My first FKT!
After a 10 minute warmup jog I started the uphill grind from the first large signpost on the east side of the parking lot. The 1st and 3rd miles have about 300 more feet of gain compared to the 2nd so I power hiked when I felt the lactic acid bubbling. The second mile has some very short flatter sections (even a slight downhill area) that felt fantastically relieving. I was shooting for sub 12 minute pace on the uphill but after the second mile I was at just over 12:20/mi. Then the trail opens up out of the trees and stoke levels increased which propelled me up to the summit in 37:33. Much appreciation to the encouraging hikers!
Then the wonderful downhill :) Fortunately I started relatively early (8:15am) and was able to pass pretty much everyone on the way up so I didn't have to yell at hikers from behind to move to a side. Halfway through the downhill, I had a pretty good feeling about getting the FKT and dropped a 5:04 mile somewhere in the middle section. With less than half a mile from the trailhead, after the first intersection, I took a big tumble. I tried to roll out of it but ended up kinda sliding on the trail. After quickly getting up, checking myself to find only superficial scrapes on my knees and elbows, I stupidly proceeded to cast caution to the wind and picked up at the same pace. Not much more than a minute later, I fell again...this time successfully completing the tumble roll. I finally made it back to the trailhead with a downhill time of 18:54 and total time of 56:27.
For a speedier time, I would start much earlier because this trail gets super crowded even on weekdays. The top had several slippery sections so preferably wait a couple days after rain. Finally, there are about 3 different turns that aren't super obvious (I went down the wrong way for a bit near the top) so think about the turn before you get to it.
Happy Summer Everybody!