Just over three weeks ago, Chris, Raya and I took on the Pemi Loop with the goal of finishing in a day. Backpacker Magazine has deemed this loop to be the second hardest day-hike in the country falling right behind the Timberline Trail on Mt. Hood in Oregon.

The Pemi is NO JOKE. To complete this hike in a day is not only a tremendous undertaking, but also a coveted accomplishment among the hiking/trail-running community.  Let’s layout why:

Miles: 32

Elevation Change: 20,000′ (About 10,300′ of gain & 10,300′ of loss)

4,000′ Summits: 8

Total Named Summits: 10

Conditions: Craggy trails with joint-jarring rocks

The three of us had tried to conquer this loop in multi-day trips two times prior. Both attempts were unsuccessful for different reasons.  The first time, we both were exhausted from a restless night’s “sleep”. The second time, we made it through the first day and when we woke up at camp the next morning Raya wasn’t putting weight on one of her back legs. We thought she had injured herself and headed back to the car to seek medical attention for her. It turned out that the poor girl was really sick with Lyme.

Naturally, given the past attempts, and being the crazy, adventure/challenge-seeking people we are, we decided to attempt the Pemi in a day. Some would say this is asinine, but we had trained for a 30-mile trail race (the Taconic End to End) all winter and figured we were in good enough shape to be [fingers crossed] successful.

Having just completed the Taconic End to End in 9.5 hours with 2,000′ less elevation change I had the zealous goal of completing the Pemi Loop in 10 hours in my head … Chris set a goal for us to complete the loop in 12 hours (I am always a little overly eager & sometimes a bit unrealistic). We had read of people who finished in 14 hours, some 20 hour trips and another 24 hour excursion. Getting up to Bondcliff, our first summit of our one day attempt, we even met six ulta-marathon runners who expected to finish in a little over six hours! This was impressive and proved their level of athleticism. At the time of our completion, we were happy to say that we were successful in 14.5 hours.

We decided to attempt the loop counter clockwise. We had tried it both clockwise and counter clockwise in the past. One of our biggest reasons for deciding to go at it in the counter clockwise direction was the long section of old railroad bed from the trail-head of the Lincoln Woods Center to Bondcliff Trail. We felt that this long flat section would be less daunting at the beginning than at the end when we expected to be exhausted. We also knew that we would have the energy to run this section if we completed the loop counter clockwise given we would face it at the beginning of the day.

Going counter clockwise means that Bondcliff is your first summit. This is where the ultra-marathon runners caught up with us and passed by. We would have loved to learn a little more regarding their logic behind a counter-clockwise loop, but before we knew it they were past us, and what seemed like effortlessly reaching the summit of Mt. Bond.

  After reaching Bondcliff, we continued onto Mt. Bond. Upon reaching the summit, we took a quick fuel break and enjoyed our favorite vegan strawberry pancakes (recipe courtesy of Scott Jurek’s Eat & Run). We knew that fueling ourselves properly was a huge piece of successfully completing the loop in one day. To maintain the energy necessary to keep going, we’d need to replace the calories we were burning (we ended up burning over 5,000 calories over the duration of the day). We did this with pancakes, meal replacement bars, raw energy bars, gels, and dried fruit. Water was also critical. We each carried a little over 2 liters of water. We planned to replenish our water at the Galehead Hut, which is about halfway for the loop. At the hut, we drank as much water as we wanted to and then made sure that our hydration bladders and bottles were full. We only stopped for water at Galehead Hut. We were able to make our water last from the trail-head to the hut and from the hut back to the trail-head.

The most challenging part of the hike was the terrain. The Pemi is full of super crag. The trails are technical and your knees, ankles and hips take a beating from the constant uneven crag and rock surfaces. We were grateful to reach Lafayette and all of her false summits because the trail turned to a sandy dirt that was so much more forgiving on our bodies.

Speaking of Lafayette, yes, there are several false summits. Four or five to be exact, however, this is part of her beauty. There was not one point that we were not surrounded by the breathtaking views of the Pemi Wilderness while climbing to the top of Lafayette. Once we reached the top we had our moment to look back at everything we had already climbed that day, which was a surreal and emotional feeling.

Another possible challenge worth mentioning is the waterfall on Garfield. Yes, you have to either climb up the waterfall or down depending on the direction of your route. If you attempt the Pemi Loop counter clockwise you will have to climb up the waterfall. Depending on conditions, the waterfall can be rushing and an extremely challenging portion of the hike. We were lucky the day that we completed the loop because the waterfall was running, but it was not gushing the way others have experienced. This is a hand over head/hand over foot type climb and can be treacherous.

Getting over Garfield and continuing on to reach Lafayette was relief for me. This was not because I was not enjoying the journey. However, throughout this long, physical excursion, it is impossible not to feel some minor aches and pains as you go. My legs were feeling a little bit of fatigue, especially my joints due to the pounding of the never ending rock. So, getting to Lafayette meant that we were closer to reaching the milestone of having completed 22 miles and only having 10 miles to go. Having to complete 10 miles was way less daunting than thinking about the entire 32.

I never doubted that we could and would finish. I knew we would do it. However, unpredictable circumstances like injury could pose as an obstacle, etc. I don’t believe that either of us doubted that the three of us would complete the loop in a day. We felt strong, we had prepared, we’ve altered our diets, and have felt the benefits, and we’re in the best shape that we’ve ever been in. Our only uncertainty was the length of time it would take for us to reach our finish line.

We ran as much of the loop as we could. As I mentioned before, the trails are extremely technical, so there are some sections that are much more slow-going than others. Once we got over Lafayette, we knew we had reached the home stretch – at least that was how we felt. We had reached the summits of Liberty and Flume in our second multi-day attempt so we had an idea of what to expect for terrain. To our surprise, though, there was a good mile or so of trail between Liberty and Flume that had a massive amount of downed trees due to the wind storms from the winter of 2017/2018. This slowed us down a bit, but we were in good spirits knowing we were reaching our descent that would lead us back to the suspension bridge where we had started our journey at 4:55 AM.

The descent was steep in some sections, but there were areas with wooden and rock stairs to assist. We ran the entire descent as we were trying to give our best effort and keep our time down. The descent was a time that I found myself reflecting back on the day. Getting so close to the point of completion felt so surreal. This realization coupled with exhaustion made for a very emotional moment of the day. I recall shouting ahead to Chris about how tired I was. He coached me and told me to focus on just one foot in front of the other. He kept reminding me that this was the home stretch and we were almost to the finish. He reminded me of how strong I am and encouraged me to use that strength. Let me tell you, it is amazing what your body will do even when you do not think it is capable. Both Chris and I have learned that so much of physical battles are defined by your mentality. If you keep your mind strong, focused, and in a good head space you can become a better athlete.

We reached the suspension bridge at about 7:30 PM. Chris continued to encourage me and coach me up until that last push as we saw the suspension bridge come into sight. We ran a little faster and as we crossed the start of the trail-head we embraced, high-fived, shouted expletives to each other in excitement, and looked at each other wide-eyed and grinning from ear to ear (of course, I was teary eyed too in my emotional state). We were in such a state of awe that we had finally completed the loop, and had done so in 14.5 hours. It was one of the most memorable days we have had the three of us. It was a day I will never let go of. The Pemi gave us so much more than a hike on June 10th, 2018. It was one of those days that will forever shine through as something so special.