Einstein was right

[Billy]

It was Einstein (or one of those other dweebs who wasn't good at sports) who said a moving clock goes slower. So as I embarked on my second Pemi Loop, I decided to see if he was right. Follow closely here...the logic is flawless. I don't usually carry a watch on hikes, but this time I did. So, because a moving clock goes slower, less time on the watch would elapse if I carried it than if I left it in the car. Less time elapsed = faster Pemi Loop, n'est-ce pas? Call Oslo.

I cherry-picked a perfect weather day, Friday August 12th. The Weather Channel and NWS NOAA (a.k.a "doom and gloom") both forecasted a mostly sunny day. Dear Weather Channel and NWS NOAA, let me put this as succinctly as possible....you suck. How you can get the 12-hour forecast so incredibly wrong is almost comical....almost.

Anyway, here are a few point-n-shoot shots from the loop:


Mostly sunny views of Bondcliff, with the rock-slide scars of West Bond in the distance

Just below the Bond summit a passing couple said, "It's clearing up...and it's going to get even better."
Well ma'am...at least you were half right.

Mostly sunny views of Mt. Washington from South Twin

The much-maligned but beautiful Owl's Head, seen from Garfield

Hikers enjoying the mostly sunny weather on Lafayette

Hey, I can see other summits...what the heck?...

Bear scat about 20 feet from the summit of Flume. Filled with some kind of berry seeds, but I didn't recognize the taste.

"...I feel gravity's pull...." - REM

I love when they nail the forecast 27 miles into my hike

random stuff:
-Elizabeth, I think I saw you on LW trail at zero dark thirty.
-There is no more Wilderness Trail on "this" side of the river...the Bondcliff Trail now begins at the Pemi Wilderness boundary, where the FBT begins.
-There is no water at the ravine (I'm guessing at about 3k, maybe 3300 feet) on the Bondcliff Trail......it is bone dry.
-If someone finds a small zip lock bag filled with big chunks of Giardelli chocolate somewhere between Garfield and Lafayette, please tell me you ate them and they were good.
-All kidding (and whining) aside about the weather, it was really tough to stay somewhat comfortable. I went through all three shirts before even reaching Lafayette, and hanging them on the back of my pack didn't help. The air was just so wet, nothing would dry. The weather was an energy drain.
-I chopped about an hour and twenty minutes off last year's loop. Which just goes to show, if you set the bar low enough you can glide right over it. So Einstein really was right.
-Gu is good stuff.
-I almost wept when I lost my chocolate...I was saving it for Franconia Ridge

 

[Chip]

I missed this before, Congratulations. Some great pics there too.

 

[The Unstrung Harp]

Oh my god. Lost chocolate = tragedy. I could go through a shirt every 10 minutes on the humid days as well. Great pics, even the foggy ones are pretty cool! Congrats on a sweet loop, looks like you had an otherwise pretty okay time.

 

[forestgnome]

Very nice TR!!!! nice pics!!!

RE: the clock thing: you might have something here...don't those who do this and time themselves bring their watches with them? There should be a standard because those going by a watch left at the trailhead may be at a disadvantage.

And I thought that a clock will mark time slower at higher altitudes, since it is taking a longer path through space than a clock at a lower elevation. The hike will take the watch up to higher altitudes. These factors could effect claimed times.

 

[una_dogger]

Dude

Way to Persevere!

 

[DougPaul]

And I thought that a clock will mark time slower at higher altitudes, since it is taking a longer path through space than a clock at a lower elevation. The hike will take the watch up to higher altitudes. These factors could effect claimed times.

Slower at high speeds, faster at lower gravity fields (high altitude).

The effects for this hike are far too small for you to measure with your watch. However, the effects are very significant for the GPS satellites--the system would become useless within a day without correction.

Doug

 

[Raven]

Presumably, if one can go fast enough while carrying the watch (speed c), time will cease to pass and the new record for the Pemi loop will be 0:00:00.

Going beyond the speed of light, perhaps the passage of time becomes negative - you could finish the loop actually younger than you started.

There may already be some truth to this regarding physiological age anyway.