Late last year, hiker Karl “Speedgoat” Meltzer broke the record for the fastest completion of the Appalachian Trail, traversing the rocky rough from Maine to Georgia in just under 46 days. Phish fans quickly pointed out the number in amusement, and jokes about Meltzer’s run and the Phish song “46 Days” flooded social media. But Meltzer’s record-breaking time wasn’t just a coincidental mainstream reference that Phish fans could enjoy–the number had just as much significance to Meltzer himself. As he revealed after the run, his secret weapon was the extensive playlist that he listened to while on the move, which heavily featured the likes of Phish and the Grateful Dead.
He went on to explain that jam bands have served as a huge inspiration to him. In an interview with Trail Running Mag, Meltzer said, “There was a lot of Grateful Dead, but not the studio stuff – the stuff where they really get jamming for a long time,” he says. “I had some Strange Folk, a little Phish. I like that jam stuff.”
We like that jam stuff too, Karl. We like that jam stuff too.
But it wasn’t just the jams that powered Karl’s 2,000 mile trek. A video shared by Red Bull documents just how much fuel it took to the hiker to achieve his goal:
That’s right–the recipe for a record-setting jaunt across the Appalachian Trail is simple: 12 pounds of bacon, 86 waffles, 20 sausage links, 20 sausage patties, 40 candy bars, 30 glazed donuts, 80 yogurts, 4 gallons of ice cream, 80 oatmeal cookies, 18 hash browns, 2 pounds of chicken, 4 pounds of steak, 12 cheeseburgers, 46 beers, 10,350 oz. of water, and 190 Red Bulls–totaling some 348,000 calories–with a heaping side of jam.
You can get the full story about Karl Meltzer’s historic Appalachian trek here.
A film about Meltzer, Karl Meltzer: Made To Be Broken, is available now on Red Bull TV
[h/t – Red Bull]