Pemi Loop Adventure with Jim Jansen!
Date: September 17th, 2016
Location: Pemigewasset Wilderness, NH
Adventure: Pemi Loop, 31 Miles, 10,000 feet elevation gain
Saturday 7 am - Eric, Ned and myself set out to hike / run the Pemi Loop in New Hampshire's Pemigewasset Wilderness. We brought enough water knowing there was a hut at mile 18 and enough food for 10 hours or so. We had planned to start earlier but at 7 am we were well past sunrise. We still decided to bring head lamps and warm clothes just in case. This proved wise!
We made good time climbing the peaks going clockwise until we hit Garfield. Heading down from Garfield we made a wrong turn and ended up going 3 miles downhill only to then turn around and go back up those 3 miles and add in 2,000 feet of elevation. Certainly demoralizing at the time but we came together and pushed through to get to the hut which was about 6.5 miles of mostly rocky uphill until we got to the hut. We got some soup and regrouped.
We made the climb up south twin then had some nice sunset ridge running along Mt Bond and Bondcliff. We rested on Bondcliff eating and enjoying the view before the final 9 miles downhill, mostly in the dark. We finished with 36 plus miles and 12,000 feet in just over 13 hours. Trail running has its highs and lows and we certainly were reminded of that yesterday. But as a group we were prepared and helped each other along the way to make it a very memorable trip!
Thanks to our team sponsors, Ultimate Direction, Merrell, Run On Hudson Valley, Red Newt Racing, GU Energy Labs & Mountain Peak Fitness