Sending off summer with a bang!

[Blueblaze]

The summer is drawing to a close and I'm looking to send it off with one final to-do! I'm doing a rather large one day hike this weekend and I am setting into motion one more for the "end of season". The hike this weekend starts up Huntingtons, cuts across Gulf Side and down Airline or Randolf Path to Kings Ravine then up the Great Gulf and down Tukermans. Still working out the last details.

A reply Sherpa John sent to me a while back has been stuck in my mind for a while so I decided to start piecing the hike together. His comment was to go "up Bondcliff, down Twin Brook, up Franconia Brook, traverse to Lafayette, down Lincoln Slide, up Owls Head Slide, return to car via normal Owls Head Route. Geeze.. if ya wanna kill someone.. do it in style and in the pemi!"

Looking at the map it seems like it should be, for me to date, the ultimate challenge. Anyone with thoughts or ideas about the trip planning feel free to drop a line. Whether it be as a whole or just sections of the hike, or even if your interested in joining up! I was told pain isnt so bad when shared with others! Thanks for any input.

 

[albee]

Planning this kind of trip is the easy part. Doing it is the hard part. Do you have any kind of experience with hikes of this nature? You haven't posted any trip reports aside from that hike with your son... If you're as tough as he is then you've got a chance, but it also helps to be physically prepared.

Lincoln Slide is not a trail... It starts with an extended scramble over loose scree, and then at the bottom you will need to bushwhack for over half an hour to get to the Lincoln Brook Trail. Are you comfortable with this?

Finally, do you have a bail-out plan in case something goes wrong or you get too tired to finish?

 

[Blueblaze]

the physical conditioning isnt a problem. Preparing for a hike like the one Im doing this weekend then the one to follow has not been taken lightly! I'm not a big fan of typing much hence the reason for the lack of TR's. Although I HAD to share the excitement over my sons accomplishment!

I am working closely with a very good friend who knows these woods VERY well and all possibilities(including possible injury bail outs due to some of the terrain) are being covered as much as possible! In fact I actually might have a possible taker to keep me company on this undertaking. Sherpa John from ROT.

Dont get me wrong. I understand what a hike like this requires. Both mentally and physically and am looking forward to the challenge!

 

[albee]

the physical conditioning isnt a problem. Preparing for a hike like the one Im doing this weekend then the one to follow has not been taken lightly! ...I am working closely with a very good friend who knows these woods VERY well and all possibilities(including possible injury bail outs due to some of the terrain) are being covered as much as possible!

This all seems very vague. I would consider going with you, but you'll have to PM me with specifics as to your experience and your training. I can't say it strongly enough - the routes you are suggesting are both physically demanding and hazardous. Hiking isn't always about quantifying mileages and elevation gains, it is about getting out there and knowing how your body responds in those kind of situations.

The second hike you have suggested is basically a Pemi Loop with extra mileage and elevation gain, as well as an end-of-day bushwhack thrown in. Have you done a standard Pemi Loop before? Before you try something extreme, why don't you set your goal for something a little more realistic. You recently posted that you did your first "multi-peak day" with BIGEarl... either of these trips would be exponentially more challenging.

Sherpa John from ROT.

Never heard of him. Will he be carrying your pack like a real Sherpa does? Does he know first aid?

 

[Blueblaze]

Again I say thank you for your concern and since you asked so nicely and seem genuinly interested I would love to send you the details.