I chose to run this loop starting from Grand Lake which I figured would get most of the climbing done early and get me back over the divide before any storms came in.
I started just before 4:30 on labor day weekend towards Boulder pass. Despite minimal scouting I managed the off trail section without issue and made it to the top of Boulder pass in 2:45, up about 15 minutes from FKT pace.
I next turned to Longs, descending to thunder lake before a longer off trail section to the bottom of Keplinger’s. This climb was loose but more straightforward than expected and made it to the summit in 5:55 from the start, up 25 minutes.
From here I descended to Bear lake, passing crowds of long weekend tourists on the way back to the keyhole. I started having some stomach problems that stuck with me to Bear lake and made the last Flattop climb quite unpleasant. I reached the top in 8:11.
From here the wheels really fell off as I slogged the remaining 15.5 miles to the car. The downhill was lovely through the east troublesome burn scar but very hot late in the day. Back the last mile on the road to finish in 13:32:12, just 10:13 below the previous FKT.