michelino-sunseri-found-guilty-of-cutting-national-park-switchback

It certainly seems like a heavy handed response... 

Trump Pardons Runner Who Trespassed On Grand Teton Trail Closed For ‘Regrowth'

Well, not really surprising, but still surprising that it actually got to a President's desk.Never would have happened in another administration. Justice served. Should have been a simple ticket issued, like a parking ticket.

https://cowboystatedaily.com/2025/11/10/trump-pardons-runner-who-trespassed-on-grand-teton-trail-closed-for-regrowth/

To accept the pardon Sunseri has to accept the conviction. Regardless Sunseri actions and comments were arrogant.

alpinist 47wrote:

I do believe we have “ bigger fish to fry “

be safe out there

Please: No internet discussions unless they are about genocides and pandemics. 

Allen Sandersonwrote:

To accept the pardon Sunseri has to accept the conviction. Regardless Sunseri actions and comments were arrogant.

It seems as if you're not just disagreeing with his choices but truly out to attack him. It was a mistake, not murder. Any anger, if that's what it is, directed toward him seems a little misplaced. No real harm was done to park resources. He's just a guy who made a mistake.

The trial wasn't about his arrogance.

It was about the Park's and Prosecutor's arrogance. That's why the case went to trial. It wasn't to dodge guilt, either. He admitted his guilt and offered to rehab the trail so that it didn't look like a nice single track social trail that's been in use for 40 years. The Park wanted to slam the hammer down instead.

Additionally, he lost his FKT record on the FKT website. It wasn't like other FKT runners were going to follow his lead. And very few climbers actually use that trail to begin with, and the publicity made it even more unlikely. That worked out in the Park's favor before Sunseri ever set foot in court.

I would have to agree that some of his comments (excuses mostly) didn't help his cause, especially with the park, but he wasn't being tried for his comments in court. He was being prosecuted for leaving a maintained trail to use an old trail covering about 1250 ft out of the 69,700 ft he ran. It did set a bad example but so did everyone else using the old trail, which included many guides. And everyone parking illegally at Lupine Meadows set a bad example and actually damaged park resources. And everyone who uses the backcountry as a toilet, or leaves their wag bags there. Everyone is arrogant to some degree.

Only Sunseri got targeted by the government. Easy pickings. A slam dunk. Working-class bartenders with a Strava track make easy targets, or so they thought. But it was a perfect example over criminalization of a minor infraction by the federal govt.

I agree with all of this.  very heavy handed by the park. I thought initially that it was more of an issue for the FKT record if other folks did not use the same trail but the feds coming down hard on a trail runner is unsurprising and rather predictable in this current climate of public lynchings that humans can't seem to resist... 

Wind Riverwrote:

It seems as if you're not just disagreeing with his choices but truly out to attack him. It was a mistake, not murder. Any anger, if that's what it is, directed toward him seems a little misplaced. No real harm was done to park resources. He's just a guy who made a mistake.

The trial wasn't about his arrogance.

It was about the Park's and Prosecutor's arrogance. That's why the case went to trial. It wasn't to dodge guilt, either. He admitted his guilt and offered to rehab the trail so that it didn't look like a nice single track social trail that's been in use for 40 years. The Park wanted to slam the hammer down instead.

Additionally, he lost his FKT record on the FKT website. It wasn't like other FKT runners were going to follow his lead. And very few climbers actually use that trail to begin with, and the publicity made it even more unlikely. That worked out in the Park's favor before Sunseri ever set foot in court.

I would have to agree that some of his comments (excuses mostly) didn't help his cause, especially with the park, but he wasn't being tried for his comments in court. He was being prosecuted for leaving a maintained trail to use an old trail covering about 1250 ft out of the 69,700 ft he ran. It did set a bad example but so did everyone else using the old trail, which included many guides. And everyone parking illegally at Lupine Meadows set a bad example and actually damaged park resources. And everyone who uses the backcountry as a toilet, or leaves their wag bags there. Everyone is arrogant to some degree.

Only Sunseri got targeted by the government. Easy pickings. A slam dunk. Working-class bartenders with a Strava track make easy targets, or so they thought. But it was a perfect example over criminalization of a minor infraction by the federal govt.

You all need to learn that there is difference between the NPS that issues the citation and the DOJ which prosecutes the citation. The DOJ initial plea deals were unreasonable. The Park said as much. Years ago, the Park also said that the trail was not to be used when these so called records became more publicized.

What the perp did was not a mistake but a conscious decision. He said that publicly. Further, the perp said he would do it again, again publicly. He brought it on himself with his social media comments. Social media, helping criminals convict themselves since 1997.

At the end of the day the parks are getting hammered and lack the resources. People like Sunseri, who have a very public profile should be stepping up. Instead, they don't give a shit cause it is all about them and their fucking mouth masturbation FKT records. 

Allen Sandersonwrote:

You all need to learn that there is difference between the NPS that issues the citation and the DOJ which prosecutes the citation. The DOJ initial plea deals were unreasonable. The Park said as much. Years ago, the Park also said that the trail was not to be used when these so called records became more publicized.

What the perp did was not a mistake but a conscious decision. He said that publicly. Further, the perp said he would do it again, again publicly. He brought it on himself with his social media comments. Social media, helping criminals convict themselves since 1997.

At the end of the day the parks are getting hammered and lack the resources. People like Sunseri, who have a very public profile should be stepping up. Instead, they don't give a shit cause it is all about them and their fucking mouth masturbation FKT records. 

When I read your post and roll my eyes at you calling a guy who ran down a trail with vague signage to set a FKT a perp, I can’t help but picture you exactly like this character. 

It is about respecting the land in which one recreates. 

Perp (noun) - informal for a person who commits a crime. 

While perhaps inappropriate for a pro athlete who many might see as setting an example (altho the overblown way we idolize athletes is a different matter)(and many other FKTs used the shortcut), this is FAR from criminal activity! It's the mountain equivalent to j walking...

Andy Wwrote:

It's the mountain equivalent to j walking...

J walking. On concrete. Does not directly contribute to soil erosion, increased slope instability, increased conservation/trail maintenance labor costs. I thought we all agreed a long time ago that going off trail in high impact areas is totally unacceptable?  Or did LNT fall victim to DOGE cuts? Or what am I missing here? 

If everyone did the thing, does the world get better or worse? Worse? Ok, maybe I wont do that thing purely for my petty personal benefit.

Calling an asshole an asshole.  And then having him say- yup. I'm too cool for your rules- what are you going to do about it? And then holding him accountable for his behavior.  I'm not sure what other option there was.

Andy Shoemakerwrote:

J walking. On concrete. Does not directly contribute to soil erosion, increased slope instability, increased conservation/trail maintenance labor costs. I thought we all agreed a long time ago that going off trail in high impact areas is totally unacceptable?  Or did LNT fall victim to DOGE cuts? Or what am I missing here? 

If everyone did the thing, does the world get better or worse? Worse? Ok, maybe I wont do that thing purely for my petty personal benefit.

Calling an asshole an asshole.  And then having him say- yup. I'm too cool for your rules- what are you going to do about it? And then holding him accountable for his behavior.  I'm not sure what other option there was.

I think what you’re missing is that there is a decades old trail that hasn’t eroded to gulley status that is currently festooned with somewhat vague signage. You also seem to overlook the fact that climbers commonly walk through a pristine landscape to access our objectives. Also, it is laughable when climbers speak about “leave no trace” when virtually everything we do leaves at least a trace and usually much more. We can either stop our activity and actually “leave no trace” or be reasonable and try to leave minimal signs of our presence. Maybe if the NPS focused on actual conservation instead of selective and capricious enforcement, among other suspect activities, DOGE wouldn’t be auditing their actions. So yeah, all of the climbers calling a guy that actually leaves minimal impact (as demonstrated by his speed and efficiency)vulgar names, sure sound like petty and envious hypocrites parroting a nonsensical and fantasy based narrative. 

The guy came off as a bit arrogant but the prosecution was absurd. It should have never been anything other than a civil citation.  But this is Merika where someone has to be punished. If we don't have a sunday lynching after church it ain't a good  proper sunday. 

This shortcut has been a well established trail for decades, and even after the closure has not grown back over in the slightest. It's still used by many people and does not contribute to soil erosion, instability, or maintaince any more than using the standard trail. One could subjectively consider his actions/comments an asshole move, but still a far cry from criminal behavior. Cancel him if you don't like what he did, or don't accept his FKT even tho the previous record holder accepted it (spectators don't really get to decide who holds the record), but the prosecution is a bigger waste of tax payer money than any labor/maintenance costs over the lifetime of the shortcut.

Is there a picture of the trail he took? 

Daniel Shivelywrote:

I think what you’re missing is that there is a decades old trail that hasn’t eroded to gulley status that is currently festooned with somewhat vague signage. You also seem to overlook the fact that climbers commonly walk through a pristine landscape to access our objectives. Also, it is laughable when climbers speak about “leave no trace” when virtually everything we do leaves at least a trace and usually much more. We can either stop our activity and actually “leave no trace” or be reasonable and try to leave minimal signs of our presence. Maybe if the NPS focused on actual conservation instead of selective and capricious enforcement, among other suspect activities, DOGE wouldn’t be auditing their actions. So yeah, all of the climbers calling a guy that actually leaves minimal impact (as demonstrated by his speed and efficiency)vulgar names, sure sound like petty and envious hypocrites parroting a nonsensical and fantasy based narrative. 

I had a whole response typed up addressing each logical fallacy included here.  But I'm fairly sure it would have changed no hearts or minds.  

So I'll just say- I disagree with all of these premises.

Nick Goldsmithwrote:

The guy came off as a bit arrogant but the prosecution was absurd. It should have never been anything other than a civil citation.

Nick, the issue that many/most, yourself included do not understand is that the NPS issued him the lowest level citation possible. The NPS and other federal land agencies do not have a mechanism in which to issue a civil citation. As such the NPS's choice was to issue the citation they did or nothing at all. Now given, the NPS had already made it clear previously that using the short cut was not acceptable/illegal and given Sunseri's arrogant public comments he basically forced the NPS's hand. The prosecution went off the rails with the DOJ's initial plea bargains.

Another example is all of the assholes who have been illegally parking along the Lupine Meadows Road and elsewhere. The NPS has no mechanism to issue a parking ticket which is civil citation. They issue a ticket for driving off a maintained road or resource damage or similar. That is citation is same level as what Sunseri was issued.

Andy Shoemakerwrote:

I had a whole response typed up addressing each logical fallacy included here.  But I'm fairly sure it would have changed no hearts or minds.  

So I'll just say- I disagree with all of these premises.

I saw your first reply that you deleted about playing a game. It was painfully obvious that your game was to copy and paste my reply to a LLM, then play pseudo intellectual with the results. lol Try the same game with your J walking reply, you’ll find the many of the same “logical fallacies” mentioned. 

How about simply sticking to the merits of this topic and acknowledge the fact that all human action impacts nature because we are simply a part of nature. 

Maybe try reading what I wrote above that states “or be reasonable and try to leave minimal signs of our presence”. Do you disagree with this premise?

At the end of the day, calling names, and wanting a man who ran down a trail to be punished seems like an emotional spurred lack of logic. 

lol

What an asshole for cutting the trail and eroding the ground by walking on it.....anyone wanna climb some bolted routes this afternoon?!?

Matthew Fredrickswrote:

Is there a picture of the trail he took?  

On the gearjunkie website, they show a photo of the signs at the bottom and top of the closed trail:

Gearjunkie article on Sunseri 

This trail has been signed as closed for a number of years (can't recall exactly when they signed it).  I remember prior to the signs, quite a while back, they used to pile stacks of brush at the start and finish of the trail where it connected to the main Garnet Canyon trail.  Kind of a steep and direct option and I'm not sure it saves much time.  Really just cuts off that long kinda level switchback that traverses back into the platforms and then to the meadows (which actually loses elevation as you're going up IIRC).  I know it was pretty popular with some Jackson locals for many years, but, it's also commonly been known as a closed trail too.  I don't know in the number of times I've hiked past it, that I've ever not seen tracks on it (over 30 times or more I'd guess...).  Anyhow...