Left the trail head at approximately 7:45 AM. Cool temperatures, damp trails, but a cloudless sky pointed to hot, dry afternoon! The first trail miles went smoothly and uneventfully, and I made Misty Moon Lake at just over 1 hr in (1:00:53). Shortly after Misty Moon, on the way down to the Paint Rock Creek crossing, I missed the turn off from the main trail, and got in a few extra minutes on trail!
After getting back on track, the climb to the peak went pretty well. Less boulder hopping that I was expecting, but temperatures were heating up pretty good. Most of the snow was solid and provided easy travel, but there were a few rotten patches - almost lost a shoe in one! I reached the top in 2:24:27, spent a couple minutes taking in the views and snapping a few pics, then started my descent at 2:27:22.
Getting off the peak was pretty straight forward. I stayed on snow as much as possible, which was just firm enough to allow for easy running. No more missed turns on the way back! I arrived back at Misty Moon at 3:27:11, and focused on pushing the rest of the (mostly) downhill trail miles as fast as possible. The last two miles turn a bit flatter, and it was a real effort to push the pace on those. I arrived back at the trail head at 4:18:10.
There's definitely still time to be taken on the route - sub-4 hours is very possible!!