Andrew Thompson, aka Trail Dog, of Derry N.H., just set a new record for speed hiking the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia: 47 days, 13 hours and 31 minutes!

That figures to be an average of 45.7 miles per day to cover the entire 2,175 mile length of the AT.

Wow! That's moving!

It's quite a feat just to hike the whole trail in the normal amount of time--about five months--never mind a little over a month and a half.

Of course, you don't get to see much at that pace. And in the end, that's why most people are out there.

But a challenge is a challenge. And Trail Dog certainly mastered this one.

What did he take away from his accomplishment?

...his AT epiphany “made itself absolutely clear,” he said. “Everything in life boils down to motivation.”

No question.

One foot in front of the other. Day after day. It won't happen any other way. You gotta want it, go for it, and do it.

I met the original AT speed hiker, Warren Doyle, back in (gulp!) 1973 at the bridge over Bald Mountain Stream south of Monson.

He only had a minute to talk, but this 13-year old greenhorn hiker peppered him with questions in that short time. Needless to say, I was pretty awed. Then he looked at his watch, announced that my minute was up, and sped off.

He finished the trail in 66 1/2 days.

And now, 33 years later, the record has been shaved by almost 20 days.

Interestingly, I met Warren Doyle again in 1977 on Loft Mountain in the Shenandoahs on my very own thru-hike, which took me 162 days! Nobody ever accused me of being fast, that's for certain.