On Wednesday, May 10th, we had a weather window to run to Weeping Wall. We got a later start than intended, but we figured we would at least go out there and give it a shot. If the river was too deep or the water was brown (a sign of flash flooding) we would turn around. Ultimately, it paid off and we had an absolutely beautiful day! We ran the first 4 or so road miles at a relatively easy, controlled effort. Erin was feeling strong at this point while Chris mentioned his IT bands were a little sore. We knew that we had the most challenging part of the route ahead so did not want to burn out too quickly.
After crossing the river for the first time, we reached the more technical part of the trail. There is a defined trail shouldering most parts of the river that is relatively easy to find if you keep your eyes peeled. It is not as bush-whacky as some reports make it out to be. I wouldn't say it is very runnable but you can power hike it with some speed. An alternative would be to walk upstream for more sections, however this seems slower. The biggest challenge was how slippery the rocks get with moisture and moss. Chris did not have as much difficulty with this, as it is his ideal terrain. Erin was more cautious with the slippery rocks.
Finally, we arrived at Weeping Wall. It was one of the most spectacular things both of us had seen in our entire lives. We paused for a few minutes to take pictures (time that could be shaved off, but we didn't regret stopping to take it all in). The trail felt easier to follow on the way down since we were familiar with where to go. We passed a group of 2 near Blue Hole Falls. Those were the only people we saw the entire day. By the time we crossed the river for the last time and reached the dirt road, we had approximately 45 minutes to get the overall record. We knew we could easily beat the women's time and had that cushion, but we figured we would sprint and go for the overall anyways. Neither of us are used to running in the heat or humidity so it was a push for sure, but we cruised along and managed to take about 8 minutes off the previous record. Overall, very happy with the result. Although there is still time to shave off if somebody wants to go hard!