I researched this trail heavily and was surprised to find no documented unsupported out-and-back journeys; every one I encountered relied on cached water. I chose to begin at the Northern end of the trail, aligning with previous Out & Back FKTs and allowing me to tackle the longest uphill section first. As a hiker, not a runner, my strategy was to go slow and steady, with minimal breaks. I carried around 15lbs of gear (food, 3L water, tent, quilt, sleeping pad, electronics, etc) and was prepared to camp. My plan hinged on water being available at the spring around the half-way point, since this is the only known water source on the mountain. Thankfully, it had plenty.
I slept in my van the night before and started hiking at sunrise just before 6am. I reached the spring around 10am and filtered 4L to get me through the next 24mi dry stretch. (Side note: I was attacked by a Ruffed Grouse while retrieving water and broke one of my trekking poles...) I arrived at the southern terminus around 2:15pm and stopped briefly to rest my feet and eat some cold soaked noodles for lunch. I made it back to the spring around 6:45pm and was feeling surprisingly good after a total of 36mi. So, instead of searching for a campsite, I decided to push through and finish it out. The last 5mi were in the dark, forcing me to move slowly over the rocky terrain. With 3mi left, by headlamp died, so I used my phone flashlight and struggled through to the finish.
In the end, this ended up being more than 1.5x my previous record for most miles hiked in a day, but I'm proud to submit the first unsupported journey and establish an initial FKT!
Note: Alltrails tracking was accidentally paused for ~0.5mi, so the time/mileage are incorrect. Used my first and last satellite tracking points to calculate total time.
https://spotwalla.com/trip/f574-1697005eb-e43f/view#