Finally took a stab at running this route! So fun.
The spectacular views on this route are relentless, the trail is always technical single or offtrail, and the seas of granite are endless. It’s an adventure of the legs and the senses that you need to experience, so I won’t give a detailed play by play on this one. Highlights include the descent into Laconte canyon, the infamous Evolution Basin and the rugged “trail” through the Darwin bench.
I had an unexpected extra challenge and spice on this day because I was hit by a massive thunderstorm as I made my way through Darwin Bench to Lamarck Col. Hail, flash floods, and lightnight striking the surrounding peaks and the Col itself...eeek. I ended up finding refuge under a tree and later a rock to wait it out. Luckily, it passed west and let me over the now hail laden Lamarck Col.
For the first 3.5 hours I ate 30-40g carbs every 20 minutes consistently, then I started feeling a bit nauseous coming up Laconte Canyon towards Muir pass and switched to eating every 30 minutes (not always successfully). I ended up eating ~18 snacks for a total of ~650g carbs, not as much as I had planned. I honestly lost track of water fillups, but I’d guess I filled the 500ml flask 11 times for a total of 5.5L.