Published April 7, 2026 03:15AM
Every morning I take my nine-pound Schnauzer on a mile-long walk around the neighborhood for poopies and sniffing. We repeat the journey just before bedtime.
If I were to continue this daily mileage, it would take me ten years and four months to walk the distance that a hiker named Nick Gagnon recently covered in a single continuous push. In 2025, Gagnon, who goes by the trail name “Chezwick,” did the so-called Triple Crown of thru-hiking, completing the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), Continental Divide Trail (CDT), and Appalachian Trail (AT) back-to-back-to-back.
That’s about 7,525 miles on foot. And Gagnon hiked it faster than anyone in history, finishing the epic journey in 231 days, 7 hours, and 33 minutes.
“It’s all mental,” Gagnon told me about the ordeal. “How long can you eat cold Ramen noodles and deal with being cold, wet, and tired without quitting? I guess I’m lucky that I can do that for a long time.”
Gagnon’s time shaved three days off of the previous Fastest Known Time (FKT) for the Triple Crown which had been set in 2023 by a guy named Billy “Wahoo” Meredith. In order to surpass Meredith, Gagnon had to average 32.6 miles each day on the trail. Completing this distance in one day represents a major milestone for a hiker. Gagnon did it every day for 33 continuous weeks.
“My feet are still pretty messed up,” Gagnon told me. He burned through 14 pairs of hiking shoes during the hike.
Lots of Miles, Plenty of Luck
Gagnon, 40, set out on the PCT from the U.S.-Mexico border on May 3 hoping that the spring sunshine would melt the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada. He zoomed across the desert ahead of schedule and reached the high mountains amid high runoff, and found the trails muddy and the river crossings treacherous.
“I got swept downriver one time and that freaked me out,” he said
But hitting the peaks early meant he avoided wildfires, and Gagnon blazed through Oregon and Washington, eventually completing the PCT in 77 days. After hitchhiking to Wenatchee, Washington, he caught an Amtrak train to Glacier National Park and started hiking along the CDT two days after finishing his first trail.
Gagnon blazed through the first half of the CDT but slowed in Colorado’s Front Range and San Juan Mountains. He continued along the trail—no, he didn’t take the popular Creede Cutoff—and dodged lightning storms in New Mexico. It took him another 77 days to finish the CDT.
After completing the trail, he caught a ride to El Paso, Texas, where he showered and then boarded a series of flights to Bangor, Maine.
“Luckily I showered so I didn’t smell like a bag of smashed apples on the flight,” he said. “I was getting some funny looks in the airport.”
Gagnon started the Appalachian Trail at its northern terminus at Katahdin, Maine, in early October. From the first day on the trail he knew that the weather would make or break the final leg of his adventure.
“It was about 4 degrees on top of Katahdin,” he said.
He endured rainstorms and freezing conditions in New England and sweaty temperatures in the mid-Atlantic. In Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, he almost lost his pace after discovering that a running race was being held on the stretch of trail he was set to complete.
Then, in Tennessee, the Appalachian Trail was buried under snow after an early storm rolled across the Great Smoky Mountains.
“My feet were messed up, I was really cold, and I was having to break trail,” he said. “That’s when I was thinking I might not get this thing.”
But Gagnon kept going. He woke up on his final day on the trail and saw that the mileage to the AT’s southern terminus was 50.3 miles. Rather than split it up, he decided to make a final push. He finished on December 19, just a few minutes before midnight.
“I couldn’t spend one more day on the trail,” he said.
Even with this hellish pace and monastic lifestyle, Gagnon said he still needed some luck to beat Meredith’s record. Had he gotten sick, suffered an injury, or had even a minor setback, he would have lost valuable time.
“You have a delayed flight, you can’t hitchhike back to the trail, there are all of these what-ifs,” he said. “I’m hard on myself out there to keep myself on pace.”
Lots of Miles, Few Breaks
Speed hiking for weeks on end isn’t for everyone, of course. Your normal thru-hiker already sacrifices daily creature comforts such as air conditioning, a shower, and flush toilets for months on end during his or her journey. Gagnon takes things more than a few steps further during an FKT attempt.
There are no stops to marvel at a mountain vista, or trips into town for a burger and a bath, or long trailside chats with a friend. Gagnon views every action on the trail through the lens of time: How long will this take to complete?
“From the moment I started to the moment I finished, I was racing against the clock,” Gagnon said. “Every single decision was based on time. How long can I talk to this other hiker? Do I have time to go into the convenience store?”
“That’s why most people don’t want to hike this way,” he added.
Gagnon already has ample experience with this style of hiking. In 2022 he completed the so-called Great Western Loop, a 6,800-mile circuit that encompasses both the PCT and CDT, plus sections of the Pacific Northwest and Grand Enchantment trails. He did that in 200 days—a new record. It was his second attempt at the record.
Gagnon’s penchant for speed hiking may seem at odds with his life off the trail. He works as a bartender in rural New Hampshire and operates guided snowmobile tours in the winter. He’s a half-pack-a-day smoker, and says he’s never far from a cigarette.
“I’m always striving to make my hikes perfect,” he said. “They never will be.”
How to Maintain a Crazy Pace
What’s his secret to hiking fast? Gagnon says he never runs or jogs along the trail. He simply spends as much time walking each day as possible. That means he only sleeps about five hours each night.
“I’m on the trail by 5:30 A.M.,” he says. “I’m finishing my day when the typical hiker has already pitched their tent and is rolling in their sleeping bag. You gotta be comfortable at night.”
He eats while he walks, rarely stopping for longe than a few minutes to snack. His creature comforts are barebones: a pack of cigarettes, a bite of cheese, and an audiobook. During his latest adventure, Gagnon completed the audio version of Anthony Bourdain’s hit memoir Kitchen Confidential four times.
Gagnon keeps his pack light. His favorite piece of gear is an ultralight Montbell shell. He doesn’t bring a camping stove. To fuel this hellish pace, Gagnon eats the kind of junk you might find at a local convenience store.
“I can complete a five-day resupply in a 7-Eleven in 15 minutes,” he said. “Slim Jims. Twinkies. Total crappy processed food. I’m just going for calories.”
And, perhaps most importantly, Gagnon said he can simply keep his mind focused on moving forward and ticking off the miles. For him, a hike isn’t a mid-day dog walk around the neighborhood to recharge his batteries. Nor is it an outing to enjoy the vistas or the sunsets.
Gagnon loves the logistics of a hike, the planning, and the challenge presented by moving fast over a great distance. He’s fulfilled by knowing that he pushed himself on the trail every day, and got the most out of his time and his body.
“Most people go out in nature to have fun,” he said. “I’m like ‘nature is kicking my ass and every day feels miserable.’ But that’s the only way I know how to hike.”
