I ran the Mount Baldy Loop starting at the East Baldy Trailhead, running up to the West Baldy Trail, down the West Baldy Trail and across the Crossover Trail back to the East Baldy Trailhead. I downloaded the GPX file from Chrissy Parks, who had the previous FKT, to make sure I started exactly where she started and ended, which was right at the beginning of the trail (where the asphalt parking lot becomes dirt/gravel trail). There are many downed trees in the ~2 miles preceding the junction of the East Baldy and West Baldy Trails and for the first ~2 miles descending the West Baldy Trail. These make it a challenge, many of them being at a height that is awkward to go over or under! Once you get past all the downed trees, there are a few miles of smooth, fast running before the Crossover Trail. You may think all your climbing is finished once you start the descent down West Baldy, but you would be wrong! The 3.5 mile Crossover Trail has some short sections of surprisingly steep grades as you climb up into the forest, then down through meadows, only to climb up into the forest again!
I ran this route solo. I took 1L of water with me, and I stopped at the stream crossing at the beginning of the Crossover Trail to refill one of my 500 mL bottles. I did not filter water; I have drank this water unfiltered before and have never gotten sick from it. I ate 1060 calories during my run and wished I had brought more!
I cannot get my photos to upload other than this one demonstrating downed trees across the trail. There are more photos posted on my Strava.