FKT: Kehr Davis - Taconic Loop (MA, CT, NY) - 2020-07-26

Well, I made it after coming very close to calling it quits between mile 26-30. It was 87 degrees. I would like to run this again in the fall or spring when temps are cooler and there is more water along the way. I learned a couple of things on this attempt that could be useful for others. I normally do not drink a lot of water but with the temps so high this day I was worried. I started at the Salisbury AT trail head at 7:45am wanting to get the harder, more technical stretch out of the way on fresh legs. I carried a pack with full bladder and snacks that easily got me to my drop bag at the Rt 23 trailhead (at mile 20). For those not carrying much water or starting at a different point, there are some water spots along the AT and a lot of water at Sages Ravine. The S.Taconic trail section up Catamount is poorly marked and I spent a long time looking for the trail at the top of the ski slopes. It's currently under the zipline. The S.Taconic trail was bone dry except for Bash Bish Falls about 6 miles from Rt 23. At that point I still had plenty of water and was hoping that the numerous streams on the map would have water if I needed it. They didn't. They were bone dry. I ran out of water when I hit the road at mile 41. S.Taconic was very runnable so that was a plus to making that the back half of the run but the limited water made it stressful.