Was super psyched to run this route after the OG Rob Rives told me about it last year. Had plans last fall to run it but they didn't come to fruition. Lucked out on a perfect weather day. Started at the Lamoille River bridge at 5:05AM. Temps were cool which made the climb up Whiteface comfortable. Stomach felt a bit off at the top of Whiteface but seemed to settle down as I traversed the ridge over Madonna. The Whiteface/Madonna ridge felt like a breeze which was exciting. This was the section I was looking forward to the most. The temperature started to heat up on the climb up Mansfield and I pulled over to apply some leukotape to a hotspot. I was pretty sleepy going across the ridge on Mansfield and told myself I could take caffeine once I got to the Mayo climb. I refilled water coming down past Butler Lodge which unbeknownst to me would be the last time I'd see water until a mile before Notch Road. I took some caffeine as I passed Taylor Lodge which seemed to help my foggy head. The climb up Mayo was classicly neverending. I bumped into my friend Evan and his dog Fern on the climb and we chatted for a bit. On top of Mayo I got a call from Scott B who was in the middle of his massive ADK46 record. He was emotional on top of Mt Marcy. It was so great to hear from him and hear that he was doing well and doing it! Scott being in the middle of such an effort was a huge inspiration throughout the day. I planned to get water at Puffer Shelter but there was none to be found. I had never seen the southern descent off of Bolton dry, so I held onto hope that there'd be water there. As soon as I passed the summit of Bolton I ran into some thru hikers who told me there wasn't water for 10 more miles. I was a little worried as I was super thirsty and running low. I found a large mossy rock that was dripping water and sat for 2 minutes to try and get as much "fresh" water as possible. I then took off again and decided to scoop from a stagnant pool as an ultimate backup. The long descent off of Bolton felt quicker than I thought it would but about 3 miles out from Notch Road I decided to tap into the stagnant (but filtered) water flask as I was still super thirsty. I realized there was a chance I'd make it to the bridge in under 12 hours so began to push the pace down the remainder of trail. I got about a mile from Notch Road and heard running water from a stream. I debated not getting any and just waiting til the finish but I was sooo thirsty I figured I'd just give it a quick scoop and chug. I did just that and it felt incredible. After that I trucked it down the trail, down the road, and over the bridge, finishing with 12 minutes to spare for the 12 hour goal.
This was a super fun day out and I'm hopeful and excited to see other folks run this route.