jime
New member
In lieu of a one day Presi Traverse, this year we had decided to do a three day Pemi Loop Hike, so on Sunday we loaded up the truck and we moved to Lincoln...Woods that is. As an aside after stopping in Enfield for coffee and grub we spotted two deer running through Canaan village, a moose disappearing into the brush in Dorset and turkeys in Rumney (don't take that personally if you live in Rumney).
Arriving at the parking lot I hopped out to go buy two seasons passes while the other guys got ready. The National Forest Forest caretaker was a nice fellow who was on his way to clean the restroom when I stopped him. In hindsight it probably would have been better if he had kept on his way because they did need some care. After loading up, we crossed the suspension bridge over the Pemi and made our way up the Wilderness Trail to the Osseo Trail. The bugs weren't too bad and the weather was great. The trail was in great shape though I hate those steps and ladders at the end. After summitting Flume and Liberty we dropped down to Liberty Springs to get water. We had a quick lunch and made our way towards Littlw Haystack. I was starting to get leg cramps, which has recently begun to afflict me on longer hikes, and just before cresting out on Little Haystack I could barely hobble along. I called out to my buddies but it was more of a squeek and then I saw a young couple on top and didn't want them to think I was wimpy so I pretended that I really wanted to walk funny, sort of a cross between a waddle and a crawl. I don't think they were fooled.
With some water and Gatorade I was feeling much better by the time we hit Lafayette and the clouds cleared enough for us to see Garfield in the distance. I have never hiked the Garfield Ridge Trail from Lafayette to Garfield before so I was looking forward to something new. Silly me. The initial part was fine though little black flies kept biting us, but it seemed like Garfield just kept getting farther away instead of closer. By the time we reached Garfield Pond and got some water we were pretty beat. We made it to the summit, celebrated with pictures and bourbon and then down to Garfield Ridge Campsite for the night. I am horrible with names so I will call the man and woman that we shared the shelter with that night the MAN and the WOMAN. The MAN was trying to make the Maine border by June 30th and the WOMAN was out for a quick overnight. They were good folks. Though I'm glad I had my earplugs.
The next day dawned with pouring rain so we decided to bag the rest of the trip and go down the Franconia Brook Trail. The trail was a streambed and there has been a real lack of maintanence so lots of trees to climb over or under. My feet were sore by the time we hit Thirteen Falls because I had made the poor decision to wear boots that were way too big. My bad. Realizing we still had eight miles to go we promised ourselves a special treat when we made it to the Wilderness Trail which we did in a pretty short amount of time. Once there we decided to drink the rest of our bourbon and Tuaca which made the trip out much more bearable. In fact it was fun! The three miles flew by and before we knew it we were at our car. We grabbed our change of clothes from the car, cleaned up a little then made a beeline for the Woodstock Station, where happy hour is from 3-5 pm and it's half price drafts and appetizers. Galehead, the Twins and the Bonds will still be there in August when we try again.
Arriving at the parking lot I hopped out to go buy two seasons passes while the other guys got ready. The National Forest Forest caretaker was a nice fellow who was on his way to clean the restroom when I stopped him. In hindsight it probably would have been better if he had kept on his way because they did need some care. After loading up, we crossed the suspension bridge over the Pemi and made our way up the Wilderness Trail to the Osseo Trail. The bugs weren't too bad and the weather was great. The trail was in great shape though I hate those steps and ladders at the end. After summitting Flume and Liberty we dropped down to Liberty Springs to get water. We had a quick lunch and made our way towards Littlw Haystack. I was starting to get leg cramps, which has recently begun to afflict me on longer hikes, and just before cresting out on Little Haystack I could barely hobble along. I called out to my buddies but it was more of a squeek and then I saw a young couple on top and didn't want them to think I was wimpy so I pretended that I really wanted to walk funny, sort of a cross between a waddle and a crawl. I don't think they were fooled.
With some water and Gatorade I was feeling much better by the time we hit Lafayette and the clouds cleared enough for us to see Garfield in the distance. I have never hiked the Garfield Ridge Trail from Lafayette to Garfield before so I was looking forward to something new. Silly me. The initial part was fine though little black flies kept biting us, but it seemed like Garfield just kept getting farther away instead of closer. By the time we reached Garfield Pond and got some water we were pretty beat. We made it to the summit, celebrated with pictures and bourbon and then down to Garfield Ridge Campsite for the night. I am horrible with names so I will call the man and woman that we shared the shelter with that night the MAN and the WOMAN. The MAN was trying to make the Maine border by June 30th and the WOMAN was out for a quick overnight. They were good folks. Though I'm glad I had my earplugs.
The next day dawned with pouring rain so we decided to bag the rest of the trip and go down the Franconia Brook Trail. The trail was a streambed and there has been a real lack of maintanence so lots of trees to climb over or under. My feet were sore by the time we hit Thirteen Falls because I had made the poor decision to wear boots that were way too big. My bad. Realizing we still had eight miles to go we promised ourselves a special treat when we made it to the Wilderness Trail which we did in a pretty short amount of time. Once there we decided to drink the rest of our bourbon and Tuaca which made the trip out much more bearable. In fact it was fun! The three miles flew by and before we knew it we were at our car. We grabbed our change of clothes from the car, cleaned up a little then made a beeline for the Woodstock Station, where happy hour is from 3-5 pm and it's half price drafts and appetizers. Galehead, the Twins and the Bonds will still be there in August when we try again.
