Full report and more pics at https://www.christofteuscher.com/aagaa/report-unsupported-45mi-anza-borrego-traverse-fkt
The recent heavy winter storm that hit southern California (and many other parts of the state) on Dec 11 and 12, 2022, required me to change plans. Because of the ongoing storm, it was not possible to drive to the start at the Sunrise Trailhead (at 5,000ft) on Mon, Dec 12, 2022, so I delayed my start by a day.
It was still quite sketchy to drive there the next day at 4am in a non-4WD rental car. The roads were snow- and ice-covered and there were about 2 inches of snow on the ground. Nothing too crazy, however. The temperature was 29F with strong winds. I made a couple of last-minute layer, glove, and hat decisions. As always, I overpacked.
At 4:48am I hit the snow-covered trail. I had calories and water for up to 12h in my pack. It’s better better to be safe than sorry in the desert. And, because of the snow and cold, I had lots of extra layers that I’m sure I would shed in a few miles as I descended to lower elevations.
But first it continued to snow lightly for several miles, then the snow gradually disappeared and left a rather treacherous layer of blank ice for a few miles. As I hit the bottom of the valley, the ice was gone, but then it started to rain lightly. This was going to be a great day. I figured at least I wouldn’t run out of water.
As I crossed into the next mountain range, the clouds disappeared and gave way to blue skies. By then I had shed all layers and was running in a T-shirt. That’s also when the sand started. And it never ended until the end. Many parts were soft and deep, some parts were more hard-packed. Needless to say that running in sand is hard and of limited fun. Especially when it seems to never end. I continued…because that was basically the only option.
The day got hotter and hotter, the sand continued, and the canyons felt like they would never end. Yet, at some point they did. After making my way through one last wash, I reached the Split Mountain Road in 9:43:54.
Overall it was good day with a wide variety of conditions, amazing scenery, and lots of sand. Can this be done faster? Of course! With less extra layers, no snow, no ice, and a younger and fitter body…
Data
- Route: I followed Gabe and Tim’s route since they had established the FKT route initially. Mike’s route was slightly different around County Road S2, but nothing significant.
- Style: unsupported & solo
- Start location: West terminus, Sunrise Highway, Sunrise Trailhead, 32.97826, -116.52473
- Finish location: East terminus, Split Mountain Road, 33.03640, -116.09728
- Elapsed time: 9:43:54
- Distance: 45mi
- Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/8245608414
- SPOT: https://maps.findmespot.com/s/LZW8
- Relive: https://www.relive.cc/view/v7O95zjN7LO