RickM
New member
I had wanted to try a one-day Pemi loop this summer, but the days I could go had all been too hot and/or with risk of thunderstorms. This weekend's unseasonable temps seemed just the ticket to do it in cool conditions with plenty of daylight. I considered driving over to Lincoln to stay in a motel Saturday night to get another two hours of sleep, but decided to leave from home in Falmouth, Maine instead. The alarm went off at 3 A.M. and I was on the road at 4:15 A.M. and hit the trail at 6:30.
I had weighed my pack at home and was distressed to see that it weighed 15 pounds with a full three liter water bladder, plus the food and clothing I was taking. I decided to just go with that rather than try to shave off a few pounds and reduce my margin of safety. I had reviewed the past discussions about the virtues of doing the trip clockwise or counterclockwise. Jamie's trip report from July 1 and the trail conditions report from August 5 by Brian and Mackreth confirmed my decision to go counterclockwise. Jamie's detailed report was particularly helpful and I carried a copy for mileage breakdown of the sections.
With the weight of my pack I didn't feel like running the Wilderness Trail so I sort of loped along reaching the Bondcliff Trail in just under an hour. Just past Franconia Brook Trail I spotted a large moose standing about five feet off of the trail. I thought about trying to just walk past him, but decided to detour off the trail to give him some space.
It was cool and breezy on Bondcliff, but the trail seemed to be a bit in the lee of the wind, so I managed to stay with just my shorts and t-shirt, while the people heading down were all pretty heavily dressed.
I decided to skip the spur out to West Bond as I had done it 36 years ago in high school (that's a depressing thought) and I figured 31 miles was enough for the day.
Between West Bond spur and South Twin, I passed an older gentleman heading in the other direction smoking a pipe while hiking, which was something I hadn't seen before.
The descent from South Twin is quite steep and I twisted my ankle pretty badly just below the summit. For a moment I had a vision of having to recuperate at the Galehead Hut, but the ankle felt okay after a few minutes, although it did act up periodically the rest of the day.
The temperature at the hut was 46 degrees. There was a Dachsund there, which I thought was not your typical trail dog. When I refilled my water bladder, I had consumed two of the three liters.
I don't recall much from Galehead to Lafayette as I was on autopilot trying to make good time. Coming out of treeline on Lafayette the winds were probably 30-40 mph, so I finally put on jacket which I kept on until just past Lincoln. The summit of Lafayette had the usual crowd, but everyone was hunkered down behind rocks dressed for late October conditions.
During the descent off Liberty my ankle was acting up so, it was slow going until the ascent up Flume. Stayed on Flume for a few minutes talking with some guys heading to Liberty Spring and also to send a photo from my cell phone.
My ankle had stiffened up while on Flume and the first part of the descent on Osseo was no fun and the ladders were a pain. But I second Jamie's comments that it's an overall great trail to descend. The ankle finally loosened up and I was able to jog most of the rest of the way down, making it down from the summit in about an hour and a half. I had brought my poles and used or stowed them during the trip depending on the section. I was very glad to have them as the nice dirt on the Osseo trail was well suited for their use.
My water ran out about two-thirds of the way down Osseo. I sweat a lot and definitely would have needed more than three liters to go from Galehead Hut to the end on a more typical summer day.
Total time: just over 12 hours, with about five hours getting to Galehead Hut and another seven from there.
I had weighed my pack at home and was distressed to see that it weighed 15 pounds with a full three liter water bladder, plus the food and clothing I was taking. I decided to just go with that rather than try to shave off a few pounds and reduce my margin of safety. I had reviewed the past discussions about the virtues of doing the trip clockwise or counterclockwise. Jamie's trip report from July 1 and the trail conditions report from August 5 by Brian and Mackreth confirmed my decision to go counterclockwise. Jamie's detailed report was particularly helpful and I carried a copy for mileage breakdown of the sections.
With the weight of my pack I didn't feel like running the Wilderness Trail so I sort of loped along reaching the Bondcliff Trail in just under an hour. Just past Franconia Brook Trail I spotted a large moose standing about five feet off of the trail. I thought about trying to just walk past him, but decided to detour off the trail to give him some space.
It was cool and breezy on Bondcliff, but the trail seemed to be a bit in the lee of the wind, so I managed to stay with just my shorts and t-shirt, while the people heading down were all pretty heavily dressed.
I decided to skip the spur out to West Bond as I had done it 36 years ago in high school (that's a depressing thought) and I figured 31 miles was enough for the day.
Between West Bond spur and South Twin, I passed an older gentleman heading in the other direction smoking a pipe while hiking, which was something I hadn't seen before.
The descent from South Twin is quite steep and I twisted my ankle pretty badly just below the summit. For a moment I had a vision of having to recuperate at the Galehead Hut, but the ankle felt okay after a few minutes, although it did act up periodically the rest of the day.
The temperature at the hut was 46 degrees. There was a Dachsund there, which I thought was not your typical trail dog. When I refilled my water bladder, I had consumed two of the three liters.
I don't recall much from Galehead to Lafayette as I was on autopilot trying to make good time. Coming out of treeline on Lafayette the winds were probably 30-40 mph, so I finally put on jacket which I kept on until just past Lincoln. The summit of Lafayette had the usual crowd, but everyone was hunkered down behind rocks dressed for late October conditions.
During the descent off Liberty my ankle was acting up so, it was slow going until the ascent up Flume. Stayed on Flume for a few minutes talking with some guys heading to Liberty Spring and also to send a photo from my cell phone.
My ankle had stiffened up while on Flume and the first part of the descent on Osseo was no fun and the ladders were a pain. But I second Jamie's comments that it's an overall great trail to descend. The ankle finally loosened up and I was able to jog most of the rest of the way down, making it down from the summit in about an hour and a half. I had brought my poles and used or stowed them during the trip depending on the section. I was very glad to have them as the nice dirt on the Osseo trail was well suited for their use.
My water ran out about two-thirds of the way down Osseo. I sweat a lot and definitely would have needed more than three liters to go from Galehead Hut to the end on a more typical summer day.
Total time: just over 12 hours, with about five hours getting to Galehead Hut and another seven from there.
