Dressed as a skinny pumpkin, I was first put on to this traverse by Bob Ross (Cameron in a convincing wig) at a Grin27 / Satellite Halloween trail race. FKTs aren’t a new concept to me since I’ve been a fan of the trail running and racing world for many years now but could never see myself doing any of the multiday or thousands of miles routes that are so respected and popular. So when I learned that we had a route a bit more suited to my strengths right in Griffith, I knew it was something I wanted to give a good go on.
My first attempt came at the beginning of the year. Weather-wise, it was ideal conditions of mid 50s and cloudy but timing-wise, I picked a Saturday which resulted in heavier foot traffic. I pushed on to complete the route to have at least an idea of where I landed and found myself less than a minute behind Nicolas’ unsupported record. On the very tired run back to my car, I started to think of all the changes I could make to shave off time. What I didn’t expect was Nicolas to come back and extend that gap to almost 5 minutes.
After months of dirting around and some good race results, I felt ready for another go, but it was just so damn hot this summer. So I spent my post-shift runs scouting the ascent routes watched over by hawks, deer, coyotes, owls, and maybe a mountain lion, as I tried to make their trails my second nature. Finally, a reasonable morning temp appeared on the forecast, so I prepared for one more attempt.
I chose a Tuesday morning hoping for minimal amounts of folks on route, and with the recent days’ temps in the high 90s, 61 degrees at the start had me in a sweater while putting on my shoes. For gear, I chose the Norda 005’s, some longer length Trek socks, a pair of fingerless bike gloves to assist with the scrambling, and my Raide 2L belt filled with a full bottle and two gels. I locked up and began the uphill warm-up to the heaviest door in all of Griffith and began my journey.
The Climb to Burbank Peak tripped me up last time, so I was careful till the tree.
Cahuenga Peak’s ascent was still in the shade, and its spider webs remained untouched.
Top of Mt. Lee was just me and those massive letters before the road hill bomb.
The trail to Mt. Chapel had two hikers who stepped aside as I zoomed into the sunrise.
The Baby Bell route was my most recent scouting, so it felt like a breeze compared to
Mt. Bell, which has multiple paths up but really only one direct way to the top.
On Taco Peak, I did my best to not disturb the older man doing his sunrise stretches.
Mt. Hollywood had a surprise flyby with jet-lagged Ariana and Hannah, fresh from UTMB.
Down Hogback Peak had a few more early risers watching me descend to the bridge.
Between Glendale Peak and the sketchy scramble, a shoelace came undone. I made my way down unscathed and quickly tied up, maybe only losing 30 seconds.
Beacon Hill, after all the scrambles and rocky ascents, felt like the easiest climb of the day.
I scurried my way down the final hill, hopped onto the fire road, and let my legs unleash their last bit of zoomies. On the final turn, I was joined by three deer who decided to prance beside me to the finish. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much time to celebrate with them; it was time to uber back to the start, drive home, and get ready for work. Looking back, I hope the driver didn’t notice the slightly sweat-dampened backseat and was maybe inspired to one day hike up to Wisdom Tree.
I know that at any moment, someone can make an attempt and find the time I left out there. It can be Nicolas back to get his revenge, a professional athlete doing a workout, or a random baller going out for a fun run. One day, this unnecessarily long race recap will be buried beneath impressive submissions. But for now, I feel lucky and grateful to move through these trails as fast as my lil heart allows.
RIP P-22