Teton FKT runner pardoned for cutting switchbacks

[chumley]

No idea how this news item escaped Pivo's feed algorithm, but here we are.

Apparently the governing body of FKTs refused to officially acknowledge the time after NPS charged Michelino Sunseri for using an illegal "social trail" to cut switchbacks and avoid regular peon hikers enjoying the park.

Now that this government overreach has been corrected via a presidential pardon (glad we're focused on the important things!), one would hope this FKT will be recognized and encourage the next feat-chaser to follow in his footsteps over the signed closure. As of this post, his name does not appear atop the list.

pardon news: https://apnews.com/article/wyoming-gran ... a84bc62edc
original story: https://apnews.com/article/grand-teton- ... a9fa41e89f

[LosDosSloFolks]

@chumley
"U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephanie Hambrick found him guilty in a 51-page opinion..."
I'll bet that's a real page turner.

[LosDosSloFolks]

@chumley
A quick search shows that Judge Stephanie Hambrick has a history of using judicial rulings to keep folks on the trails. In 2024 she fined actor Pierce Brosnan (Bond,James Bond) $1000 for stepping off the boardwalk in Yellowstone NP and endangering "thermal areas".

[chumley]

@LosDosSloFolks
It doesn't end up in front of a judge without a park ranger issuing the citation. And the citation is issued based on a violation of federal code. What's the point of a park establishing rules if they can just be ignored with no consequence? In the grand scheme of things, does it really matter? Of course not. But then where do you draw the line?

[Pivo]

No idea how this news item escaped Pivo's feed algorithm,

It didn't escape me Faithful reader.

[Jim]

Search warrants to get evidence
Sunseri wrote about his epic run on social media. Those words doomed him. Federal investigators used search warrants to get access to the posts, which led to a misdemeanor charge of shortcutting a designated trail in the national park.

The lesson here is: don't write about it. Why do people share everything these days?

No idea how that would affect his record claim, but I guess never mention more than needed and short cuts didn't happen, ever. Seems if he hadn't written about it, and there hadn't been a bored LEO, prosecutor with few real crimes (it seems) and a judge that wants to make an example of this, no one would ever have known. I recall a similar situation in the San Pedro River at a preserve with a fire, a few years back. A person naively shared details that led to a vindictive person reporting the offense, and there was some criminal action. Had the offender simply forgotten about the fire they had, omitting the detail from their log as a smarter person would have done, nothing would have happened.

So, when you do something not totally by the book, you don't mention it in a log, report, or social post.

[Grimey]

The lesson here is: don't write about it. Why do people share everything these days?

The FKT people require you to post your GPS track to prove your "feat", so he very likely would have been called out by someone eventually - probably thought it better to go ahead and cop to it up front.

He's a sponsored athlete - maybe his sponsors should contribute some money to the NP for trail maintenance and education purposes?

His pardon is now part of his Instagram tagline:

Seems like a real class act... not at all like the normal "look at me" types that we see in the trail running scene.

[Jim]

Well, he may have been at a loss then with the required public GPS route. Still, why take chances? Say nothing. Also, inspect the route for familiarity beforehand, and carry a few Colt 45s.

[Alston_Neal]

" and carry a few Colt 45s."
Ah the sports drink of champions.....Still a frikin pardon?

[hikeaz]

A quick search shows that Judge Stephanie Hambrick has a history of using judicial rulings to keep folks on the trails. In 2024 she fined actor Pierce Brosnan (Bond,James Bond) $1000 for stepping off the boardwalk in Yellowstone NP and endangering "thermal areas".

Damn! A bison has FOUR legs (most-times) with likely 400+ psi. They are in BIG trouble.

[Alston_Neal]

A bison steps into a cauldron is nature because it's family isn't calling Goldberg and Osborne. That and it's been proven that many animals there have a difficulty reading signs, apparently in any language.

[hikeaz]

@Alston_Neal
Seems doubtful that the sanction(s) on the FKT hiker/runner was to prevent their injury from scalding water...not many switchbacks immediately around the pools on my many trips there. Obviously my comment above was tongue-in-cheek.

[Alston_Neal]

@hikeaz
I knew that.