Speedy Pemi loop

[ultrastevep]

Yesterday a group of us went up to run/hike a Pemi loop in under 12 hours and did it in the CCW direction due to the incredibly runnable Osseo Trail at the end ;-)
In our group of four were two Pemi rookies...

Conditions were great, rocks were quite dry, which made for a speedy day. We stopped at Galehead for lunch then continued on to the gnarly 6 mile section coming up. After Garfield we get to say "Hi, Good day, good afternoon or some other greeting as the hikers increased in numbers...and all were happy to step aside while we powerhiked up or ran down the hills. Maybe some of you remember us.

Coming off the south side of Lafayette, we hear the pitter patter of another runner and it was LRiz (Spelling correct?) catching up to us quickly. She recognized me and said hi, I ran alongside talking and she mentioned she was trying for a sub 10 hours, I said bye before getting sucked into her pace and went back with my group.

After a few more nice climbs we're all familiar with, we finally reach the Osseo trail and start to fly down it...slowed down for the ladders, then went into another gear. Not soon after that I saw Lriz in the distance, reeled her in and told her to hang onto me and I'll help bring her in.

I finished in 10:22 with Lriz coming in behind me in 9:29! (She began about an hour after we did). The others from my group came in minutes after we did and after cleaning up we hooked up with Lriz and Sasquatch at the Woodstock brewery for a burger and IPA.

Great day in the awesome Whites!
Steve

 

[mirabela]

Wow, man.

My daughter and I just backpacked it in five days, and I can hardly believe I ever hiked it in one -- let alone running it. We saw one fellow up on South Twin who was pretty clearly running the loop, just trucking along.

Kudos -- doing the loop in nine or ten hours is an impressive feat.

 

[Gillian]

Wow!

Nice job Larisa and all!!

 

[FARMER]

hey steve, good to see you're still kicking around. Nice run Larisa Awesome!

 

[LRiz]

Two years ago, hiking 30+ miles sounded impossible.

Last year, running a Pemi Loop sounded even more impossible.

This year, after a solid finish at the VT 100k, I finally had a glimmer of hope. If the stars aligned and everything went to plan, I might have a shot at breaking the 10 hour barrier.

After a rather sleepless night I pulled into Lincoln Woods around 7:15am. The weather was just perfect, though I myself was a bundle of nerves. It took me a good 20 minutes to get ready.

Do I bring the filter?
Okay, my shoes still don't seem to be tied quite right...

At 7:35am I crossed the midpoint of the bridge, started my timer, and was off!

Running down the Wilderness trail, I knew I was in for some great conditions as the usual muddy stretches were dry. I passed several folks along the way - groups heading out to Owl's Head, backpackers, you name it! - but by the time I reached the Bondcliff trail I was once again on my own.

I hit the Bondcliff scramble exactly 2 hours into my run, and was on the summit itself by 9:39. As usual, the views were just stellar, and I was excited to crank my first little downhill section of the day. Unfortunately, this was not the case. The week prior I'd tweaked my ankle on an evil Cabot root. Although mostly healed, the joint itself still felt weak and torquing it too intensely brought about some pain. I was still able to run, just in a more conservative fashion than I'm used to...

Reaching Bond at 10:05, I had the not-so-welcome pleasure of finally encountering the hideous Bond Wall (my most photographed item of the day). 1 Clif Bar later, and I was off once more.

Guyot at 10:26. More fantastic views. At the Bondcliff trail/Twinway junction I met my first pair of runners, who told me that another group was ahead of me. Exciting stuff!

I'm always amazed at just how runnable the Twinway is up to South Twin. Well, until the stretch where you climb up to South Twin, that is. I reached the summit at 11:04, and geared up for what is always a slow descent (for me) to Galehead Hut.

3 hours and 52 minutes into my run, and I was at the Hut! My goal had been to hit this point in 4 hours, so I was making slightly better time than I'd anticipated. I took a 12 minute break to refuel and resupply, all the while mentally preparing for the two toughest climbs of the loop.

The Garfield Ridge trail was in surprisingly good shape. I was able to run a lot more of it than usual, though I could feel myself started to weaken on the climbs. I ran into my buddy Ethan somewhere along the ridge which was a welcome surprise.

Reaching the tentsite, I topped off my Camelbak and braced for the last little hike up Garfield. By this point, I must have looked pretty miserable given the surprised/concerned looks from hikers descending the mountain. More than a few "You're almost there" comments flew my way...

Strangely, I did not check my watch nor take any pictures on Garfield, so I have no idea what my time was at this point on the run.

The climb up Lafayette was, as usual, draining and demoralizing. I started to question my ability to break the 10 hour mark. Every time I thought I was nearing treeline, I'd turn a corner only to see how far I still had to go.

I hit the first viewpoint at 1:53, and North Lafayette at 2:07. Then suddenly, I found my second wind. 3.5 hours to Lincoln Woods? I can do it...

I flew down Lafayette, adrenaline coursing through my body. In the Lafayette/Lincoln col I passed two trail runners - Norm (whom I'd met at the Wapack 50) and Christine. A little farther up the trail I ran into Steve and Chris. It was hugely exciting to see all of the runners out there! I was going for time at this point though, so I pulled ahead and made quick work of the FRT. I was so focused that I almost didn't recognize my friend Bobby when I passed by him below the Little Haystack scramble!

8 hours and 17 minutes into my run and I was on the summit of Flume. By this point, a sub-10 Pemi finally felt within my reach. The Osseo is truly a dream to run, though I had to exercise some caution due to the ankle. Steve flew by me about .5 miles from the Wilderness trail, encouraging me to keep going.

Everything hurt. My ankles. My hip flexors. I fell into a kind of trance... one foot in front of the other...

Suddenly, the easel was in sight. I picked up my pace, and hustled across to the midpoint of the bridge.

9 hours, 26 minutes, and 42 seconds. 40 minutes faster than my formal personal best. I'd done it...

 

[Forester Jake]

Very nice job! Wow, awesome time too! Someday i need to give it a shot myself.... Glad to hear the Osseo is a 'gear up & go into auto pilot' trail

 

[amstony]

That was a great run! You all passed Bobby, Gerry, Linda Madeiros, Blue and I on the Franconia Ridge Trail near Liberty! Thats a great pace and quite an achievement!

 

[Tim Seaver]

The Route of all Evil

Unfortunately, this was not the case. The week prior I'd tweaked my ankle on an evil Cabot root.

I know that root. I hate that root. That root ruined the summer of 2003.

Awesome stuff - hats off to Lriz on your sub-10, and to Steve and the gang!

 

[The Lisa]

Wow, speedy times all round on tough loops, well done!
Tim, nice going on your Presi Traverse biathlon too

 

[Brew]

Yesterday a group of us went up to run/hike a Pemi loop in under 12 hours and did it in the CCW direction due to the incredibly runnable Osseo Trail at the end ;-)

Steve

Congrats to all of you Pemi Loop runners. This is my first post on VFTT.

I understand the Osseo trail being runnable, but doesn't doing the loop CCW make it tougher with much more elevation gain? I'm looking at doing my first loop (just hiking, not running). After years away from jogging and marathons, I have to ease back in slowly with long distance running.

Your feedback on the Pemi Loop direction would be greatly appreciated.

Congrats.

 

[ColdRiverRun]

I understand the Osseo trail being runnable, but doesn't doing the loop CCW make it tougher with much more elevation gain?

If your doing a "loop" having the same starting and ending point the elevation gain/loss will be the same totals CW or CCW. When in the hike you encounter your climbs will of course be different.

Brew, seeing that your French Canadian and your wording in English might be a little "off". Did you mean to ask something like wouldn't it be easier to get the bigger climbs out of the way first? If so it of course is a matter of opinion, but I feel most would fall on the side of getting as much climbing done earlier on as possible.

 

[ultrastevep]

hey steve, good to see you're still kicking around. Nice run Larisa Awesome!

Ryan...good to hear from you! It's been almost a year since we met washing off in the river...your going to miss a nice run next weekend ;-) Larisa and Rob are going to be there...
Hurry up back, you're mountains are waiting for you! I may be moved to NM by the time you get back.

Steve

 

[ultrastevep]

Brew, many of us don't like that long 5 mile stretch at the end of the CW loop, but love running down the Osseo and only have a little over a mile to get to the bridge.
I also like hitting Lafayette and the ridge when I'm getting tired, being up out of the trees seems to pick me up.

Go for it!
Steve

 

[Brew]

Steve, Cory,

Thanks for the feedback. I realize that starting and finishing at the same place means that I will end up with the same elevation gain and loss either way. I was just, and still am, a bit confused.

Others have recommended the CW route, but I like your reasoning. Is it the long Lafayette climb that they fear late in the hike?

My 1st Pemi Loop will be a hike. My jogging is not up to par yet for a lengthy run. I have to get back in marathon shape before attemting a loop run. Completing the hike will be plenty satysfying for now.

Steep hiking does not worry me. However, long easy climbs will allow me to conserve energy for later.

Knowing that I'll be hiking, do you guys still recommend the CCW route? I respect the opinions of experienced hikers/adventurers who have stomped the grounds that I plan to adventure on.

Looking forwards to a few words of wisdom. This will be a solo effort. I'm often a loner on long/hard hikes.

Note: although I have been in the Presidentials many times and in all seasons, my only experience in the Franconia Notch area is the Lafayette loop (a few times).

I have a secret dream for a tough adventure hike/marathon. I'm in no shape for it yet. I have to do a marathon at sea level first (I've done 9 but that was sooo long ago). Its the Mount Everest marathon.

Some of you guys and gals would seen to fit the bill for this insane event.

Check it out:

http://www.everestmarathon.com/

 

[Brew]

Ha, all I had to do was to do a search on this forum for the Pemi Loop.

This recent thread by Neil answered all of my questions:

http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=36418&highlight=pemi+loop.

 

[Maddy]

CONGRATULATIONS to all who did this.
You are an inspiration.

 

[dangergirl]

Awesome job! Great TR! CCW is definitly the way to go! Thanks for the advice Larisa! That Osseo is a killer place to make up time and it was nice to not have to deal with the boring Lincoln woods trail for as long at the end!

 

[David Metsky]

It was inspiring for me too. Now that I've done one, seeing the times of you fast people really mean a lot more.