Last Friday I posted this article about David Horton, who was attempting to run the length of the Continental Divide Trail in just 69 days. That’s an astonishing 2959 miles on foot, through some very challenging backcountry at altitude. David was going to be giving regular reports to friend Clark Zealand to post on his Eco-X website.
Well, sharp eyed reader DSD of Summit Stones and Adventure Musings fame noticed that the speed attempt is already over. This posting from yesterday gives the details, but in a nutshell, David ran for 45 miles on Saturday, but ended up completely dehydrated and exhausted. This has left him in an extremely weak condition and he’s not bouncing back from it just yet.
For now, the attempt will have to put on hold. Perhaps once he recovers, he can think about what went wrong, and plan a new attempt. Anyone who has ever been severely dehydrated can surely feel for him though. It’s one of the worst feelings ever and your strength is completely gone. Even re-hydrating still takes time for your energy to return. I only hope that Karl Meltzer is paying attention as he prepares for his Appalachian Assault set to begin in the first week of August.
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I’m certainly thinking about it. I guess the best thing is I won’t have to cross a desert the first few days. Although Maine is far more “rugged”, I’ll have more trees. Thanks for the info. I’m stepping into a new world too. Who knows what will happen. That’s part of the fun. -Karl
Hi Karl! Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
Good point on the desert. That’s a rough way to start, even in June, and while the CDT is tough, the AT has it’s own challenges to deal with, as you know.
I wish you the best of luck. Can’t wait to follow your adventure on the AT.
I still think it’s way too early for Dave to give up. He just needs to chill out a few days, have some burritos, and start over. I’ll dismiss the start as a false start. They do that in Track and Field, don’t they? Hope Dave is well.
Agreed. I’d love to see him start again shortly. I’m sure he feels miserable as he regains his strength, that is the worst feeling in the world, but I’ll bet he’ll be ready to go again soon. I’m sure this was a strange set of circumstances that put him behind the 8-ball. He wasn’t going out there unprepared.