BOISE, Idaho (KBOI) — It started as a conversation years ago.
Andrija Barker and Taylor Neal were working at a downtown Boise running store when a book about Idaho's Centennial Trail came out. The book, written by local author Steve Stuebner, describes the 900-mile trail that takes hikers in some of the most remote country in lower 48.
Although the numbers are fuzzy, and it's hard to say with 100 percent certainty, there are estimates that fewer than a dozen or so people have ever finished the challenging trail from the Idaho-Nevada border to Canada.
Jobs had changed, years had passed, but the co-workers remained friends. And then it came time to just getting it done.
"It literally was a text - 'should we still do this someday?'" Barker said.
Neal wrote back: "How about August?"
For the next year, Barker and Neal spent countless hours researching the trail, talking with folks who have completed it, others that managed to knock off a few sections. But Barker and Neal are ultra-runners and they wanted to challenge themselves and finish the trail faster than anyone's done before. (It was also about as much time off from work they could possibly manage).
Local NNU professor Tom Oord completed the trail in the summer of 2012 and it took him about two and a half months to hike about 1,100 miles (he extended the hike to see more of Idaho's sights).
From their research, the fastest anyone's finished the trail has been 45 days. They wanted to do this thing in 30.
"We knew it was going to be the hardest thing we've ever done," Neal said. "We knew it was going to be a marathon a day."
Earlier this month, after all the planning, research, training and preparation, Andrija and Taylor started their journey near the Canadian border.
Day after day, they ran and attacked the course. After 14 days, the friends had managed to knock off more than 400 miles. They documented much of their story on Facebook.
"We have decided that after 14 days we need a rest day and will start tracking again Sunday! 400+ miles down people!" they wrote.
Not surprisingly, the trail conditions varied.
In some areas, Idaho showed off its picturesque beauty. In other locations, such as the Frank Church River of No Return Wildness, it was a living hell.
Blowout after blowout of fallen trees, debris and hidden dangers. It truly was one of the most difficult legs of the entire trip.
"The thing we weren't expecting was the condition of the trails," Neal said. "They were so much worse than what we thought they'd be," Neal said.
And then they had their bodies to contend with. The runners had to work extra hard eating enough calories.
They wouldn't be surprised if, on some days, Neal burned 8,000 calories, maybe more.
Some nights, they were so tired, they had to force themselves to eat. All they wanted to do was crawl into their sleeping bags and fall asleep.
"Your body and feet would hurt so badly," Barker said.
In some sections, Andrija and Neal went nearly a week without seeing another soul.
"It's probably as remote as you can get in the lower 48," Neal said.
Over the weeks, Andrija and Neal worked their way south. They counted nine black bears along their travels and a lot of deer and moose.
With nearly 200 miles left to go, their bodies started to give.
In the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, Andrija fell almost 30 feet off the trail. Thankfully she was OK, but they each had their issues -- a knee here, an aching Achilles heel there.
Somewhere along the way, Barker developed a bacterial infection in her intestines. And it knocked her off her feet.
For four days, she was unable to keep any food down. Water was becoming a struggle. Her health was quickly becoming more serious. If they continued, she likely would end up in the hospital.
They both knew. It was time to stop.
"It was a huge disappointment to have to stop," she said. "It made me, I'm not going to lie, feel guilty that it was my issue that had to make us stop."
But, from the very beginning, the pair had made a pact.
"We decided early on that if one of us couldn't finish, the other one wasn't going to keep going — that was an easy decision," Neal said.
They were near the Castle Rocks area near Highway 20 with "the easy part" left to go.
After 800 miles, the pair took off their trail running shoes for the final time.
"It was an incredible journey and we have some great stories to share," the friends wrote on Facebook.
Barker and Neal say they aren't giving up. Next spring they hope to return to Castle Rocks and complete the final desert portion toward Nevada. Besides, what's another four or five days?
"We will finish it," Taylor said.
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