Summary: Basic Pemi Loop Clockwise from LW, 31.5 miles, 9,610', 20:15 book time, 15:38 actual time, 2L Gatorade, ~8L water. Started at 3:45am, finished at 7:23pm. Weather: sublime.
I set the alarm for 2:30am, but was awake at 1:45. I planned to solo this trip, but knew I wouldn't be alone. Checking Facebook while eating breakfast, I saw that Bill R. had posted "pemi loop" at around 1am. I wasn't sure if this was "I just finished" or "I just started" or "I'm on my way". I left a reply saying I'd be at Lincoln Woods around 4am and maybe we'd meet up. I crossed the bridge at 3:45 and headed for Flume. The relocated section of the Lincoln Woods Trail, and the trail leading up to it, are much better than the old trail and the continuation - the RR ties are gone, and it made moving along in the dark easier without the tripping hazards. The relocated section starts at the washed out embankment, and is uphill maybe 20 feet. All the trees that were cut to make room have been thrown on the old trail to discourage its use. The spot where relocation begins, in my mind, is ready to come down again given enough water.
First light on Flume
Osseo has great footing and except for the ladder section has a great grade for making good time. I rarely, if ever, start a hike using my headlamp, and mostly it comes out for the longer peaks in winter. At the downlook, the outline of the Bonds was barely visible, along with an excellent number of stars. I made it to the summit of Flume in time for first light but it was cold and breezy so I didn't stay long. I knew if I boogied over to Liberty, I could make it in time to catch the sunrise. Halfway across, it was getting light - but not light enough to dowse the headlamp. I had timed it perfectly--right as I got to the ledge just below and east of the summit, the sun was about to rise. I hung out there for 5 minutes and took a lot of photos.
Seconds before the sun appeared
Almost as interesting was the view to the west, where the sunrise lit up the skies, and the moon was setting. This is where some clouds would have been a plus. I didn't bring a tripod, and in fact I took all the pictures with my new iPhone, with which I am not super familiar, but the pictures came out great using mainly the default settings.
Moonset over Moosilauke/Kinsmans
I have always been envious of the likes of Jim Salge and his early-morning photo shoots. Today offered me the chance to be on the ridge for a sunrise (plus that bonus moonset), and to enjoy the so-called "Golden Hour". I used Liberty as the longest break of the day, ate, and recovered somewhat from hammering up there to catch the sunrise.
"Golden Hour" view to the North
Enough with the photos... I'm 2.5 hours into a 15+ hour day. I remember from the last Presie Traverse not to dawdle.... keeping moving is the key to a good time. This was my third time traversing Franconia Ridge this year (once in winter, north to south). Last time through was for Mountain Diva's 48 finish and on that day, there were probably 100 people on Little Haystack. Today there was only one. I stopped just long enough to take a picture of the ridge to and including Lincoln. Continuing on, it was the earliest I'd ever been on Lincoln (7:50am), and I was making good time.
Lafayette from Lincoln
I made it to Lafayette at about 4.5 hours, having run into 2 or 3 guys coming the other way. I knew that beyond Lafayette, things would get slower and more challenging, but I took a minute to enjoy the progress so far. Visibility was such that all the VT peaks were obvious, and I could see some of the ADKs as well (Whiteface for certain). Garfield Ridge Trail from Skookumchuck to Garfield was a new stretch of trail for me and there are sections where I slowed to a crawl. How the trail runners go through here at such speed amazes me. I passed by Garfield Pond, and thought I saw a hint of the abandoned Garfield Pond trail. Then I noticed a sign <==Garfield Ridge Trail==> which confirmed my suspicion. This area, along with many of the flat areas to come, had a fair amount of mud, but also has good stepping stones (albeit many were just buried). I arrived at Garfield at 10:20, 2 hours from Lafayette, about 6:30 since the start.
Franconia Ridge from Garfield
Here I stopped for my second sit-down break and had "lunch" while airing out my socks and boots. From the old fire tower base, I could see what awaited me. It didn't take long to abandon the idea of the Garfield Ridge Peaks as the PUDs ahead and the ascent of South Twin loomed large, and I was starting to pay for the pace I set at the beginning. I got the first good data signal here and received an update from Bill - we were going in the same direction and he indicated I might be able to catch him. When I arrived at Galehead Hut, he was sitting on the porch. Had a bit more of a break, and discussed our individual plans, which lined up - no to both Galehead and West Bond - let's keep it simple for both our first loops. I refilled here (NOTE: Hut water tastes awful...) and recalled I have been on the porch several times in winter, but do not recall having gone inside before.
Arriving at South Twin
Laying in wait for us is that 1150' in 0.9 miles ascent of South Twin. I have only been down it in winter (awesome) but going up in summer is quite a grind. My legs were on the verge of cramping. I drank a lot of Gatorade at the hut and I think that may have saved me. South Twin had the most people of any summit we were on -- at least three groups. For whatever reason, the Twins are not peaks I visit very often, so I (now we) stayed up there for a while.
South Twin from Guyot
Next stop was at Guyot where two rangers and a friend of theirs came through. When asked, they told me that they have been taking down the fallen soldier memorials, but have not gone out to peaks with that specific objective. This is only the 4th or 5th time I've seen a ranger while out hiking. With 20 miles down, "only" 11 miles remained, and the ascent to Bond isn't all that difficult. The GPS indicated we'd already crossed the 9000-foot mark, which is higher than the reported elevation for the whole loop. Whichever you believe, it felt good to be doing the last good chunk (Bondcliff hardly counts).
View east from Bond
Having done West Bond a few years ago for Flags on the 48, there was no grid (not that I am pursuing it
) incentive to head out there. Yeah, the views are awesome, and it's kind of central to the entire loop, but again I didn't want to push it (any more than I already was.) So, we slogged along in silence until we hit Bond. I'm pretty sure the scrub on the north side has grown up since I was first there 7 years ago. Hopefully it doesn't get to the point where the view closes in. I think Isolation's scrub trees have gotten taller too. After another break that was perhaps a bit too long, it was off to Bondcliff. We crossed paths with a handful of folks on their way up Bond.
Classic Bondcliff shot, with West Bond and Bond behind
At Bondcliff, we talked to a man with his dog, Hopper, for a bit and generally just relaxed and enjoyed the view of "where we'd been". Neither of us felt the need to venture out on the cliff today, and that's OK. We examined the haul roads on Hancock, which are popping out a bit as autumn changes the birch leaves yellow. After enjoying the final break of the day for a whole 15 minutes, it was time to leave--if we moved, we might avoid the headlamps on the way out (we did). Had a cold one each back at Lincoln Woods to celebrate
I remember thinking, while at Baxter State Park two weeks ago, that perhaps the Whites would seem less awesome. Turns out that was faulty thinking because they are just as awesome as ever.
All Photos
Tim
I set the alarm for 2:30am, but was awake at 1:45. I planned to solo this trip, but knew I wouldn't be alone. Checking Facebook while eating breakfast, I saw that Bill R. had posted "pemi loop" at around 1am. I wasn't sure if this was "I just finished" or "I just started" or "I'm on my way". I left a reply saying I'd be at Lincoln Woods around 4am and maybe we'd meet up. I crossed the bridge at 3:45 and headed for Flume. The relocated section of the Lincoln Woods Trail, and the trail leading up to it, are much better than the old trail and the continuation - the RR ties are gone, and it made moving along in the dark easier without the tripping hazards. The relocated section starts at the washed out embankment, and is uphill maybe 20 feet. All the trees that were cut to make room have been thrown on the old trail to discourage its use. The spot where relocation begins, in my mind, is ready to come down again given enough water.
First light on Flume
Osseo has great footing and except for the ladder section has a great grade for making good time. I rarely, if ever, start a hike using my headlamp, and mostly it comes out for the longer peaks in winter. At the downlook, the outline of the Bonds was barely visible, along with an excellent number of stars. I made it to the summit of Flume in time for first light but it was cold and breezy so I didn't stay long. I knew if I boogied over to Liberty, I could make it in time to catch the sunrise. Halfway across, it was getting light - but not light enough to dowse the headlamp. I had timed it perfectly--right as I got to the ledge just below and east of the summit, the sun was about to rise. I hung out there for 5 minutes and took a lot of photos.
Seconds before the sun appeared
Almost as interesting was the view to the west, where the sunrise lit up the skies, and the moon was setting. This is where some clouds would have been a plus. I didn't bring a tripod, and in fact I took all the pictures with my new iPhone, with which I am not super familiar, but the pictures came out great using mainly the default settings.
Moonset over Moosilauke/Kinsmans
I have always been envious of the likes of Jim Salge and his early-morning photo shoots. Today offered me the chance to be on the ridge for a sunrise (plus that bonus moonset), and to enjoy the so-called "Golden Hour". I used Liberty as the longest break of the day, ate, and recovered somewhat from hammering up there to catch the sunrise.
"Golden Hour" view to the North
Enough with the photos... I'm 2.5 hours into a 15+ hour day. I remember from the last Presie Traverse not to dawdle.... keeping moving is the key to a good time. This was my third time traversing Franconia Ridge this year (once in winter, north to south). Last time through was for Mountain Diva's 48 finish and on that day, there were probably 100 people on Little Haystack. Today there was only one. I stopped just long enough to take a picture of the ridge to and including Lincoln. Continuing on, it was the earliest I'd ever been on Lincoln (7:50am), and I was making good time.
Lafayette from Lincoln
I made it to Lafayette at about 4.5 hours, having run into 2 or 3 guys coming the other way. I knew that beyond Lafayette, things would get slower and more challenging, but I took a minute to enjoy the progress so far. Visibility was such that all the VT peaks were obvious, and I could see some of the ADKs as well (Whiteface for certain). Garfield Ridge Trail from Skookumchuck to Garfield was a new stretch of trail for me and there are sections where I slowed to a crawl. How the trail runners go through here at such speed amazes me. I passed by Garfield Pond, and thought I saw a hint of the abandoned Garfield Pond trail. Then I noticed a sign <==Garfield Ridge Trail==> which confirmed my suspicion. This area, along with many of the flat areas to come, had a fair amount of mud, but also has good stepping stones (albeit many were just buried). I arrived at Garfield at 10:20, 2 hours from Lafayette, about 6:30 since the start.
Franconia Ridge from Garfield
Here I stopped for my second sit-down break and had "lunch" while airing out my socks and boots. From the old fire tower base, I could see what awaited me. It didn't take long to abandon the idea of the Garfield Ridge Peaks as the PUDs ahead and the ascent of South Twin loomed large, and I was starting to pay for the pace I set at the beginning. I got the first good data signal here and received an update from Bill - we were going in the same direction and he indicated I might be able to catch him. When I arrived at Galehead Hut, he was sitting on the porch. Had a bit more of a break, and discussed our individual plans, which lined up - no to both Galehead and West Bond - let's keep it simple for both our first loops. I refilled here (NOTE: Hut water tastes awful...) and recalled I have been on the porch several times in winter, but do not recall having gone inside before.
Arriving at South Twin
Laying in wait for us is that 1150' in 0.9 miles ascent of South Twin. I have only been down it in winter (awesome) but going up in summer is quite a grind. My legs were on the verge of cramping. I drank a lot of Gatorade at the hut and I think that may have saved me. South Twin had the most people of any summit we were on -- at least three groups. For whatever reason, the Twins are not peaks I visit very often, so I (now we) stayed up there for a while.
South Twin from Guyot
Next stop was at Guyot where two rangers and a friend of theirs came through. When asked, they told me that they have been taking down the fallen soldier memorials, but have not gone out to peaks with that specific objective. This is only the 4th or 5th time I've seen a ranger while out hiking. With 20 miles down, "only" 11 miles remained, and the ascent to Bond isn't all that difficult. The GPS indicated we'd already crossed the 9000-foot mark, which is higher than the reported elevation for the whole loop. Whichever you believe, it felt good to be doing the last good chunk (Bondcliff hardly counts).
View east from Bond
Having done West Bond a few years ago for Flags on the 48, there was no grid (not that I am pursuing it
) incentive to head out there. Yeah, the views are awesome, and it's kind of central to the entire loop, but again I didn't want to push it (any more than I already was.) So, we slogged along in silence until we hit Bond. I'm pretty sure the scrub on the north side has grown up since I was first there 7 years ago. Hopefully it doesn't get to the point where the view closes in. I think Isolation's scrub trees have gotten taller too. After another break that was perhaps a bit too long, it was off to Bondcliff. We crossed paths with a handful of folks on their way up Bond.
Classic Bondcliff shot, with West Bond and Bond behind
At Bondcliff, we talked to a man with his dog, Hopper, for a bit and generally just relaxed and enjoyed the view of "where we'd been". Neither of us felt the need to venture out on the cliff today, and that's OK. We examined the haul roads on Hancock, which are popping out a bit as autumn changes the birch leaves yellow. After enjoying the final break of the day for a whole 15 minutes, it was time to leave--if we moved, we might avoid the headlamps on the way out (we did). Had a cold one each back at Lincoln Woods to celebrate
I remember thinking, while at Baxter State Park two weeks ago, that perhaps the Whites would seem less awesome. Turns out that was faulty thinking because they are just as awesome as ever.
All Photos
Tim
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