FKT: Rory Beyer - Road's End (Kings Canyon NP) - Onion Valley (CA) - 2022-07-17

I arrived in King's Canyon around 2 a.m. Friday night, woke up Saturday, and felt exhausted. I was planning to do the Rae Lakes Loop that day, but after starting at 11:00 on a 90+ degree day, I only made it 9 miles out before deciding to jump in the river and turn around. Sunday morning, I felt better and decided that it would be fun to run this trans-sierra route out and back! I aimed for the FKT for both the West -> East and East -> West directions. I felt good on the West -> East, and ran pretty much the entire way with a few short exceptions. I had never been up and over Kearsage Pass, and unsurprisingly loved it! At the Onion Valley trailhead I rested for nearly an hour, putting my feet up and eating my PB+J, before heading back. Coming down from Kearsage Pass, my water bladder somehow ripped, and all of the water proceeded to drain out and soak my lower half - that's not good! My stomach was also unsettled - the bagel that I scarfed down ~5 minutes before starting the run, and the PB+J that I hadn't fully digested before starting back up to Kearsage didn't sit well, especially after starting to pound downhill. So, I stopped consuming any calories or water, which is never a good recipe. At ~33 mile I blew up and the rest of the route I struggled, stopping often, laying down, getting close to throwing up but never actually getting anything out, etc. I dunked myself in the river twice, stopped and watched a bear (one of three for the day!) for a few minutes as an excuse to sit down. When I finished, I was treated to water and hot dogs by a great family BBQ'ing at the trailhead. Another inspiring day out in the Sierra's!