The route was a bit of an unknown. 6 miles on either side are very popular for day hiking, backpacking and peakbagging, but the 30 in the middle were a huge unknown. There were wrong turns, steep climbs and countless issues with cutting it close with water, but spending 30 miles on the crest of a Montana mountain range is amazing. After Hyalite Peak, water is tough to find until Windy Pass. Even after this it is uncertain and depends largely on the lingering snow. Mountain Goats were everywhere but no people. The route should be iconic and one of the most amazing 40 mile stretches I have ever hiked. For those hiking the route, either direction has its benefits, and I suspect that neither would be dramatically faster.
We started at 9:06 am on the Hyalite Creek Trail. Then on the second day we started at 8:02 am and had a total elapsed time of 6:30:16 which would put us at 2:32 pm and a time of 1 day, 5 hours, 26 minutes.