Back for another round of the 12 Hills! This time a solo effort on a non-optimal day.
When I discovered that Schultz Pass road was closed from both directions, it initially seemed like this FKT wasn't accessible at the moment. But then I realized I could access the top of Elden Mountain from the other side, so I could start in the middle of the normal loop. It would involve an extra 2300' of climbing/descent on either end... sure, why not!
John came up Elden with me to carry my water for the day (thanks John!) then he turned around and I covered the 12 Hills route solo.
I ran through the normal start/finish Sunset parking lot to keep the route exactly the same as the FKT description.
Partway through climbing all of those steep little hills, I started questioning my decision to begin the day by climbing Elden. It was definitely a slower effort than I might be capable of, possibly moderated by warm temperatures. Plus I didn't have John to help with off-trail travel path finding.
I didn't climb to the tippy-top of all the summit boulders. I'm not a rock scrambler by nature, and I wasn't comfortable trying it by myself. Little Elden in particular is a challenge. I ended up clambering around on the rocks and wasting time trying to find an easy way up, but I think it should be acceptable to reach the high point on land. I'm open to discussion about this if anyone has a different opinion.
Devils Head continues to bedevil me; the ridge is about the same height the whole way along it, but I should have verified my position vs. the triangle on the map. I guess I'll just have to run this again in the future!
It was fun seeing new trails, trail re-routes, and other minor changes up in that area. Always great scenery and I love running in the ponderosas and aspens. Thank you Jason for putting this FKT on the site!