Cave Dog... Photo courtesy of Cave Dog

MZ: Have you done any of these hikes before?

TK: One of the restrictions that I put on myself is that I did not want to [have done] any of the hikes before. I wanted to keep it fresh and exciting.

Usually when I am training, I train on the route. Usually I have done the route at least three times, some of the harder sections upwards of a dozen times. This was practically impossible to do on this challenge because of the area that the challenge covers. How do you train for swamp one day and sand dunes the next day, and snowshoes following day? You just cannot train your tendons and ligaments for such varied terrain and foot motions.

MZ: How did you train?

TK: I tried to vary my training as much as I could. But there is no real solution to the dilemma. My support crew and I will be attuned to my getting an overuse injury from doing some unusual repetitive motion for such a long time.

MZ: You're last hike is in New York. Why did you choose to end there?

TK: My last hike is in the Adirondacks and I am really excited about this route. This is an enormous tribute to Bob Marshall and I am going to try and hike the exact route of one of his most famous hikes. It traverses atop fourteen peaks, summitting eight of the top ten highest peaks in New York, including the tallest, Mount Marcy. Some people say it is humanly impossible to hike this route on November 28. With low daylight, ice, snow and weather considerations it will be a real challenge. One of the difficult aspects that you might not think of is that most of the people that want to summit the High Peaks in winter conditions also want to claim that it was during actual winter; so, they wait until December 21st, which means that the trail is unlikely to be broken. I will probably have to break trail myself, which will make it many times more difficult. If I get part way through the hike and it is apparent that it is unrealistic to finish in 24 hours, I might have to finish the hike on easier trails. However, if there seems like there is any possibility of being able to finish the hike in a day, I will go for it.

I love hiking in the fall, though. The air is crisp and clear. You do not have the bugs in the upper Midwest or the intense desert heat in the Southwest. The biggest disadvantage to hiking this time of year is the lack of daylight and, in the end, the winter conditions.

MZ: Is there anything you'd like to add?

TK: Yes. An important aspect of the Duofold Hike 50 Challenge is that we are inviting people to come out and hike with me. I will target about a three mile an hour pace, which is a brisk hiking pace. Most walkers, hikers, or runners are comfortable with this speed. You can hike however much is reasonable for you, one mile, five, ten, even all thirty-plus miles. If you are excited about what we are trying to do, come on out and take part in a record setting adventure.

All the information about each hike is available on the websites: www.Duofold.com and www.TheDogTeam.com—maps, trails, times, trailheads. Be inspired about our effort to make history. Come out and join us. It is a community event. Spread the word and live the dream.

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