Cave Dog's Route Photo courtesy of Cave Dog

MZ: Describe your support network.

TK: I have a fabulous support crew, which is essential for breaking records. When you are trying to break records you reach some of the highest and lowest moments of your life. The Dog Team is made up of some of my closest friends and family, the people you want to share those moments with…My friends and family have been very supportive. Over the years, people from all parts of my life, from grade school to college to my various travels, have been with me through all sorts of challenges. They did not know each other before these challenges, but now they have developed friendships beyond me. It is one of the great aspects of these challenges. They bring people together to attempt a seemingly insurmountable goal. When it all comes together, it is beautiful.

We have added a page to our site that has everyone's dog handles…My site is www.dogteam.com and [the dog handles are on] http://www.thedogteam.com/Dog_Day_Mania.html.

We always contact the local mountaineering community and invite them to join the team. I have met some amazing people and it has tied our efforts to the local area. Each community of mountaineers has its own culture. It is important to respect their beliefs and ethics. I have found through my travels and these challenges that when your are doing interesting projects and living an active lifestyle you tend to meet other people that are doing interesting projects and living an active lifestyle. Because of these challenges, I have gotten to know others that are breaking world records, people whose books I have read or books written about them, best-selling authors and Pulitzer prize winners. It is one of the aspects of these challenges that I like the most.

MZ: How does this challenge differ from some of your other challenges?

TK: This one is different in two ways— it is so much longer—my longest challenge before this was 11 days. This one is over two and a half months. It is long enough that it begins to feel like a lifestyle…Also, on this one I am not going for speed, just completing it will be a record. A first is the only kind of record that can never be broken.

Duofold and I wanted to celebrate the diversity of landscapes in America and we were very successful in this regard. I will be climbing sand dunes in Colorado, hiking along glaciers in Alaska and traversing the depths of a deep slot canyon in Utah…In Kentucky part of the trail will be underground. We also wanted to touch upon some of the great historical trails, like Lewis& Clark's route, the Oregon Trail, the Santa Fe Trail, Natchez Trace in Mississippi, Sherman's March, even Paul Revere's route in Massachusetts. We also wanted to hit upon the great transcontinental trails—the Appalachian Trail, the Continental Divide Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, the North Country Trail, and the American Discovery Trail. We also will cover just about every type of land management system from National Parks to urban parks, from National Rivers to private land, from Wildlife Refuges to bicycle paths. It really is an amazing collection of hikes.

If you think about it, a 50-kilometer hike is a pretty epic hike and this is 50 epic hikes, one in every state. It is really a wish list of hikes. I am getting an opportunity to do every hike I have always wanted to do.

For example, I have always wanted to hike the Narrows. I have gone to Zion four times and each time there was a flash flood warning that precluded me from hiking the Narrows. As soon as I knew I was going to do this challenge, I called the National Park Service and asked if there were any chances for flash floods in late September. They said no. Then I called some outfitters in the area just to be sure. Now I finally get to do the Narrows. And others too, the Circular Tower in Wyoming, the Chinese Wall in Bob Marshall Wilderness, Montana, the Na Pali Coast in Hawaii and many more.

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