I've had my eye on getting this iconic route recognized by FKT for several years but was waiting for the "right time" to give it my best shot. Because of the steep granite faces, it is critical to have had a stretch of dry weather prior to the attempt. Plus, it's been a brutal hot and humid summer in New England - you can't avoid the humidity regardless of how early you head out.
But the last 10 days we got a stretch of dry weather with an extended high pressure resulting in low humidity. So I reached the trailhead last Saturday at 6:30 to see what I could do.
The climb up went smooth but it was hard to keep pressing on as the views were as good as they ever get. Heading down off the ridge with 3.7 miles to go, I had no idea if I would hit my goal time of 3:30. When I ran this section of the trail a few weeks ago, it was sloppy wet and the going was slow. But today was totally dry except for a short section at the end and I was able to really crank the last 2 miles and finish in 3:12. Since I am 63, this will be an easy time to beat but I typically finish in the top half of the field for trail ultra (back when we used to have races) so it is a solid, respectable effort.