Single Day Pemi Traverse Route??

[Jkrew81]

I am doing a 1 day Pemi traverse this weekend with a buddy. We have been training for it for some time now but we are still hemming and hawing on the route. Is it recommended to start up Bondcliff and come around Franconia ridge and down Osseo or the other way around. The way I see it they are each equally difficult. Any advantages or disadvantages to the route in either direction? The one thing I can think of is ending at Osseo leaves you off with less than 2 miles to your car. Thanks for the feedback

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Most seem to do it by going up Osseo first. There's not much water along the first part of the route in this direction, so getting this section done while you're fresher has some merit. Also - when coming down off Bondcliff you'll have 5 miles of mostly flat trail as opposed to 2 on the Osseo, which makes the windup easier for some.

 

[Tuco]

I will state up front I have not done this, but I would think heading up Osseo first would be easier. That way, your last 9+ miles or so would be downhill from Bondcliff and flat on Wilderness. The other way, you’ll still be doing some uphill stuff later in the hike.

My theory is try and get the harder stuff out of the way early while fresh.

Please post a report- and good luck

 

[Davehiker]

Terminology

Its a petty point, but what you describe is usually called the "Pemi Loop." A "Pemi Traverse" usually refers to a trip from Lincoln Woods to Zealand, or maybe Crawford Notch (or reverse.) It's a long trip, but much flatter, if you follow the valley trails. It's done in the winter as a xc ski trip.

Whatever you call it, I'm jealous! I wish I were strong enough to hike that many miles in a day. I'll keep plugging...someday.

I agree with Tuco; I'd rather get the greatest elevation out of the way earlier. If you do it clockwise, once you get to S. Twin, it's mostly downhill.

 

[kltilton]

I did the Pemi Loop last summer. I did the Bonds first. The idea of having to slog out 5 miles on the Wilderness Trail wasn't appealing to me. I hit the wall HARD going up Lafaytette, but I was still able to get across the ridge and down the Osseo without too many problems. The lack of water on the Franconia Ridge is an issue, but if you carry enough water and fill up in the Galehead / Garfield area, you should be fine.

 

[giggy]

I know this is not what U want to do - but if you do go as kevin (tilton)suggests, you could get water at liberty springs if you have too. that would suck tho at the end of the day.

I am planning one for sept and (prolly 2 days though) cuz I am wussy

I am probably doing franconia first, but I don't mind that flat walk after a long hike and either way you slice it - this is a long hike

30 miles lightweight in a day is tough and 15 miles per day with full pack is tough.

good luck.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Would add that if water is an issue around the Lafayette summit - there's a reasonably reliable spring about 1/4 mile down from the summit. It's on the left, just below the first large rock outcropping.

 

[Jkrew81]

sprry I guess I should have called it a Pemi Traverse. I did it last year in two days and the idea of doing the whole distance in 1 day is very appealing. A few weeks ago I did the Bonds over Guyout and out 13 falls back to my car at Lincoln woods which gave me the idea to give this a try. I must say that I am still torn on the direction of the route though. The last 5 miles out of flat can be pretty tough mentally at the end of a day like this. I find terrain that has no features makes you think more about all your little aches and pains. The point of H2O access is interesting though. Last time I carried enough from Galehead hut over Garfield and then onto the ridge. That was not fun and heavy to boot. As for right now I am getting some last minutes runs in and am picking over every article of gear to save as much weight as possible. I will let you guys know how it goes and thank you for all of the feedback!!

 

[Dugan]

Having done this, and a few Pemi "half-loops" last year for training, I have to say, that though it is longer than a Presi Traverse, I found it to be much easier. It is longer, for sure, but without that northern Presi rock hopping, the mileage is far easier.

With that said, I've only done the loop in one direction, clockwise from Lincoln Woods - up Osseo, out via Bondcliffs. For me, I know I can autopilot out at a fast rate over easy terrain, which was why I opted to have the 5 mile out at the end of the day.

Counter clock wise, the idea of evening light over the southern end of Franconia Ridge appealed to me.

I would like to try it counter clockwise but am sadly too far out of shape to give it a go again this year.

Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[cbcbd]

Counter clock wise, the idea of evening light over the southern end of Franconia Ridge appealed to me.

The evening light on Bondcliff ain't too shabby either

I did it clockwise and the hardest part of the 5 mile wilderness trail slog was mental. Whichever direction you chose to do will be nice. Not much water up there and don't waste your time and energy leaving the trail to get it. I drank 8 liters that day (2 2L bladders), filling up halfway at Galehead (potable water - leave the filter at home), and it was an 85+ degree day. It was JUST enough and I ran out on my way out the Wilderness trail - and I sweat A LOT.

Have fun

 

[SteveHiker]

the only thing I can add is that if you go Bondcliff first, then after South Twin, the bailout routes are much shorter. There are also usually more people on those trails as well, so if you decided you had enough before you made it the whole way, or something unfortunate happened like violent thunderstorms or an injury, it would be easier to get back.

Personally I didn't find going down Osseo at the end of a long day any better or worse than coming out the Wilderness trail.

 

[Mike P.]

I only got 2/3's of the way around last month, bailing down Twin Brook, the thought of going up South Twin & finishing at a time I estimated to 19 or 20 hours after I started & then driving back to CT was too much.

By going up Osseo, bail out routes down Franconia Brook & Twin Brook are in good locations if you want to bail & it's still a 25+ or 28+ mile hike depending on which one you descend.

If you go up Bonds, Twin Brook, IMO is too early to bail on if you are really serious about the whole loop, which really only leaves Franconia Brook, after that the trails down are away from your car setting up late afternoon of evening hitch-hikes.

Up Osseo leaves you with the big ascent of South Twin late into the trip but after that the walk as far as the West Bond Spur is one of the easiest & flattest at that altitude. It's only up 300 or so feet to West Bond, 400 or so to Bond & then down & back up 201 feet to Bondcliff. The South Twin ascent from the hut is 1175 feet in .8.

Going up Lafayette after the three Bonds, South Twin & Galehead (after getting up Bond, West Bond & South Twin aren't bad, it's the descent of ST, just like descending Lafayette the other way) but you climb Garfield , then descend quite a bit on the other side. From the low point between Garfield & Lafayette, your ascent is (if I did this correctly by inversing my numbers from Memorial Day) in the neighborhood of 1700 feet., all of the sudden 1175 in .8 does not sound so bad, & the footing is better on South Twin, IMO.

Descending Bonds tired, even the ledge on Bondcliff, IMO is easier than descending Little Haystack on F-Ridge trail 24 or so miles into your day.

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

I have tried the Pemi Loop a half dozen times, three times in each direction, and completed it three times, twice counterclockwise, which seemed easier to me. Also, I love being on Bond Cliff early in the morning. Because of either deteriorating weather or simply fatigue, I have bailed out via either the Franconia Brook or the Twin Brook Trails, neither of which saved a lot of miles, but both saved a lot of extra vertical elevation gain. No matter the direction, Galehead Hut is about half way around the 31.5 miles, where I have refilled my water bottles (I usually carry three liters, and drink another liter while resting at the hut, so seven liters total). I have found cloudy days much easier than sunny days, as long as the rocks on the steep sections are dry. I think that the Pemi Loop is classic in the sense that you get to see where you are going and where you have been the entire day. Good luck!

 

[giggy]

I just picked up one of them nalgene "canteens" that come in 48oz and 96oz - filling one of them as well as your 32 oz bottles, might save the water issues. bit of extra weight, but I would rather have too much water than not enought.

just a thought.

 

[Jkrew81]

Well I think we have decided to go up Osseo and down via Bondcliff. Considering it is supposed to rain most of the day we figure it is better to get Franconia and Garfield out of the way earlier in the day. The only major hurdle after this should be S. Twin and that dreaded staircase of a climb. After that we should be in good shape even though there is still a good distance to cover, from Bond to the car it is all downhill or flat the whole way out. Hopefully I will still have the legs to slowly jog that last 5 mile section out on the Wilderness, but we will have to wait and see. We are each carrying about 10 lbs (all in food and water) with all our gear so we should be moving fairly well. I will let you all know how it goes.

 

[Jkrew81]

Oiy

Well I guess it was just not meant to happen this weekend. We awoke at 3:30 to rain. By the time we hit Franconia Ridge the rocks were too slippery to move at the speed we needed to cover the whole trip. We ended up heading down to 13 Falls from Garfield and back to the car. A long day indeed!!! We will try again later in the summer and hope that. It really is a shame b/c the sun came out later in the day and turned into a great day.