A few weeks after I did the solo Nesakwatch Enchainment FKT (with a rope and light rack), I was curious how fast I could do Rexford out-and-back with no gear. A week later, Lukas set a solid time to beat (~3h15m), so I was all the more inspired to give it a go myself.
Conditions were sub-optimal, as it had rained the night before, but I figured I would still try since I had the day off. While it wasn't actively raining as I ascended the trail, I still got completely soaked on the approach from all the bushes dripping with water. I was pretty skeptical about whether the boulder field and West Ridge would be dry, but I just kept pressing on up the trail - "just keep going until it doesn't make sense anymore".
I reached the top of the trail ahead of my goal time, and paused to tighten my shoes before stepping out into the boulder field, which was dry! My mantra was "don't hesitate, just keep moving" - the fastest path through boulders is the one you don't second-guess. I reached the base of the West ridge and found it to be mostly dry, so I continued on up and up through familiar scrambling terrain. The rock wasn't overly wet, but definitely slowed me down a little, especially in the gully up to the plateau. I soloed the chimney pitch up to the summit (not required but definitely extra style points ;) ), arriving in ~1h55m.
I down-scrambled the bypass on the north side (easier option than down-climbing the chimney), and carefully made my way down from the plateau through a few wet spots. I started to feel a bit of cramping in both my sartorius muscles (hip flexion + external rotation... aka lots of high-stepping fatigue), and just before I got off the West Ridge, they both fully locked up. I stopped for a few minutes, chugged my remaining electrolytes, and really dialled back my pace down the ridge and across the boulder field. I started to feel better when I reached the top of the trail, and realized I still had a chance if I didn't totally biff it on the downhill. Wet rocks and roots were pretty treacherous, but I only had one small fall and managed to hold on for the sprint along the FSR back to the car. ~1h18m from summit to car, 3h13m23s c2c.
Water refill at 1200m elevation at creek on the way down.