My brother Carson and I were romping up in the Pine Creek Pass area, climbing Feather and Royce on Monday. On Tuesday Carson drove back to Reno, and I made the last-minute decision to hop out at Mammoth, stay the night at my younger brother Spencer's place, and give Laurel a go in the morning. Today, November 12, 2025, was sure to be the last day of (mostly) dry conditions on the route. Looking at the ESTA bus schedule from Mammoth to Reno, I realized I'd have about two hours fifteen minutes from dawn to the bus's departure. I've always thought a sub-two hour round-trip is possible, so I began my warmup on the Convict Lake path at 5:37am. At 5:54am, I started my watch (and phone gps for backup), and set off in the earliest twilight.
There was just enough light that I eschewed the headlamp, opting to carry just gloves, 500ml of Roctane, a windbreaker, and my phone in a hip belt. Some of the undulations of the smooth west side Convict Lake trail caught me by surprise, but by 6am it was perfectly somewhat bright and I had no trouble. I ran to the outwash of the gully in 14:38, about on-pace with my previous PR. Stopped running, started hiking fast. Took my shirt off at the bottom of the gully, scrambled fast. Amos Dunes' song Believe in my head.
I'll save most of the route-finding for the experience. I will say that even in an all-out effort the beauty of the mountain doesn't slip by unnoticed. It's an amazing feature on a stunning mountain. Speed attempts are fun, but I'd say dialing it back a bit and taking it in is the way to do it. Of course, anyone reading this is probably looking to rip. Get after it, and mind your hands and feet. This isn't an inconsequential route. Some knowledge of behavioral tendencies of choss required.
Back to the run...I hit the ridge and saw 1:03 lap time, taken from the start of the outwash. I got excited, did some math, then a minute later saw 1:18 total time. I sprinted (relative) up the little bit of ridge to the summit, hitting the watch split at 1:20:41.9 total time. I was overjoyed and expressed it. Signed the summit register, then ran down. The use trail has improved over the years, and I needed to make that 8:20 bus. I thought I could hit sub-2 hours TH to TH, and I probably could have with a little more gumption. I returned to the trailhead in 2:01:39 elapsed time, at 7:56am, giving me about two or three minutes to walk around before hopping in my brother's car and heading for the bus. I arrived at the Tavern Road bus stop at 8:13am, with time to run over to Grocery Outlet and snag a charcuterie board. Stashed the keys for my brother to pickup later, and boarded the bus for Carson City. Yeehaw!
I think this is the evolution of Peter Croft's story of sneaking the route into a 3-hour window before work. I was always inspired by that, and now I have snuck the route into a 2-hour 26-minute window between the earliest twilight and an appointment with Eastern Sierra Transit Authority. Again, yeehaw! This is how the sport moves forward.
Happy and grateful!
-Duncan