First Trip Report: Pemi West Loop

[Dan D]

After a few years of day hiking, mountain "climbing", and fancy camping, I decided to give a real backpacking trip a go. I've been picking up gear over the past year or so, mostly used, and combined with my hiking gear and a brand shiny new Ohm 2.0, I was equipped.

My gear list thread is here: http://bit.ly/1dMntLX

My pre-trip plan thread is here: http://bit.ly/1cdQy1f

The more I planned the more excited I got and with the weather forecast looking AWESOME, my original one night plan turned into two. With input from you guys, I decided on the Pemi West Loop which covers the Franconia Ridge (NH) and the valley to the east in a nice loop. It was a little tricky trying to divide the three days up evenly, but what I came up with was this:

Day 1: Lafayette Campground up and around Garfield and down to 13 Falls Tentsite. 11 miles, ~ 8 hours

Day 2: 13 Falls around down to Liberty Springs Tentsite. 13 miles, ~8 hours

Day 3: Liberty Springs up to Lafayette and down to the parking lot. 8 miles, ~5 hours

Here's how it went:

Day 1: I got a slightly late start and got on the trail at 9am. It was a beautiful day and up I went. I made decent time up to the Greenleaf hut, but I must admit the pack at 23lbs felt a little heavy compared to my usual day hikes. At Greenleaf I stopped to take a break and ate half my lunch. After that I pushed on to the summit. I was getting a little tired, but the summit was really nice. It was partly cloudy, but when the clouds parted every minute or so, the views were awesome.

(i'll insert pics when i get home, post to be continued)

[Jake D]

hey ya made it. will be interested to hear how your gear choices worked out.

[Author]

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