[pct-l] Snow Hiking with a Sled & choosing Boots

[sesexton at gci.net]

https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=40614


Sent from my iPhone

> On Nov 12, 2016, at 3:35 AM, Reinhold Metzger <reinholdmetzger at cox.net> wrote:
> 
> Hey Ned,
> You are right about using a sled for winter hiking, especially on extended
> trips when the packs are heavy with all the extra cold weather gear, snow
> gear and extra food and like you said, you can bring a lot of luxuries.
> 
> Did you know there is a race in Alaska every February, one week before the
> world famous 1000 mile Iditarod sled dog race, called the Iditarod Trail
> Invitational & Iditarod Trail Extreme?
> It used to be 170 miles but was extended to 350 miles in 1997 and follows
> the historic snow covered Iditarod trail
> Contestants go on foot, sky, or fat bike.
> 
> John Stamstad, a Mountain Biking Hall of Famer, turned Ultra Marathoner
> has won that race 8 years in a row in 1993,94,95,96,97,98,99, & 2000.
> John would go on foot, "PUSHING" a sled rather than pulling.
> 
> John is an amazing athlete, weighs only 135 pounds but has the stamina
> of a bulldozer and has set some amazing records, including biking the
> Continental Divide Bike Trail in 18 days..the prior best time was 6 weeks.
> 
> I got to know John when he called me in 2005 about the John Muir Trail.
> It went something like this..."Ring,ring,ring...hello...are you Reinhold
> Metzger?...yes...I'm John Stamstad, I want to break your JMT record...hey
> John that's great".
> To make a long story short, we talked about the JMT about an hour, I gave
> him all the information and advice I could and wished good luck.
> 
> I called him about the time he was going to finish the trail and it went
> something like that..."Hey John, did you break the record...Naaahhh...why,
> what happened?...my shoes fell apart, I tried taping them with duct tape
> but they kept falling apart so I bailed out...Bummer".
> 
> More JMT record attempts went up in smoke due to shoe or foot problems
> than anything else.
> 
> It is important to have shoes that fit "YOUR" feet without causing "HOT
> SPOTS" from pressure or friction points and are sturdy enough to not fall
> apart from the pounding of a rocky trail.
> Remember not all feet are alike and what worked for a friend may not work
> for you.