Cutting new trails up the Grand Teton? Michelino Sunseri says the whole thing got out of hand. Photo: Clayton Chase//Unsplash
President Donald Trump pardoned trail runner Michelino Sunseri of federal charges for cutting a switchback during his 2024 ascent of Wyoming’s Grand Teton, a development Sunseri and his legal team announced November 10.
On September 2, 2024, the Idaho-based Sunseri attempted to break the speed record for summiting the 13,770-foot peak. He completed the 13.1-mile route, which gains 7,000 feet of elevation, in two hours, 50 minutes, and 50 seconds – two minutes faster than the previous record set by Andy Anderson in 2012.
The accomplishment drew criticism because Sunseri used a non-maintained social trail to bypass a section of the official, maintained switchback. Fastest Known Time – the accepted record keeper for speed runs – declined to recognize the run. According to a film production company documenting the case, six of the seven previous record holders also used the shortcut, which trims roughly half a mile from the route.
A series of legal actions followed, which Sunseri’s legal team described as “low-level park officials…criminalizing harmless conduct.” More than a month after the run, Grand Teton National Park filed charges. The National Park Service later sought to drop the case, but federal prosecutors proceeded anyway.
In September, a Wyoming judge found Sunseri guilty of a misdemeanor, exposing him to up to six months in jail or a $5,000 fine. In October, he was offered a deal requiring 60 hours of community service, a year of probation, and an educational course.
Sunseri said he was grateful for the pardon but argued the situation should never have escalated.
“Seriously. You can’t make this stuff up. It’s only fitting that something this absurd from the start ends in an equally surreal way,” he wrote on Facebook.
Sunseri, who called Trump’s pardon a twist that even Hollywood couldn’t write, posted photos of the document on Instagram along with celebratory messages from supporters.
“This case was a massive waste of taxpayer money and government energy from the start – something that should’ve easily been resolved back in September, 2024 when I offered community service to close the trail for good,” Sunseri said. “Unfortunately, instead of working with me, the system tried to make an example of me.”
