On September 26, 2026 I ran the Chuck Keiper Eastern Loop. This run was a long training run to prepare for a larger effort I have planned in a few weeks. Before I went out on this training run, I knew that there was no FKT established for the Eastern Loop though it is already listed as a route on the FKT site. I did not set out on this run to attempt to establish the FKT. But, after running about 15 miles of the loop and having nothing to do but run and think, the thought occurred to me that I should push myself the rest of the way and maybe submit my effort for an FKT. So I pushed a bit harder the final 7.5 miles and got the loop done under 5.5 hours.
I started at the Fish Dam overlook parking lot at 5:00 am with a headlight and ran the loop clockwise. I started both my watch and Gaia app then touched the tail-light of my truck and took off. Despite the temp being a warm mid 40's at the start and forecasted to get into the 70's, I wore some base layer bottoms aka "long johns" under my shorts to protect my legs since I knew the trail would be overgrown. Drake Hollow was all downhill and all covered in stinging nettle and other brush, with probably a dozen blowdowns. Tons of junk sticking to the long johns, with a few stops to pick out the ones that were bothering me. Stream crossing along Route 144 was low water and easy to rock hop. The climb from there up through the next valley was through tons of briars, nettles, blowdowns, and hard to follow blazes in the dark. There was some respite from the rough trail at the top of the mountain. Once a little way down into the west fork of Boggs hollow, it was light enough to shut off the headlight. First half mile down in wasn't bad, then the next few miles were brutal. I walked a ton of trail that should have been runnable. Briars chest high, blowdowns galore, thick vegetation, tons of gunk sticking to the long johns, and many other annoyances that are trivial enough not to list.
KTA has done a ton of work in the Boggs Run area of this trail over the last few years, which had this part of the trail in great shape not long ago. Mother Nature has fought back pretty hard though, and now about a 2.5 mile stretch on the west fork of Boggs run is back in rough shape. Once to the bottom of Boggs and rounding the corner to head up the east fork of Boggs, the trail conditions improved considerably. Still some blowdown and brush, but I was glad to be running, even if it was mostly uphill! In true Chuck Keiper Trail fashion, the top of this valley is a steep grueling uphill with no switchbacks. Once across Grugan Road I went past the gate on the other side and ran down the old logging road that I thought was the trail. After a little way down the hill I realized there were no blazes, pulled out my phone and confirmed I was off trail. I retraced my steps back to the gate, went around it and then saw the other logging road that was actually the trail. I re-entered the trail where I went off and headed down hill following the blazes. I lost between 5-10 minutes with that mishap.
Sled hollow was nice and the next bunch of miles were all pretty good and uneventful, with decent trail conditions and nice weather. I was on red alert for rattlesnakes since it was warming up considerably. I didn't see any the entire day which was a relief. Once at the junction with the cross-connector trail, also known as the East Branch Trail, I knew I had 5K remaining. I pushed pretty hard while also quickly stopping a few times and snapping the only few pictures I took during the run. Once at the top of the cross-connector trail and the junction with SR 144, I could see my truck in the parking lot. I pushed hard the last few hundred yards until I touched the same tail-light that I touched after starting this morning, then shut off the tracking on my watch and the Gaia app. Just under 5.5 hours and my watch registered 22.7 miles. My long johns were a mess with junk stuck to them and my legs were pretty scratched up despite wearing them. Water was plentiful and every time I was close to running out I didn't go long until I hit a place to refill. It was an enjoyable day and quite a challenge!