Benton MacKaye Trail, SE USA

Matt Kirk holds the self-supported (thru-hiker) & overall FKT of 5d23h16m, set May 22-28, 2009.

The Benton MacKaye Trail is a relatively new route that opened on July 16, 2005. It runs 288 miles from Springer Mountain, GA (also the southern terminous of the Appalachian Trail), to Davenport Gap on the NC/TN line, and the northern edge of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. The trail was created by the Benton MacKaye Trail Association.

Matt Kirk and Carl Laniak came up with the idea of quasi-organized, simultaneous self-supported speed hikes of the BMT. While this was not a race, it was intended that the participants would do the trail as quickly as possible. They also set up a website for this unique "event". Kirk, Laniak, Mohammed Idibi, Kevin Lane and Charlie Roberts started their hikes at 8:00 a.m. on May 22, 2009, after sleeping on the summit of Springer Mountain. Eventually, everyone dropped out of the attempt except Kirk, who pressed on to complete the trail in just under 6 days, including a mammouth final day push of 71 miles. Kirk's report is very detailed, and discusses the home-made gear he used on the trip. His splits are as follows (climb based on the BMT profile):








"I couldn't fathom pushing 71 miles nonstop to the finish. No way, I thought, no way". -- Matt Kirk