Last weekend I ran my first Pemi. If you are not from New
England or if you don’t run/hike mountains you might not know of the “Pemi”.
It’s a Pemi Loop, more specific it’s the Pemigewasset Loop. Still confused,
it’s a trail that forms a loop in the Pemigewasset Wilderness in the White
Mountains. The Pemi Loop covers 31 miles of trail and 9 peaks with the
opportunity to take a couple boot spurs to grab a couple more peaks for a total
of 11 peaks. Nine out of the 11 are
official 4,000 footers (there are 48 in total) of New Hampshire. After this
trip I have 30/48 4,000 footers completed.
I didn’t do this loop on my own. I was fortunate to join 3
other amazing women on this adventure. I started out the weekend barely knowing
one of the women, not knowing one at all, and getting to know one better over
the course of the year. I finished the journey with a powerful bond shared with
all three of these women. Each of us had our ups and downs over the course of
14 hours we spent on the trail and we rallied together to pull each other
through. We didn’t talk about it we just did it.
The day was predicted to be a little dismal. Reports of rain
to start the day, with cool overcast skies throughout the day. We were
fortunate that the rain had stopped long enough for us to break down camp and
get ready to run. We quickly grabbed our breakfasts, did some prepping and then
headed over to the trail head for last minute prep. Two of us were newbies
(myself included) to this type of endurance running. One of us (not me) had
never been to the Whites to hike or run. Crazy girl-first trip out and she was
preparing to cover 31 miles and 11 peaks…in the Whites. Not an easy goal to
meet.
We started out a little slow, then got off and running as
soon as we hit the single track. The air was heavy and the fog was thick
turning into a heavy mist. The skies cleared a little as we got up to where we
should have been able to see the beginning of great views. We got to the top of
Flume and it was chilly and super foggy. Time to add some layers. After a
couple quick photos we were on our way. I should take a moment to mention that
we had adopted a solo hiker along the way. His name was Josh, I deemed him “Man
who walks with sticks” or Man with Sticks for short. He has running/hiking with
poles and we always knew where he was whether we were getting closer to him or
he was getting closer to us, we could hear the tapping of his poles against the
rocks. We met up on almost all of the peaks for the first part of the
hike.
After Flume we hit Liberty and
Little Haystack.
It was still foggy and
I am not going to lie, fog or no fog, some of the cliffs freaked me out. Had to
keep telling myself to focus and not look down, it made my head spin. As we
were preparing to hit Lafayette, we layered up. The wind was strong, 20-40
mph.
I was surprised that I never got
cold wearing a running skirt and extra wind resistant layers on top (hat and
gloves too). I am thankful that I have hiked Lafayette before on a bright and
sunny days because the views from the top are amazing. Last Saturday there weren’t
any views but it was still pretty sweet to be running along that ridge. From
Lafayette we headed down to Garfield, got a little thrown off but quickly found
our way and were off and running. This is where my low point started. Because
we were running on small wet rocks my feet were doing a lot of sliding around.
No matter what shoes I wear I tend to have the same issue. My right foot
(bunion on my big toe) was starting to ache. Every time I hit the inside of my
foot (where the bunion and callus are) pain would shoot up. I was super
uncomfortable but was determined to work through it, I knew it would work itself
out but lagging behind is not something that settles well with me. We hit
Garfield and again the view was not as great as it was for me the last time I
was up but the last time I was up there the sun was out but the clouds were low
and I didn’t have a clear view of the
valleys and mountain tops then either.
Descending
from Garfield I knew what to expect since I was just on that trail last fall.
What I didn’t expect was descending down a waterfall. Super cool and the cold
water that sneaked its way onto my feet was a little refreshing on my painful
feet. After more rugged trail and some steep climbs up large rocks we hit the
Galehead hut. Two of us stayed at the hut while the other two made and extra
mile (round trip) hike to the top of Galehead. I had already summited that peak
and was ready to give my feet a break. I knew the hike up South Twin was going
to be steep. I went down that trail last fall and was watching all these people
hike up with their big ole heavy packs and I was thankful that I was not them. I
ate my lunch and rested and after the other two got their break we were off and
“running” again. My legs were tired as we started ascending but as we got half
way up, I was feeling great.
We hit
South Twin, took another “selfie” and were on
our way to the Bonds. I should note at one point there was talk about bailing
on the run if the weather wasn’t going to clear because wind, rain, and cold on
the Bonds would not be all that fun. BUT we didn’t bail and the odds were in
our favor as the sun started to peek.
Us
two Newbies took the boot spur to West Bond .6 miles there and back. That far
in the trip the thought of the extra mileage was daunting but I was psyched to
add another 4,000 footer to my list. When we summited West Bond we could see
the sun peering through the breaks in the clouds. We had a decent view and were
pleased to make the trip up to the little peak.
Back on the trail we trudged along made it over one more hump and the
trees opened as did the skies! It was gorgeous. The sun shining on the green
shrubbery and a clear view of the rocky trail that was before us. We took a
quick moment to take it all in and were on our way. First Bond then to Bond
Cliffs. There was a spectacular view from Bond Cliff, the wind was a little
strong and I did my best to stay away from the cliff edge. There was no way I
was going out on the peak to take a picture, I feared a wind gust would take me
of the edge. After a quick break, slap happy laughter and talks of pizza and
BEER we were on our way down. Wowzers that was long descend with several river
crossings and lots of mosquitos as the terrain leveled out. We got to the intersection
that signified 6 more miles. Shit. SIX MORE MILES! We all sucked it up and put
our running legs on and made our way towards the finish. There was no stopping
for fear of turning into mosquito bait. Pushed through shredded quads and
finished in just under 14 hours. Our goal was 12 but I am sure having us
newbies in tow and the few side runs to bag a couple of peaks added to the
time. Our running time was under 11 hours. We were all on
runners high including man with sticks who
was waiting for us in the parking lot. We feasted on some food that might not
be so good for us like salty chips. But I did remember my recovery drink and
washed everything down with some refreshing cold coconut water. While we all were on our runners high,
a couple of us were a little nauseous at the finish and the
pizza and beer we dreamed of didn’t happen. We stopped for a quick bite and
were on our way, four giddy girls who just shared a powerful experience and now
share a special bond provided by the Pemi Loop. Lets share a beer soon ladies, reminisce and plan our next adventure!
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| Back down we go |
Wow. Great pictures. Several of my in-laws conquered all of the 4000 footers. This loop looks like it might be a good start to my 4000 foot journey. Congrats.
ReplyDeleteThanks Amy! On a clear day the views from Lafayette are fantastic! Bridal Path/Falling waters was my first White Mountains hike and includes Lincoln and Lafayette. We didnt have any views from Lafayette when we did the Pemi.
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