Adventurous
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Thanks to HuiYeng (7summits)…this was the jingle that went through my head from Franconia Ridge until we reached Jen’s car at Lincoln Woods after completing the loop in a day.
Here’s how it started – HuiYeng wanted to do the Pemi Loop at some point this summer and Saturday the 8th looked like the perfect day in terms of weather. We recruited Jen (Nif) and booked our campsite at Waterest for the weekend. Beyond that, we didn’t do any planning – we all had reasons to believe that we would bail on the loop so it really just seemed like a dream that we all went along with. It would be the first time that any of us would do the Pemi Loop in a day.
Saturday 8/8/09 – A local rooster begins his wakeup call around 4am – an hour earlier than we wanted to wake up. At 5am the real alarm goes off and we start getting ready. We stop at Dunkin Donuts on the way to Lincoln Woods for some caffeine and carbs and we’re on the trail around 6:15. I think we were all still asleep on the flat walk to the Osseo Trail. We made good time up to the summit of Flume – stopping a few times to enjoy the views. Pictures and a quick snack on Flume and we were on our way to Liberty. The views on Liberty are fantastic and we couldn’t help snapping a few pictures – we got the orders…no lollygagging today
We kept wondering when Farmer was going to pass us since we knew that he was supposed to be going for the record on this day – we never did see him. Either we missed him during our stop at the hut or he chose to do it on Sunday.
After we descended Liberty, HuiYeng was having hotspot issues. We stopped and bandaged her heels up in hopes that the hotspots wouldn’t turn into blisters. By the time we reached Little Haystack, one of the hotspots had already blistered. We took an extended snack break on Little Haystack and gave her heals some time to dry out. She taped them up again and decided that if they got worse by the time we got to Lafayette then she would call it a day.
Off we went to Lincoln and then on to Lafayette. We had the pleasure of running into Ed Hawkins and his group on the top of Lafayette. We chatted with them for a bit and hit the trail towards Garfield Ridge. HuiYeng’s feet were still doing well so it looked like we were going to do the Pemi Loop. I found the section between Lafayette to South Twin to be the most difficult. The Garfield Ridge Trail is very rugged and has more PUD’s than I can count. This section slowed all of us down. On the way to Garfield, we were in need of a snack and stopped near Garfield Pond for some much needed refueling. Jen looked at the map and let us know that it was only a short distance to the summit. We hit the trail again and were soon at the summit of Garfield - #5/8 of the 4k’s on the Pemi Loop – we didn’t go for the extra bells and whistles (Galehead and West Bond) this time.
Next stop – Galehead Hut – just under 3 miles from Garfield. On the way down from Garfield, we ran into Yvon and Annie who were headed up to Garfield. We chatted for a few minutes on continued on. There were still a lot of PUD’s but it wasn’t as rugged as the previous section. There were some muddy sections along the ridge but nothing major. By the time we reached the hut, we were very hungry and almost out of water. We refilled our water and happily paid the $2 for the endless bowl of potato soup that they were serving. Man did that hit the spot.
On the trail again – we had the last big climb ahead of us. The .8 miles up to South Twin – it’s a relentless climb especially after coming over Garfield Ridge. It seemed to take forever but in actuality, it took us less than 30 minutes. The extra water and full bellies didn’t help the climb. We continued on the Twinway – next stop was the Bond Trail. Thinking about the Pemi Loop in it’s entirety can be very overwhelming so we just set small goals all day. It felt more achievable that way.
We needed to make up the time that we lost on the Garfield Ridge and the Bonds were the place to do it. We were soon at the Bond Trail and then at the Guyot Shelter. We opted not to stop for a snack and continued up to Bond. There were dozens of teenagers on top so we didn’t stay long – just long enough for a snack.
Now off to Bondcliff – coming down Bond was very rocky so I took it slow. I didn’t need to get injured at this point in the day. Once at the col, the rest of the climb had better footing. We arrived at the summit to find two guys enjoying their views. We talked with them for a little while, took some pictures and were on our way. We were hungry and just wanted to get back to the car at this point. Aches, pains and hotspots began to surface on the way down the Bondcliff trail. All of us had knee pains, hotspots on our hands from holding the trekking poles all day and different foot issues. We couldn’t wait to reach the flat Wilderness Trail. Sections of the Bondcliff trail were very muddy – this was definitely the muddiest part of the whole loop.
Once on the Wilderness trail we picked up the pace – we didn’t want the pizza places to be closed and I still wanted a Klondike Bar. After all, that tune was still going through my head. I said if I could get a dollar for every time the jingle went through my head, I’d be a millionaire. HuiYeng said I’d have to split it with her since she was the one that put the jingle in my head. As annoying as it was, it kept my feet moving.
It was getting dark in the woods and our target was the Osseo Trail – we didn’t want to stop for our headlamps until then. We passed a backpacker and his dog and asked how far it was – he informed us that it was right around the corner and indeed it was. We put our headlamps on and continued the remaining 1.4 miles to the car. I don’t know what we wanted more…taking our shoes off or a Pizza. We got back to the car, dropped our packs, took our shoes off and headed over to Lincoln for Pizza. We must have missed Darlene by 5 minutes – she went to Lincoln Woods to bring us food and beer but we had already left. She ended up meeting us at the pizza place where we ate most of the food that she brought and then ¾ of the pizza.
It felt really good to complete the loop - it was the first time for all three of us. As always – Jen was an awesome pacesetter and always had encouraging words when they were needed. The loop was a blast especially with such great company. I will say – I will be happy to never go across Garfield Ridge again. HuiYeng – thanks for recruiting us to join you!!!!
My pictures: http://adventurous-.smugmug.com/gallery/9220844_2i3qE#615682782_ypGDT
Here’s how it started – HuiYeng wanted to do the Pemi Loop at some point this summer and Saturday the 8th looked like the perfect day in terms of weather. We recruited Jen (Nif) and booked our campsite at Waterest for the weekend. Beyond that, we didn’t do any planning – we all had reasons to believe that we would bail on the loop so it really just seemed like a dream that we all went along with. It would be the first time that any of us would do the Pemi Loop in a day.
Saturday 8/8/09 – A local rooster begins his wakeup call around 4am – an hour earlier than we wanted to wake up. At 5am the real alarm goes off and we start getting ready. We stop at Dunkin Donuts on the way to Lincoln Woods for some caffeine and carbs and we’re on the trail around 6:15. I think we were all still asleep on the flat walk to the Osseo Trail. We made good time up to the summit of Flume – stopping a few times to enjoy the views. Pictures and a quick snack on Flume and we were on our way to Liberty. The views on Liberty are fantastic and we couldn’t help snapping a few pictures – we got the orders…no lollygagging today
We kept wondering when Farmer was going to pass us since we knew that he was supposed to be going for the record on this day – we never did see him. Either we missed him during our stop at the hut or he chose to do it on Sunday.After we descended Liberty, HuiYeng was having hotspot issues. We stopped and bandaged her heels up in hopes that the hotspots wouldn’t turn into blisters. By the time we reached Little Haystack, one of the hotspots had already blistered. We took an extended snack break on Little Haystack and gave her heals some time to dry out. She taped them up again and decided that if they got worse by the time we got to Lafayette then she would call it a day.
Off we went to Lincoln and then on to Lafayette. We had the pleasure of running into Ed Hawkins and his group on the top of Lafayette. We chatted with them for a bit and hit the trail towards Garfield Ridge. HuiYeng’s feet were still doing well so it looked like we were going to do the Pemi Loop. I found the section between Lafayette to South Twin to be the most difficult. The Garfield Ridge Trail is very rugged and has more PUD’s than I can count. This section slowed all of us down. On the way to Garfield, we were in need of a snack and stopped near Garfield Pond for some much needed refueling. Jen looked at the map and let us know that it was only a short distance to the summit. We hit the trail again and were soon at the summit of Garfield - #5/8 of the 4k’s on the Pemi Loop – we didn’t go for the extra bells and whistles (Galehead and West Bond) this time.
Next stop – Galehead Hut – just under 3 miles from Garfield. On the way down from Garfield, we ran into Yvon and Annie who were headed up to Garfield. We chatted for a few minutes on continued on. There were still a lot of PUD’s but it wasn’t as rugged as the previous section. There were some muddy sections along the ridge but nothing major. By the time we reached the hut, we were very hungry and almost out of water. We refilled our water and happily paid the $2 for the endless bowl of potato soup that they were serving. Man did that hit the spot.
On the trail again – we had the last big climb ahead of us. The .8 miles up to South Twin – it’s a relentless climb especially after coming over Garfield Ridge. It seemed to take forever but in actuality, it took us less than 30 minutes. The extra water and full bellies didn’t help the climb. We continued on the Twinway – next stop was the Bond Trail. Thinking about the Pemi Loop in it’s entirety can be very overwhelming so we just set small goals all day. It felt more achievable that way.
We needed to make up the time that we lost on the Garfield Ridge and the Bonds were the place to do it. We were soon at the Bond Trail and then at the Guyot Shelter. We opted not to stop for a snack and continued up to Bond. There were dozens of teenagers on top so we didn’t stay long – just long enough for a snack.
Now off to Bondcliff – coming down Bond was very rocky so I took it slow. I didn’t need to get injured at this point in the day. Once at the col, the rest of the climb had better footing. We arrived at the summit to find two guys enjoying their views. We talked with them for a little while, took some pictures and were on our way. We were hungry and just wanted to get back to the car at this point. Aches, pains and hotspots began to surface on the way down the Bondcliff trail. All of us had knee pains, hotspots on our hands from holding the trekking poles all day and different foot issues. We couldn’t wait to reach the flat Wilderness Trail. Sections of the Bondcliff trail were very muddy – this was definitely the muddiest part of the whole loop.
Once on the Wilderness trail we picked up the pace – we didn’t want the pizza places to be closed and I still wanted a Klondike Bar. After all, that tune was still going through my head. I said if I could get a dollar for every time the jingle went through my head, I’d be a millionaire. HuiYeng said I’d have to split it with her since she was the one that put the jingle in my head. As annoying as it was, it kept my feet moving.
It was getting dark in the woods and our target was the Osseo Trail – we didn’t want to stop for our headlamps until then. We passed a backpacker and his dog and asked how far it was – he informed us that it was right around the corner and indeed it was. We put our headlamps on and continued the remaining 1.4 miles to the car. I don’t know what we wanted more…taking our shoes off or a Pizza. We got back to the car, dropped our packs, took our shoes off and headed over to Lincoln for Pizza. We must have missed Darlene by 5 minutes – she went to Lincoln Woods to bring us food and beer but we had already left. She ended up meeting us at the pizza place where we ate most of the food that she brought and then ¾ of the pizza.
It felt really good to complete the loop - it was the first time for all three of us. As always – Jen was an awesome pacesetter and always had encouraging words when they were needed. The loop was a blast especially with such great company. I will say – I will be happy to never go across Garfield Ridge again. HuiYeng – thanks for recruiting us to join you!!!!
My pictures: http://adventurous-.smugmug.com/gallery/9220844_2i3qE#615682782_ypGDT
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