FKT: Matthew Morrison - San Fran Bay Circumnav via Bay Area Ridge Trail (CA) - 2025-04-16

I have been thinking about the Bay Area Ridge Trail FKT for years. I started taking training for it seriously last year, set a start date, and trained like crazy. I section hiked the entire trail as training and to make logistical notes for my effort. This also allowed me to update the route slightly in a couple of ways:

1. To create publicly accessible bypasses around the private property sections (see my comment on the FKT's page for extensive details on these updates).
2. Add sections where the Ridge Trail has been completed since the current FKT holder hiked the trail (just a few minor spots that eliminated some road walking). 

Ultimately, these mods slightly shortened the route by a few miles, but they were clearly needed updates! Thanks for everyone's hard work in piecing this route together, hopefully I've made a small contribution to continuing that effort.

OK, to the FKT...

I planned to do the trail in 6 days 10 hours. The idea would be to attempt 50 mile days and then finish whatever was left with the last 10 hours. Here's how it shook out:

Day 1:

My buddy Ben drove me to the South end of the Golden Gate Bridge to start. Not only is this an iconic place to start the route, but starting here allowed me to ensure I got to the bridge when it is open to pedestrians! I started hiking at 5:28 a.m.. The nerves that had been building the few months leading up to this suddenly vanished, and all I had to do was walk. I felt pretty strong in the first few miles, but my quads were actually a bit fatigued already. I was worried I didn't rest hard enough leading up to the effort. But my body felt strong all day, despite this being one of the bigger days in terms of elevation. I had mapped out water stops pretty meticulously and so I was able to never need to carry more than 1.5 liters of water. I filled up at the Dipsea Trail faucet and a few seasonal creeks, and then did the long-ish water carry along the Bolinas Ridge. Eventually, the route cut south-east, where I was treated to some shady cruiser miles. After this, there were a couple big climbs left before I could call it a day. I was actually way ahead of schedule by the time I got to the Big Rock climb, and was able to go to sleep around 9:00-ish. I slept under a big oak tree which only partly protected me from the wet marine layer and brutal wind that whipped ALL NIGHT!

DAY 2:

I woke up at 5:15 feeling surprisingly fresh. This would be my first ever time doing two fifty mile days back to back. After this, I would just have to do it 4 more times! I was dubious as to whether I would succeed, but pushed on nonetheless. Day 2 would be somewhat chiller, it was mostly road walking. I cruised through Novato in the morning, resupplying at Trade Joes, and then set off for the 37. My arms and legs were super sunburnt already, so I stopped at Rossi's Deli just before the 37 to get some sunscreen. The guy didn't have any but he did fill my waters for me. The 37 was an extremely loud and unpleasant experience. The monotony of this section was broken up by a pleasant few miles in the San Pablo Wildlife Refuge. I saw several Snowy Egrets here, and even the sailboat of some unlucky sailor who had the tide drop on him so quickly that his boat became a fixture of the marshlands. Several hours of sun-scorched road walking later, and I was in Vallejo. I stopped at Grocery Outlet here and got some more food. I crossed the Carquinez Bridge and then rallied up some more climbs. I navigated the relatively infamous Hwy 4 crossing without issue (I took the train track option which a few people had recommended). I gained the ridge and pushed past my original goal for the night as I had been making good time yet again. I slept under another excellent oak tree which kept me warm and dry all night.

DAY 3:

I was starting to feel pretty haggard by the morning of day 3, but my body was recovering decently after each night's sleep. This was one of the biggest, and nicest days on the trail. The route goes through my old stomping grounds in the Berkeley hills, and I enjoyed hiking through some areas I used to explore when I was at school in Berkeley. I particularly enjoyed the section on Nimitz way, as the walking was easy and the views were excellent. But this whole section follows stupendous ridge lines with excellent lines of sight all day. Day 3 also contained the absolute low of the trip. I felt I was hiking super quick, and hadn't taken a single break from when I started hiking at 5:30 a.m. to when I stopped to take my shoes off at a water faucet in the Anthony Chabot Park around 4:30 p.m.. Three things hit me all at once: 1. the faucet was not working. It was probably 80 degrees, I was out of water, and the next water source appeared to be over 10 miles ahead. 2. I did the math on my phone and I had only traveled 30.5 miles somehow, leaving me with almost 20 to go. For reference, based on the first two days, I was averaging a bit over 3.0 mph and so I expected to be well over 30 miles in. And 3. I realized I was running very low on food. I cracked on nonetheless, and found a small seasonal stream to fill up at just before entering the EBMUD land section that would take me up to Dinosaur Ridge. I got to the trailhead for the next section and saw a man walking across the empty parking lot. After a moment, he vanished, and I realized that less than halfway through the route and in broad daylight I was already hallucinating, crap! Shortly after, a very real law enforcement agent pulled up in a pick up truck and checked my EBMUD permit. If you go for this route, make sure to buy an annual permit as the route goes through a bunch of this land! I resupplied at the Safeway that was right on route in Castro Valley and, like a zombie, continued late into the night. Eventually, I called it, a couple miles shy of where I wanted to get.

DAY 4:

Day 4 was mostly urban, and therefore had a lot less elevation than the previous one. I used these cruiser miles to make up time and get back on schedule. I crushed the Fremont section, rallied through the Mission Peak wilderness, and then started the long crossing of San Jose. It was hot, but not as oppressively hot as I anticipated. I had many surprisingly positive encounters with bums as I crossed through San Jose as I looked haggard enough to be accepted as one of their own. A sketchy dude even said to me at one point "Hey bro, how you been? It's been forever!" I told him I've been good but I'm done with San Jose and I'm walking to San Francisco for a change of scenery. At another point I got kind of lost in a vast homeless encampment along Coyote Creek. I needed to get up to Senter street, but got lost in the maze of tarps, tents, trees, and streams. I asked around and eventually an older homeless dude took me through his crazy tarp shelter castle that seemed to stretch for hundreds of feet. It was a crazy emporium of trinkets, junk, odds, and ends in there. Eventually, this narrow shelter led all the way out to the street! We chatted for a few minutes, and then I cracked on. I skipped the Walmart resupply I had planned in downtown San Jose, and pushed on for the Lucky Supermarket. I made it there with plenty of time to spare before they closed, got my food for the next long carry (59 miles to the Woodside Trading Post) and then got a couple burgers at McDonalds. I slept under yet another oak that night. I was sleeping like a baby at this point as soon as my head hit my shoes (which I used as my pillow).

DAY 5:

A huge and epic day. My spot gps device seemed to have a bit of trouble in the morning, so for the last two days I also recorded strava activities. I noticed this a few hours into my hike on day 5 and started recording on my phone in Almaden Valley. It was cool and overcast for a change which I was stoked on. Tons of seasonal creeks flowed through the wilderness between Almaden and the Lexington Reservoir so I was never hurting for water despite the long carry on paper. I live in Santa Cruz, so it was cool to pass the Lexington Reservoir and over the 17. I climb in Castle Rock a lot so it was also neat to hike up Black Road and through the park I know so well. The familiar sights kept me occupied during the savage climbs on day 5. Being up on the peninsula proper was a huge psychological boost as all I had to do was hike north along the peninsula to my final destination. I couldn't believe I was still going. Once up on the ridge past Saratoga Gap, the thick tree cover died off and the views got insane. It was like this all the way til camp that night, the sunset was incredible, and the views stayed nice long into the night thanks to the light of the nearly full moon. I found yet another oak to sleep comfortably under that night.

DAY 6:

This was it! A 63 mile push was all that separated me from the FKT. I felt solid and resolved to try to knock it all out in one 24 hour push. I made it to the Woodside Trading Post just after 7:30 when they opened. I had planned this perfectly! I stocked up with food for the next 37 miles or so, where I would hit Safeway in Pacifica. It was mostly downhill to get to where the ridge petered out, and then it was just long and arduous urban walking until the end. The section along the reservoirs was actually quite pleasant, and there were even some bathrooms and water fountains along the way. I got my resupply and some McDonalds and then started on the last push. I was super wrecked at this point and was eating ibuprofen like candy and drinking my caffeine electrolyte brew in generous helpings. The caffeine and the ibuprofen both ceased to work at some point, and my willpower was all I had to rely on to get me to the end. My feet were unbelievably sore. Necessity is the mother of invention though, and I soon found that jogging actually hurt my feet LESS than walking! I think it loaded them differently or something, I didn't ask too many questions though, it felt better AND it was faster, so I started jogging it in! My wonderful partner came up to meet me at the finish, and so I texted her through the night to update her on my ETA. I made it to the finish at 2:03 a.m. totally exhausted, but totally satisfied. We drove to Ben's house and crashed out, victorious!