Officials at Baxter State Park, fined Scott Jurek for violating park rules against drinking in public and littering. PHOTO: EMIRATES247
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Officials at Baxter State Park, fined Scott Jurek for violating park rules against drinking in public, littering and hiking with an oversized group.
The latter two charges were dropped in a plea agreement in which he pleaded guilty to public consumption of alcohol, Jurek's lawyer said.
Jurek, a professional ultramarathoner who completed the Georgia-to-Maine trek in 46 days, eight hours and seven minutes on July 12, beat the previous record by more than three hours.
The high-profile trek sparked concern among park officials and some wilderness advocates about the commercialization and crowding of the Appalachian Trail, which has seen increasing use in recent years.
His journey was tracked in real-time by GPS, "liked" by tens of thousands on Facebook, followed by a support vehicle bearing the logos of corporate sponsors and drew national attention.
The number of hikers and long-distance trail runners completing the trek has more than doubled since the 1980s, according to Appalachian Trail Conservancy figures.
"These corporate events have no place in the park and are incongruous with the park's mission of resource protection, the appreciation of nature and the respect of the experience of others in the park," officials at Baxter State Park wrote in a Facebook post shortly after Jurek completed his trek.
Walt McKee, Jurek's lawyer, said officials had wrongly sought to make an example of his client.
"The irony here is the publicity surrounding this case will probably just attract more people to the park," he said.
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Park officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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