diabolical, and only a moron would try this in a day.


Sooooo Artex - guess where we're going when you come up this summer?”

“My friend, you read my mind. I saw that and thought it would be kick ass to try and do that in one day. It's on!!! What do you say we camp at the end of the trail, just so we can get in a bagnight?”

“HA! You jumped on this one fast, didn't ya?

Did you also notice that the "Tastiest Post-Hike Eats" is at Sweet Sue's, just down the road in Phoenecia?”

“Is that right? Well, perhaps we'll have to pay that place a visit, even though we'll stink to holy heck! :-)”

“You guys are both fools. Can I come?”

“Idiots, machocist, D#@* fools........














Got room for one more?”

“pussies. yeah, don't strain yourself on your GROOMED TRAILS. You don't have a friggin' clue.”

“lol. j/k”

“Anyone who's up for some lot's of pain is welcome!”

“You all are slow!!!

I posted a thread months ago about this trail.

Pennsy I'm in. I think I wonder how much my day pack will weigh??”

“The idea of doing this has really captured my interest. I think we should call it the MOAB (Mother Of All Buttkickers).”

“It would be interesting to get a response from someone who has hiked this stretch in one day.”

“I don't know if anyone lived to tell about it Rich.”

“Maybe someone from Backpacker? After all, they suggested it. I would bet some serious local mountain runners have taken this on and completed it.”

“I heard of a few guys who have done this in one day. This Damien guy, some dude named Luis Cipher, some other guy nameed Beaver Buzzle or something like that (must have been his trail name). Anyway, these guys have done it, they said they'd help me but it'd cost me my sole. Lord knows what they'd want with the bottom of one of my boots, but I didn't think it was a good deal.”

“ha ha

Are there many bail points???

I think we could do it all. Just pack, water, filter, powerbars and more powerbars. If you are ice tea pack seven lunches.”

“Tea - I hope you mean seven COLD lunches. Leave the damn kitchen home for this trip. It's point to point, no bailout. 26 or death.

Beaver Buzzle?? You're killin me!!”

“26miles and 18,000ft elevation gain in one day sounds more like a death march.

I'M IN!!!”

“An early pre-dawn start will likely be required to defeat the devil.”

“Oh c'mon... I'm sure it was a cakewalk for walkindude!!!!

lol”

“If there are no bail points then we will do it!!!!

Pensy, I think I told you already but anyway, my pack weighed 40lbs w/o food or water. I've learned my lesson.”

“Toughest day hike is the that forces me outta bed on a Monday morning!




BTW You're all NUTZ!”

“I wonder if BPer put this jaunt in the "dayhike" category because it'd be nuts to carry a loaded pack w/enough water to spend the night somewhere.

Heck, even the dayhike water weight must be insane, assuming there's no water-source on the range.”

“I could probably due that hike with a 100 pound pack, no to-nails, and flip-flops on....
oh yeah I also could do it in my sleep because then I would be dreaming!

Guess its time to start doing squats and lunges to strengthen the knees!”

“I met a guy who is walking around the State to promote the Relay for Life. He says he tries to do 42 miles a day. He maintains a 4mph pace and walks twelve hours a day. With breaks he gets in a little more than ten hours of walking a day. Everyday.”

“bacpac, sounds like that guy has no life.”

“Hey Guys, that is going to be one kick ass Day Hike you are alll certifiable.”

“This sounds like a great challenge - but there are tougher traditional day hikes in the Northeast - fer instance, the one day hut traverse in the Whites:

24 Hour Hut Traverse. Start at the Carter Notch Hut and go to Lonesome Lake Hut passing all the huts along the way (Madison, Lakes, Mizpah, Zealand, Galehead, Greenleaf). It is around 50 miles and over 15,000 feet of elevation gain, the objective is to do it in 24 hours (usually as one calendar day, starting at midnight and finishing before midnight). It is not required to do the summits, some people do them. In fact some people include Pinkham as a "hut", and so leave Carter Notch by the Wildcat Ridge to Pinkham, then on to Madison etc.

Source for this and other big day hikes in the Whites is: http://home.earthlink.net/~ellozy/faq4.html#big2”

“Pheonicia is a great town. I think that is it more fun to hang out there than in Woodstock. Great resturants bars etc. I am going to try that resturant the next time I am there.”

“Hey, where's SirPete? This sounds like something he'd be interested in.”

“I'm not trying to make light of your plan - I've never done 26 miles in a day, let alone with 18,000 feet of gain. The most I've is 22 with about 1/4 the elevation gain while backpacking in Maine. The devil's path hike would kick my butt as a day hike - assuming I made it.”

“There is a site call dayhiker.com It's sole purpose is extreme dayhikes. I read where the guy who does the site did the rim to rim trail at the Grand Canyon in a day. It's comparable mileage and elevation to the Catskills trail, only a little warmer weather.”

“It sounds like the guy I met on top of Mt Adams on the Presidential Range. He was doing a day "run" from the base of the range - shirt, shorts, sneakers, no food, no water, nothing else... IMO - this nutjob was asking for trouble!”

“The Devils Path is on map 41 of the Catskills Forest Preserve set. They actuall say that it is 24.60 miles. There are several bail out points along the way, Devils Tombstone(rt214), Mink Hollow Rd.
Looks to be alot of Water along the way in the form of springs. I was thinking about this hike as a 2 nighter myself. It goes through some stunning scenery, that would be ashame to run past.
There is one part that they call the Machu Pichu of the north. Huge blue stone chairs on top of
Sugarloaf mtn. that knowbody know who made them. There are caves to explore, lots of interesting notches, lean-tos, and alot of realy close together topography lines.”

“wouldn't it be kind of dangerous to do those insane kinds of hikes without carrying a bunch of stuff in case of an emergency? i mean, i would think you'd need to take along a pack anyway...even if you didn't particularly want to spend the night, it might be necessary. know what i'm sayin'?

did i mention these sound insane? LOL!”

“They don't have to take anything else along because if you can't make it your HIKEMATES KILL AND EAT YOU!!!!!”

“well, as long as it's in good clean fun!
:-D”

“Yeah, it's like "Alive", only in the Catskills.”

“Hmmm.


I would think this would be tough to organize and execute as a group.

Its one of those things I would conceive as "waiting till the weather gods smile" and then making a break for it.

RE: carrying a pack. I would say:

Two liters of gatorade.

Iodine tablets (or cholorine)and powdered gatorade for refills. Skip the filter, too long to use, too heavy.

Clif bars, beef jerky and gorp.

A wind shell (marmot precip)

a blister kit (including small penknife and alcohol wipes)


lightweight trail shoes (not 4 lb hiking boots).

Ankle gaiters

Trekking poles (maybe).

sparse first aid kit (advil, ace bandage, steri strips, matches)

Emergency blanket.


Maybe (big maybe)

Windpants, fleece, hat, gloves, sunglasses, sunscreen, bug dope”

“I woud throw in a bagel too. Good source quick carbos.”

“Check out this link: http://www.connarch.com/miscellaneous/devils_path_and_burroughs_range.htm”

“Is anyone interested in making this into a longer hike? As in a 3 day?”

“You guys are all insane!!! :) Don't kill yourselves....JK”

“I dunno, the challenge of doing it all in one day is very appealing, IMO>”

“i know I could not make it in one day. shoot, 26 miles? too bad, I would be game, but not for one day! it probably would kill me.”

“18,000 feet of elevation gain is 36,000 feet of elevation change.

What goes up must come down.

That much downhill will kill knees.”

“hehe.. sounds incredible.. our corporate office is in toronto.. maybe I could figure out some way to drive down from there.. and do is also??..

damn.. I HAVE to be a glutton for pain to even /consider/ this trail.

:)

When we going??.. Is it posted on the TRIPS page yet???..

:) :)”

“Hmmm, maybe I'll join in on this.”

“I'm with LtHiker who said...""It goes through some stunning scenery, that would be ashame to run past."" which is essentialy my philosophy to backpacking anywhere. Sounds like a great place to spend more time than just one day.

btw - which issue (and page) of Backpacker was this writeup in???”