BIG Hiking Adventure

Check this guy's site out. He is hiking from Mexico-US border to just above Banff in the Canadian Rockies. We met him when we were camped at the Stateline CG on House Rock Valley Rd this spring. He was hiking the Arizona Trail which comes right thru the cg. We also ran into him a day and a half later at Bryce Canyon. This boy has a serious pace.:hail2thechief:
http://benmayberry.net/
I hope to see him when he does his resupply in Steamboat in 7-9 days. I hope he's ready to walk on snow because there's still a pretty solid pack in the high country. March on Ben!

holy $h!t. i hiked with that dude on the PCT last year. looks like a rad adventure, hope he pulls it off. he's gonna have to be fast to do it. solid!

:hail2thechief:

Very cool. I like his opinions on southern Utah.

What are the odds he had a permit for The Wave? :) Hundreds of miles in should probably entitle one to an exception.

- Jamal

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Originally Posted by Jammer

Very cool. I like his opinions on southern Utah.

What are the odds he had a permit for The Wave? :) Hundreds of miles in should probably entitle one to an exception.

- Jamal

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I asked him about that, because that's where he was headed when he left us from Stateline CG. He said that he did not need one as that was part of the official route. He's hiking Rocky Mt NP and should be near us by the end of the week. I plan on helping him out. His next resupply is Steamboat Spgs PO.
Free Hot Tuna show on Friday nite if he's lucky. Keep on truckin mama!:2thumbs:

Hmm... I'm 99% sure the Arizona Trail comes in from the west of stateline campground and House Valley Road and doesn't officially go through Coyote Buttes. I wonder if that statement holds true for the Grand Canyon portion of the trail -- I don't think thru hikers get any exceptions there either.

Just to be clear... I really think thru-hikers should be given an exception (within reason.) When I hiked across Utah, Canyonlands orignially told me that I would have to report to the visitor center the day before I entered the park on my hike to get my permit. At first they didn't budge -- but then they finally gave me the permit since I did have a reservation. However, they stressed I could NOT change my dates (despite being 40 days into the future.) I was ok with that -- just more motivation to stay on pace!

Best of luck to him. Send my regards -- I've bookmarked his page.

- Jamal

edit: scratch my original thought. i remember seeing skurka's improvised route and he went through the wave when he did his arches to grand canyon trip...

Jammer, I know when he left us, he said was taking the route past the petroglyphs and up thru the notch. He said it was legit. It poured rain that night, and he later told us that he set up camp in the vicinity under an overhang. If you look at his "spot" map you can probably see where it was at the state border. I know he walked the mud thru upper Buckskin. I'll ask him about the officialness of hiking the Wave this Wednesday. Who knows? :nono:
I heard from him today. The plan is to meet him on the east side of Rabbit Ears pass sometime on WED. Contact by cell phone or twitter? We'll give him a meal, some beer, a bed and then a ride back to his hiking spot on the pass the next morning. Looking forward to talking to the lad.
Hey Carpey this kid is definitely inspired by Skurka.

Whoa -- he camped in Sand Cove! That seems to be pushing it a little! I second your :nono:. OK -- I'm just jealous! Or... maybe he knows a secret I don't re: permits.

Love the SPOT updates. Man -- he is cranking out some mileage and not taking any short-cuts! I love to see that in a thru hiker; tells me he really loves the scenery out there.

- JG

Well, I just dropped Ben (our hiker) off on Rabbit Ears Pass (10:30am) where I picked him up the evening before. Fed dinner and breakfast, showered, launderied, and resupplied. He also spent a good part of the evening updating his site. Check it out, new pics, new entries, new video. His resupply at the PO, had a fresh new pair of walking shoes. He was very happy about that.

Three days of snow hiking coming up before he hits Wyoming (thru some of the highest snow totals Colorado produced this winter). Weather's not to special right now! Oh well the life of a thru hiker.:snowcloud:
I'm taking the fifth, on any of the permitted hiking and camping spots he's been thru.. Carpey, he said he ran into a lot of people on the PCT. Hard to say which one you were.
March on Ben!!:2thumbs:
Here's a few pics. with my wife, new shoes and about to hit the road.
http://www.bogley.com/forum/attachme...1&d=1309455490

Wow! Very cool! :hail2thechief: :2thumbs:

Yay! He finally hit Wyoming!
High snowpack, a storm or three, and raging rivers made our neck of the woods a bit of a push (Routt County CO).:bash:
Hopefully he starts putting in the miles till he hits the Winds. Should be plenty of snow there too!:popcorn:

As an aspiring thu-hiker, reading this makes me wonder... how is he keeping his feet 'alive'? Is it really just built-up-toughness or are there some tricks I don't know?

He seems to be hiking in trail runners. If he's hiking in snow constantly, a lot of which sounds like he's postholing or at least in some surface snow, is he even keeping is shoes/feet dry? I know I can put in a lot of miles with my sock/shoes, but if my feet were wet, there's no way I'd be putting in 25-30mi days. At one point he buys snowshoes, but even snowshoeing your feet get wet on the surface so you need waterproof boots...

All I can say is, he said that he basically has wet feet every day. He said he likes "this" shoe because of the lightness and how little moisture it absorbs, same for his socks. He is meticulous about foot care. If something is becoming an issue, he deals with it immediately. The snowpack has firmed up from the freeze thaw, so the post holing is very minimal.
Hey!! Some people were born for walking. I'm assuming this guy has a lot of that gene.

Just updated a few days ago for those interested.

ahha! I checked it on the 29th and was wondering what was going on. Glad to hear he's trekking along.

Ben will be reaching his final destination today. He only has 17 miles left when he leaves this AM. :hail2thechief:Amazing, he hit it within one day of his prediction, even with all the detours and delays. One hell of a way to spend the spring and summer.:stud:
WAY TO GO BEN!!

Nice, very glad to hear it! His blog posts have been few and far between as of recently, but I'm sure for good reason.

Ben's got an even bigger adventure planned for 2013 - and he is up for the Outside Adventure Grant. Go vote for him

https://www.facebook.com/outsidemaga...63315843722583

Thanks for showing this. I'd love to see Ben get that grant.
"The hiking machine"

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Originally Posted by CarpeyBiggs

Ben's got an even bigger adventure planned for 2013 - and he is up for the Outside Adventure Grant. Go vote for him

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What's he up to? (It's hidden unless you opt in to 'like' the page beforehand.)

- JG