It was quite literally the first nice running weather all summer, so I had to get out for a long day in the Whites. The temperature was only in the mid 50s as I arrived at the Davis Path trailhead at 9:30. It was still rather humid, though, and I produced an surprising amount of sweat on the first climb up to Mt. Crawford. I consoled myself with the knowledge that this would be the toughest sustained climb of the entire day. I took the side path to the summit, which had great views of the Giant Stairs and other peaks coming up. Back on Davis Path, maintenance standards declined as I got farther away from the highway. My progress was slowed somewhat by the many boggy or overgrown sections. I tagged the Giant Stairs and Mt. Davis, the latter of which tore up my arms and legs with spiky krummholz. I saw close to a dozen people in this section, which felt like a lot. Then again, it was quite literally the first nice weather all summer.
Somewhere in this section I tripped and in the process of catching myself hyperextended my knee. The pain wasn't too bad, but my balance was off for a while after that. Luckily, the route was still mostly climbing for the time being. I hit Mt. Isolation and encountered a steady stream of hikers just beyond the peak. Everyone seemed pissed off about the muddy conditions, which were exacerbated here by the higher traffic. Things calmed down again once I passed the Isolation Trail junction and settled in for the final climb up to treeline. I was looking forward to the alpine section of the route, but it ended up being the worst part of the day. The wind was gusting and my balance still wasn't quite right, making for a slog up to the Crawford Path junction. Also, I aspirated a bite of bar and spent the next five minutes coughing it out. Thankfully, this endeavor concluded right before I reached the crowds on Crawford Path. They would have been either worried or disgusted, I'm not sure which.
I started getting my rhythm back heading down Crawford Path toward Lakes. Since there was plenty of water throughout, I skipped the hut and started down Dry River Trail. The first couple miles down Dry River Trail were absurdly rough, wet, and overgrown. At least it wasn't hard to follow, with only one moment of confusion near the shelter. Once I was down in the valley, the trail gradually became more runnable while offering some great views of a wild river. There were a few loose slides to cross but nothing too scary. I didn't see anyone on Dry River Trail until getting within a mile of the trailhead. Once I hit the highway, all that remained were 3 miles on the road (which had more uphill than expected) back to the start.
I was happy to get the FKT, but this can definitely go faster in anything but the wettest July on record. I think clockwise might actually be faster since the top of Dry River Trail is so dumb that you might as well be climbing it.