FKT: Lexi Jackson, Mike Conley - Swan Song / Gulf Song Loop (NH) - 2023-09-30

That was rough. Our goal was 12.5 hours or under but having never done the majority of those trails before it was tough to navigate at times, especially heading up King's Ravine in the dark and trying to navigate Huntington's. Quite a few of them were super overgrown and wet, I'm covered in scratches. But overall we moved really well, started strong then hung on with a fast finish. The wildfire smoke from Canada also impacted things a bit, low heart rate but could barely breathe going up Madison Gulf and then from the hut to Madison. Could not have asked for better weather though, the trails were so nice and quiet, minus Tuckerman's which was busy but everyone was so nice. Mike is much faster so he stopped for photo opts a lot and chatted with a couple hikers who were wondering what we were doing, but I pretty much never stopped except to refill bottles in the streams. This was entirely unsupported. Carried everything and only got water from outdoor sources. Such a wild, brutal, fun day. I don't think I've laughed so much while feeling like death. -Lexi