Pemi Loop Run

Route: Did the Pemi Loop counter-clockwise starting from Lincoln Woods, and added the side trips to West Bond and Galehead.
Time: 12:14:04
Total Miles: 33.4
Total Elevation: 9760' gain (19,520' gain + loss)
Peaks (in order): Bondcliff (4265'), Bond (4698'), West Bond (4540'), South Twin (4902'), Galehead (4024'), Garfield (4500'), Lafayette (5260'), Lincoln (5089'), Liberty(4459') and Flume (4328')

TC Hazzard and I drove over to the White Mountains to get in a good, long mountain run. It's worth noting right off the bat that TC did the entire trek wearing his Vibram Five Fingers. We did 10 peaks total, and I didn't think he'd last past the second one, but he proved me wrong. The trail we did is extremely rocky, and while he suffered his fair share of impromptu meetings with sharp stumps and rocks, he toughed it out and completed the run wearing them the entire time. I was most impressed!

Play-by-play:
Section: Lincoln Woods to Bondcliff
Miles: 9.1
Time: 2:09:47
Notes: We ran most of the flat and uneventful Wilderness trail for the four and a half mile so duration until the cut-off to climb up Bond. Made good time going up and once above treeline, the 40 or so mph winds knocked us around like a prize fighter. Had a snack at the summit and continued on.

Section: Bondcliff to Bond
Miles: 1.2 (10.3 total)
Time: 33:46
Notes: Steep uphill, we power-hiked it the best I could. Reached the top, hung out on the summit a bit, and moved on.

Section: Bond to West Bond
Miles: 1.0 (11.3)
Time: 26:02
Notes: Enjoyed the climb down Bond, running the sections we could and made the left turn to West Bond. The climb to the peak isn't very arduous, but we've both had other big training runs recently (well, TC had a big multi-day bike ride) and our tired legs were evident.

Section: West Bond to South Twin
Miles: 3.3 (14.6)
Time: 1:16:09
Notes: Ran into the first other people of the day, and then saw some more near Guyot Mt. Wind still very prominent and the gusts knocked us around some more.

Section: South Twin to Galehead
Miles: 1.3 (15.9)
Time: 38:34
Notes: Wicked steep decent that goes on forever. Careful footing required.

Section: Galehead to Garfield
Miles: 3.4 (19.3)
Time: 1:34:33
Notes: Ran past the AMC hut and tagged Galehead. Then went into the hut to refill our water and talk to the hut workers for a bit. Then we were off to Garfield. Steep climbs here kicked our butts. Very warm here also, and I was sweating like a banshee. Not too pleasant, but it was a great workout.

Section: Garfield to Lafayette
Miles: 3.5 (22.8)
Time: 1:48:38
Notes: Up and over the speed bumps and a long ascent up Lafayette. We rejoiced upon reaching the top, as this was the tallest peak and the longest climbs were over with. TC's feet began hurting him pretty bad here. Lot's of small rocks so we slowed down the pace some from here on out.

Section: Lafayette to Lincoln
Miles: .9 (23.7)
Time: 21:41
Notes: Wind begins to die down significantly, which was nice. We ran much of the way to Lincoln, making decent time despite TC's ailing feet.

Section: Lincoln to Liberty
Miles: 2.9 (26.6)
Time: 1:03:03
Notes: Pretty long section here, but a fairly pleasant one. I was in good spirits, as I was feeling pretty strong and I knew we were getting pretty close to being done.

Section: Liberty to Flume
Miles: 1.2 (27.8)
Time: 38:50
Notes: Slow going during this stretch. Hamstrings are yelling at me at this point, and TC's feet continue to yell at him. Feeling great on the flats and downhills, but uphills are tough.

Section: Flume to the Finish
Miles: 5.6 (33.4)
Time: 1:35:43
Notes: Got a little confused on the summit of Flume, as I thought we missed the Osseo trail and we needlessly backtracked, when in fact we were going the right way. Oh well, this just tacked on another tenth of a mile. Enjoyed the soft downhills provided by the Osseo, and we ran much of them. Rejoiced upon reaching the Wilderness Trail, as it was only 1.4 miles to go from there. Ran much of this, and it felt great to finally reach the bridge.

Good day!