Pemi Loop Gear...

[SherpaWill]

Question for those who have completed a one day Pemi Loop. What gear did you bring? And what type of pack did you prefer? Thank you.

 

[bignslow]

My pack is pretty much the same for all of my summer hikes:
* Osprey Talon 33 backpack (this would all easily fit in a talon 22, but I like the fit of the 33 better)
* 1 bag containing first aid kit, backup headlamp, fire, random other stuff which might constitute the 10 essentials (compass, map, whistle, emergency blanket, etc...)
* Bright headlamp (princeton tec apex)
* Lots and lots of food
* 3L water bladder - full, 1 refill at Galehead (clockwise loop)
* 32 oz gatorade bottle (about half full at the trailhead, used at the hut to make more gatorade)
* music for the hike out
* Merino Long sleeve t-shirt
* Water resistant wind shirt (nylon)
* Bug hat
* bathroom supplies
* blister supplies
* buff
* spare socks

Wearing:
* Merino t-shirt
* compression shorts
* zip off hiking pants (99% in "shorts mode", but always carry the pant legs for bad bugs/weather)
* baseball cap
* lightweight gators (dirty girl)
* ultra lightweight smartwool socks
* Sportiva Ultra Raptors

EDIT: Added trekking poles

Before anyone scoffs at the amount of water/food, I'm no trail runner and found 3L (plus the gatorade) to be the right amount to make it to the hut. Total time was 14.5 hours with some leisurely summit/hut breaks.

Our pressie traverse a few days later had the same equipment list except add hat/gloves and replace the long sleeve t with a mid-weight thermal top.

 

[David Metsky]

For my only 1 day Pemi Loop I had a small F/A and emergency kit, headlamp, long sleeve poly t-shirt, light rain coat, wool hat, gloves, a two liter camelback, food and snacks, cell phone, and camera. The whole pack weighted about 15 lbs. I also went with trail runners.

 

[Raven]

Question for those who have completed a one day Pemi Loop. What gear did you bring? And what type of pack did you prefer? Thank you.

The same gear I carry on any substantial hike. It's a bit more than some carry but my bailout option would be to lay down and sleep somewhere, so I carried enough to be comfortable with that. I didn't want to change up what I was used to having on 10-25 mile hikes.

Bergelene tights
Rain pants
Rain coat
Mid weight fleece jacket
Mid weight fleece gloves
Fleece hat
Extra socks and liners (which I changed into on purpose halfway through)

First aid kit
Multitool
Lighter and matches
Extra batteries
2 headlamps
3-L bladder, full. (Added No-Salt and Propel)
Liter of coconut water
Sunglasses
Whistle
Paracord
Camera
Pack cover
Food (more than normal with extra gels/bars)
Bivy sack
Poles
Trail runners/low hikers

I'm sure I forgot something, but that's about it.

I used an Osprey Aether 70 pack, which is total overkill for even this amount of gear, but I have two packs: this one and a very small hydration pack which wouldn't cut it for this one for me. I don't recommend this big of a pack.

 

[Tom Rankin]

The faster you do it, the less gear you need!

 

[Raven]

The faster you do it, the less gear you need!

This brings up a good point that may bear mentioning.

I was not going for speed on my loop. I was going for completion. A steady 2 mph pace and a 16ish hour finish was my goal. I made that safely and felt good the next day.

Those going for speed may have very different looking packs. I suppose if I was running, I would lighten the load.

A question for SherpaWill would then be: are you trying to complete the loop in a day or trying to break a certain time barrier? The answer to that question may drive what's in the pack to some degree.

 

[SherpaWill]

Thanks everyone for your advice. My goal when I muster the grit to attempt this would be to do it in under 14 hours. I may run some of it but most likely I will be hiking as fast as I can. I have an old Camelback Blowfish that might be a little small and Highwire that might be a little big. I'm leaning toward pairing my stuff down enough to fit into the Blowfish. Or get a pack that's a little bigger.

Another question I had was preference on doing this with someone or a group or as a solo trip. I have a friend who I hike with a lot who wants to do it with me but I'm leaning towards doing it solo. Thoughts?

 

[alexmtn]

Another question I had was preference on doing this with someone or a group or as a solo trip. I have a friend who I hike with a lot who wants to do it with me but I'm leaning towards doing it solo. Thoughts?

If there are decent odds that your paces will roughly match, I think it's a big plus to do the thing together, for two reasons: teaming up on the safety gear, and enjoying the camaraderie/support. If paces don't match, it's still a small plus, in that each of you will be able to spot for the other to some extent, possibly affording more help in the event of a problem than simply having a support person in the area or arranging for a scheduled call.

Oh, and re: scheduled calls: there's great CDMA reception (Verizon/Sprint) at the hut - roughly the midpoint.

Alex

 

[SherpaWill]

If there are decent odds that your paces will roughly match, I think it's a big plus to do the thing together, for two reasons: teaming up on the safety gear, and enjoying the camaraderie/support. If paces don't match, it's still a small plus, in that each of you will be able to spot for the other to some extent, possibly affording more help in the event of a problem than simply having a support person in the area or arranging for a scheduled call.

Oh, and re: scheduled calls: there's great CDMA reception (Verizon/Sprint) at the hut - roughly the midpoint.

Alex

Very good points Alex. I probably won't be doing this until the end of next June, so I'll have time to hash everything out.

 

[AndyNH]

Hi All. Long time reader, first time poster here. Thank you for the wealth of knowledge. I did my first one-day Pemi Loop yesterday and had such an awesome time! Although I have run/hiked all portions of the loop before, I was a bit nervous about taking it on all at once. The information provided by VFTTers definitely helped get me through.

I had my Nathan running pack with 2 liter bladder, shorts, short sleeve, long sleeve, lightweight OR soft shell, brooks cascadias, headlamp, gloves, hat, map, compass, and a list of splits I put together based on my goal of 12 hours. It was pretty chilly when I got up to Flume, with windchill in the 20s. I'm glad I was adequately prepared. I ended up finishing in about 11:30. I did it clockwise, and felt great coming off bond cliff and was able to run the full 5 miles on the railroad tracks back to the parking lot. What an great experience! I can't wait to do it again (just not tomorrow). If anyone ever needs a partner for the loop, at a similar pace, let me know.

Thank you to everyone on this site that posts such great info.