Stories >Thru-Hikes >Thru Hikers 'It's a Return to Where I Started': Lyla Harrod on Becoming the First Trans Woman to Hold an Appalachian Trail FKT Harrod hiked an average of 41 miles per day for nearly two months to break the 10-year-old record. Share Icon Share Bookmark Icon Save Lyla "Sugar" Harrod on Springer Mountain (Photo: Courtesy Lyla Harrod)By the time Lyla “Sugar” Harrod was 1,700 miles into the Appalachian Trail, she was largely on her own. “I’m more well-acquainted with spiders than I ever thought I would be.”A few arachnids weren’t going to slow Harrod down. To achieve a self-supported FKT on the 2,198-mile AT requires more than just physical fitness. But while she didn’t accept help like hitchhiking or meetups with friends, being self-supported didn’t mean Harrod was alone.