Box Canyon -> White River; 3,930' elevation loss.
Checked in w/ rangers and was on the trail by 8:30AM. Cruised through the first 3,000' climb and enjoyed clear, sunny views of Rainier and Mt. Adams. I had some issues w/ the next 2,000' climb - significant enough to cause a major trailside puke episode which worried me a bit (very remote section of the park)...until about 10 sec. after when I promptly felt like a million bucks! So I immediately adjusted my eating for the duration of the hike and all was well. Exertion/altitude/fitness were prob all contributing factors. I breezed over the high subalpine areas, across the small snowfields, over rocky Panhandle Gap (high point on the WT) and down through huge forests to my 1st camp at White River.
BTW - right before my little stomach issue, I was crawling along at a snail's pace and was passed by a gal who said she was trying to complete the loop in under 30 hrs. Turns out this was
Candice Burt and she did it, setting the FKT for an unsupported female on the WT. Just awesome! Not surprised - she looked amazing.
This is total time - didn't track moving time, but for the duration of the hike, only stopped for quick breathers, pics, chit-chat w/ hikers/rangers, bio breaks or to treat water (and quickly rinse gross stuff like previous days' socks). No extended stops during the day.