To address Patrick's question: I think one issue with posting 'brag' times is that it can give novice Skyliners reading the posts an unrealistic idea of how hard/easy Skyline actually is for the "average" hiker. Joe or Jane Blow, reading 'oh, it took this guy four hours, and that gal three, so it's probably not going to take me any more than five hours" have no idea that the sub-five group are training very, very hard to get to that elite level. I regard people like Fern, Bluerail, Zip, Ellen, etc as elite athletes who just don't happen to be world famous.

Not understanding the superb fitness level of the people writing the superfast TRs perhaps leads to some of the rescues. The other problem is that the urgency to hurry to the top to 'beat' others' time (even though we're saying we're only trying to beat ourselves

) perhaps leads to the massive shortcutting. I wince at the endless new 'shortcuts' and the subsequent erosion of the mountainside and destruction of the fragile vegetation--especially since it's pointless. .Remember folks, if you take a shortcut, it doesn't 'count' in cutting down your time anymore than that chick who took the subway to win the New York City Marathon really won the race. So please ppl don't shortcut to 'improve' your time. That makes zero sense. Take the established route and be zen about it. Or something.
Anyway, for the record, and to inject a note of glum realism into this: my BEST ever time on Skyline was six and a half hours; WORST, eleven (granted, there was heavy snow and we got lost.) But I don't call myself slow; I'm just MAJESTIC.

Q: How many therapists does it take to screw in a light bulb? A: Only one, but the light bulb has to want to change ...