king tut
New member
The best thing about last week's work week was that it ended. By the time Friday rolled around, I did not want to spend any more time inside or dealing w/ people or problems. My solution came in the weekend's forecast. Temps in the 70's and mostly sunny! It was then that I decided to pack up my big backpack friday night, and make my escape into the wilderness on Saturday.
I had been interested in doing the rest of the Pemi loop that I had not gotten to a month ago when I did the Franconia ridgeline. So, I arrived at Lincoln Woods a little after 7 in the morning on Saturday and headed up the trail around 7:30. The first 5 miles or so were virtually flat as I headed out to the start of the trail that would take me to The Bonds. After a few miles I came to the intersection for Franconia Falls, and decided to go check that out. I think it was only .3 mile each way to the falls if I recall correctly. I stopped and took a few pictures of the falls and then headed back to the trail. After I crossed the river, I met up with the ranger or some official looking guy. He seemed to want to grill me about my plans. He asked where I was going, I said "up". I don't think he liked the vague answer so he asked a few questions and gave me some advice. I guess all the forest service people like to do that to me, maybe I look like I am an inexperienced mountaineer? Before I go out next time, I will sew some distinguished looking patches on my bags denoting some mountaineering accomplishments. Throw them off a little, ha ha.
So, after about 5 or 6 miles of walking on flat terrain, I finally hit the junction to the Bonds trail. This was exciting, finally some climbing! I started up the trail, and after a few miles of climbing, I was starting to get hot and tired. I stopped to take off some layers, and some guy when flying by me on his way up the mountain. That made me feel slow, but hey he didn't have an unneccesarily heavy backpack like I did.
Some time around 11, who knows when, I finally hit the ridgeline of Bondcliff. The views were extremely nice, and I saw all of the hikers lined up to have the pictures taken for the customary Bondcliff shot. I took a few minutes to relax and soak in the views, and then headed up the next ridge. The ridge up Bondcliff was not too memorable, I think I saw a few hikers from RocksOnTop pass by me on their way down, and said hello. The views from Bond were nice, and I head a nice lady take a picture for me while I talked w/ her. From here I followed the ridgeline and went over Guyot. Then I headed over to South Twin. Coming up to this summit, I could feel my legs start to get tired. I ate a huge amount of pasta last night, so I felt like I had plenty of energy left. While on top of S Twin I thought about going over to N Twin and bagging that one as well, but I decided that I really did not feel like doing the extra couple of miles for the peak.
Next came the descent down to Galehead Hut. This was probably my least favortie part of the hike. It was a steep descent with lots of wet rocks and moss. I slipped a few times and felt my legs spasm in pain each time. I was feeling a bit grumpy at this time of the hike. But, I made it down in one piece and decided to go check out Galehead Hut. There were some really nice views from the front porch of the hut, and I also went inside and filled up my waterbottles. I took a quick break outside and chatted w/ a few of the people there. There was one funny gentleman there, but the rest of the crowd seemed to have that snooty, i'm paying $70 a night, get that stinky hiker away from us feel about them. oh well. I contemplated hiking Galehead while I was there, but decided that I just wanted to go to Garfield to see if I could grab a camping spot.
The trail from Galehead seemed to be long and monotonous at this time of the day. I did stop and talk to a thru-hiker for a minute though. He seemed like a really nice guy. It seemed kind of late in the year for him to be headed north. I hope he makes it to Katahdin before it closes! After talking w/ him, I continued my ascent towards Garfield. I arrived sometime after 5 I think, and got a spot on a lean to for the night. I was looking forward to a nice quite night and getting some well earned rest. Little did I know....
Some time around 7'ish a guy shows up and sets up his tent on the platforms with the rest of us. It turns out that he wrote a book last year called "back country cocktails". Apparently he brings up booze but has all kinds of recipes for drinks from powdered flavoring. It sounded very interesting. Lo and behold, after dinner he pulled out his gear and made everyone drinks. Very cool. I guess all the hut caretakers know about the legend of him and are waiting for him to visit their sites so that they can try his drinks. He's like the Easter Bunny up there.
Sunday morning, I woke up just before sunrise and packed all my gear up and then hiked to the top of Garfield to take in the sunrise. It was gorgeous and I had the whole summit all alone to myself. I ate breakfast while I took in the glory of the Pemi. The views were amazing. No clouds at all in the Pemi. Just north of the Pemi, the fog was encapsulating the entire state of NH. The tall peaks jutted out of the clouds, creating a cool "islands" effect. I could not have asked for a better breakfast.
After breakfast, I decided to hike the rest of the Pemi loop and take in all the views from the Franconia ridgeline. It was a marvelous day for hiking and I had perfect views from all the peaks. My body started to get real sore and tired somewhere in between Liberty and Flume, and my journey slowed dramatically. The afternoon was spent slowly walking up peaks and putting my hands on my knees as I tried to get some oxygen into my lungs. The previous day's monster hike had really sapped my energy. But, long story short, I made it back down to the valley and took a very refreshing dip in the river and then made it back to the car around 4. It was a long day, but I got to enjoy the Pats game on the radio as I drove home.
This was one of my most favorite hikes that I have ever done, and I look forward to visiting the Pemi again. Just maybe not doing that entire loop again, phew. Great time was had by me, here are some pics
http://www.parazz.com/albums/kingtut
I had been interested in doing the rest of the Pemi loop that I had not gotten to a month ago when I did the Franconia ridgeline. So, I arrived at Lincoln Woods a little after 7 in the morning on Saturday and headed up the trail around 7:30. The first 5 miles or so were virtually flat as I headed out to the start of the trail that would take me to The Bonds. After a few miles I came to the intersection for Franconia Falls, and decided to go check that out. I think it was only .3 mile each way to the falls if I recall correctly. I stopped and took a few pictures of the falls and then headed back to the trail. After I crossed the river, I met up with the ranger or some official looking guy. He seemed to want to grill me about my plans. He asked where I was going, I said "up". I don't think he liked the vague answer so he asked a few questions and gave me some advice. I guess all the forest service people like to do that to me, maybe I look like I am an inexperienced mountaineer? Before I go out next time, I will sew some distinguished looking patches on my bags denoting some mountaineering accomplishments. Throw them off a little, ha ha.
So, after about 5 or 6 miles of walking on flat terrain, I finally hit the junction to the Bonds trail. This was exciting, finally some climbing! I started up the trail, and after a few miles of climbing, I was starting to get hot and tired. I stopped to take off some layers, and some guy when flying by me on his way up the mountain. That made me feel slow, but hey he didn't have an unneccesarily heavy backpack like I did.
Some time around 11, who knows when, I finally hit the ridgeline of Bondcliff. The views were extremely nice, and I saw all of the hikers lined up to have the pictures taken for the customary Bondcliff shot. I took a few minutes to relax and soak in the views, and then headed up the next ridge. The ridge up Bondcliff was not too memorable, I think I saw a few hikers from RocksOnTop pass by me on their way down, and said hello. The views from Bond were nice, and I head a nice lady take a picture for me while I talked w/ her. From here I followed the ridgeline and went over Guyot. Then I headed over to South Twin. Coming up to this summit, I could feel my legs start to get tired. I ate a huge amount of pasta last night, so I felt like I had plenty of energy left. While on top of S Twin I thought about going over to N Twin and bagging that one as well, but I decided that I really did not feel like doing the extra couple of miles for the peak.
Next came the descent down to Galehead Hut. This was probably my least favortie part of the hike. It was a steep descent with lots of wet rocks and moss. I slipped a few times and felt my legs spasm in pain each time. I was feeling a bit grumpy at this time of the hike. But, I made it down in one piece and decided to go check out Galehead Hut. There were some really nice views from the front porch of the hut, and I also went inside and filled up my waterbottles. I took a quick break outside and chatted w/ a few of the people there. There was one funny gentleman there, but the rest of the crowd seemed to have that snooty, i'm paying $70 a night, get that stinky hiker away from us feel about them. oh well. I contemplated hiking Galehead while I was there, but decided that I just wanted to go to Garfield to see if I could grab a camping spot.
The trail from Galehead seemed to be long and monotonous at this time of the day. I did stop and talk to a thru-hiker for a minute though. He seemed like a really nice guy. It seemed kind of late in the year for him to be headed north. I hope he makes it to Katahdin before it closes! After talking w/ him, I continued my ascent towards Garfield. I arrived sometime after 5 I think, and got a spot on a lean to for the night. I was looking forward to a nice quite night and getting some well earned rest. Little did I know....
Some time around 7'ish a guy shows up and sets up his tent on the platforms with the rest of us. It turns out that he wrote a book last year called "back country cocktails". Apparently he brings up booze but has all kinds of recipes for drinks from powdered flavoring. It sounded very interesting. Lo and behold, after dinner he pulled out his gear and made everyone drinks. Very cool. I guess all the hut caretakers know about the legend of him and are waiting for him to visit their sites so that they can try his drinks. He's like the Easter Bunny up there.
Sunday morning, I woke up just before sunrise and packed all my gear up and then hiked to the top of Garfield to take in the sunrise. It was gorgeous and I had the whole summit all alone to myself. I ate breakfast while I took in the glory of the Pemi. The views were amazing. No clouds at all in the Pemi. Just north of the Pemi, the fog was encapsulating the entire state of NH. The tall peaks jutted out of the clouds, creating a cool "islands" effect. I could not have asked for a better breakfast.
After breakfast, I decided to hike the rest of the Pemi loop and take in all the views from the Franconia ridgeline. It was a marvelous day for hiking and I had perfect views from all the peaks. My body started to get real sore and tired somewhere in between Liberty and Flume, and my journey slowed dramatically. The afternoon was spent slowly walking up peaks and putting my hands on my knees as I tried to get some oxygen into my lungs. The previous day's monster hike had really sapped my energy. But, long story short, I made it back down to the valley and took a very refreshing dip in the river and then made it back to the car around 4. It was a long day, but I got to enjoy the Pats game on the radio as I drove home.
This was one of my most favorite hikes that I have ever done, and I look forward to visiting the Pemi again. Just maybe not doing that entire loop again, phew. Great time was had by me, here are some pics
http://www.parazz.com/albums/kingtut
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