Woke up at 3am and left San Luis Obispo at 3:30 to start at sunrise. Great choice, I was treated to beautiful stars when I parked and beautiful lighting when I started running. Cannot begin to explain how cool this loop is. Great place to be, especially in the winter/spring time. So many amazing peaks and canyons, felt like I got a new view around every corner. River crossings were fun, redwoods were on point... really no complaints. Trails are in the best condition they have been in for a really long time, thanks to all the VWA trail crews. Really just a perfect day in some of my favorite mountains on earth. Around mile 12 I had a random flyby with Alana, who went on to set the women's FKT, so that was super rad! Until mile 28 I had only seen 3 people (including Alana). I had a super fun day out in the mountains, I was not pushing the pace and instead favored a day of mountain exploration. No regrets. I really believe this could become a premier FKT route for the US (along with Cone Peak), especially with the lack of trail/mountain races in the area (for good reason, because of protected areas). I graduate from Cal Poly in June so will likely not be in the area very often anymore after that, but will hopefully be back to give this route a solid race effort within the next 2-3 years. Truly some magic mountains.
Water: More than enough (at least in winter/spring) until Logwood Creek/Cold Springs (mile 21ish), then a gap of 5-6 miles until midway down Terrace Creek (mile 27ish).