Ever since my first ManHump I felt it deserved a yo-yo, and with a backyard ultra looming, it presented a perfect opportunity to bundle a long "run" with overnight on trail.
I left Burrows around 6:30 p.m., enjoyed a post-rain sunset atop Camel's Hump, and officially began the northbound portion at 7:20 p.m. The early miles were uneventful. It had rained hard all day, leaving the trail slick, but water sources abundant. After a historically dry summer, it seemed a decent tradeoff.
Early miles were uneventful. I tagged Bolton a little before 1 a.m., and by then the rain-fog-wind had picked back up. Mansfield was full-on November cold and I hunkered down for little while to snack and layer up. I took it easy descending down to Nebraska Notch, where morning light finally broke through, and slogged my way across Mayo, Bolton, and all those sneaky false summits throughout.
It wasn't until I hit Duxbury Road that I began thinking about the route in terms of time. I figured a hard push up Bamforth could make up for a few hours of leisure pace, and better yet, open up the possibility of even splits on CamelsField and ManHump. With that carrot I gave the final half dozen miles a good climb, tagging Camel's Hump for the second time in 17 hours 55 minutes.
All told, I think the time is neither stout nor too soft. Sixty unsupported Long Trail miles at 3 mph is good work. With that said, I'd absolutely love to return with time goals and/or see someone else do the same! This would also be a blast of a supported route.