Killarney loop with Bash and Browner.
We've wanted to fast-hike this 6-10 day hiking trail for a while now.
Perfect excuse was Bash's birthday.
We started at 5:20AM , to hit the technical but scenic bits at The Crack by sun-up. The fog burned off, and it was unbelievably spectacular. Heat warnings in effect, so hot and humid throughout.
Some scrambling, lots of tricky footing, buf absolutely jaw-dropping views.
We didn't run any of it, just an average hiking pace. We stopped to admire and take pictures often.
Also decided to skip Silver Peak in favour of a descent to David lake to refill water and have a much-needed swim in the searing heat.
So much hiking on amazing quartz ridges and peaks!
We had treats (Kalhua and biscotti) overlooking Great Mountain Lake. More steep scrambling down to Little Mountain Lake to UV-treat more water, then back up the ridge.
We finished most of the technical stuff by nightfall, and did the somewhat less scenic final third in the dark, thanks to Bash's good planning. We never had any nav problems in the dark.
I had a case of the staggers and stumbles briefly, before having half of Heather's 5-hour Energy shot, which perked me up. Even more invigorating was Bash's birthday cake after midnight, baked by the amazing Coach LD. I was worried it would have melted to sludge in my pack, but frozen and insulated, it survived. I had a cold-brew coffee gel from pocket-fuel, and 2 10-min catnaps, and was alert the whole night.
We woke up some hikers when we invaded their campsite to water-up at 2 AM.
Sun-up was nice, and we made it back exactly 28 hrs after the start.
My stomach was fine at that pace, and so were my feet. Guess the running is what makes me sick.
Fantastic trip! Great to be able to do this with Bash, and Browner was great company too despite more foot and sleep issues.