If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go with friends

2:20AM on Sunday June 4th, 2023, a Honda Odyssey started to wiggle in the Lincoln Woods Trailhead parking lot. Kyle and I, begrudgingly, awoke, put our clothes on, ate breakfast, drank a few sips of coffee, and did one last gear supply check. At 3:01AM we crossed the Pemi suspension bridge and began our adventure. By 4:45 we were at the top of Mt Flume, having chosen a clockwise approach to the loop. On the way up Flume, we both learned the hard way, that we had gone out too hot and we had many more miles and climbing to do that day. We were totally socked in throughout the day with sporadic rain and snow if we were above 4500’. There was nothing to look at, no grandiose views to keep you company. All we had were the rocks and trail beneath our feet and each other. We didn’t need the views to know the energy of this place. Between Franconia ridge, across the Twinway, to the Bonds, and down out of Lincoln Woods, this was the Pemigewasset wilderness and we were tackling the Pemi Loop. 

Back in high school on a camping trip to go be an idiot in the woods with my friends, Kyle, Nick, and I (there were some other folks there too) packed up way to much water and food into our Jansports backpacks to do the Franconia Ridge Loop, a very common hike in the Whites. I was probably 16 at the time and had hiked before, but never something that tall and never into a different ecosystem as seen along the ridge. I remember getting out in the alpine zone, amazed at the low lying scrub crawling across the rocks and the views laid out before me. Upon getting to the top of Lafayette, I looked down into the Pemi. This view, and many others in this area of the Whites, appear entirely untouched by man. It feels and looks like a true wilderness. Sure there are other places on Earth that have the same remoteness and surely on a larger scale, I’ve even moved in some of them myself, but this was the Pemi, it was my first time feeling that energy, the first place I moved in like that and the energy and feeling of this place is unmistakable. Between the Appalachian Trail and the mountains themselves that have been ground down over millennia, the place feels old and loved. Many people have been here and all of them have left something there to contribute to the splendor. When asked once, why we chose to run the Pemi instead of another loop or thru hike in the Whites, Kyle and I shared the same responses, “Dude, cause it's the Pemi.” If you know, you know.

As we ground our way across the Franconia ridge from Flume, we had to stop at our “friendship rock” on the summit of Lincoln. Several times over the years we had stopped here to take the same picture of the two of us with the Pemigewasset Wilderness at our backs, arms over each other's shoulders. This time it was 5:30AM, there was no one to take the picture, and the wind was too strong to try to rig a self timer on a free standing phone. We took a selfie to make up for it, both knowing what that picture was worth in the grand scheme of things. You see, last winter on a hike, I brought up the idea of running the Pemi and in March of this year Kyle and I discussed it seriously and transitioned our training to reflect this effort that we had planned for June. Our training for this, however, didn’t start last year or in March, it started 27 years ago in Happy Hours Preschool where we, like any kids who meet and play for about 5 minutes, decided we were best friends. I’m not sure how much has changed in our relationship since Happy Hours. We’ve grown, sure, but we still play together and we’ve gotten rather good at it. Over the years, our play has changed and grown around our interests, but more often than not, Kyle and I would find each other over our heads in some sort of physical experience where maybe we bit off a little bit more than we can chew. But if you do this enough times, and with the same person, you get really good at chewing. 

We rocked across Lafayette to find a beautiful coating of rim ice on most northern aspects and ripped down on the Garfield ridge trail to get out of the wind and below the snow. We kept on chewing across the ridge, eventually meeting a fellow traveler, who to our great delight, informed us that any and all leftover snow pack on the remainder of our route had all melted away. A few weeks prior, Kyle and I had “ran”, and I use that term very very loosely, the Wildcat Carter Moriah Traverse. This however had 14 of the 18 miles of the route covered in rotten post hole ridden monorail. Anyone who has hiked in the Whites in the spring shoulder season knows how terrible this is. It may very well be the worst possible trail condition. Needless to say, we were both very excited at the prospect of no postholing on our trip.

We continued on past our new friend to Galehead Hut to refill water and drop the kids off at the pool. At about 7 hours in and halfish way, we were feeling good, but the idea of a 12 hour finish seemed very far away. We were not tied to that outcome, however, it was in the back of our minds that we could do it. After a shoe clean out and a good sit, we went up South Twin, slow and steady, like we had learned on Flume. Once up here, most of the day's elevation was done, with only a few hundred feet left as we ran across the Twinway over the Bonds. I had said earlier on in the day, if we make it to Bondcliff at 10 hours in, we could finish under 12 if we still have the legs to run out down Lincoln Woods the last 9 miles. As we looked off the cliffs of Bondcliff into a cloud, knowing the beauty of the Pemi hidden just inside this thick atmosphere, I looked to confirm that we had made it there in 9 hours 40 mins. We started down the bondcliff trail. As we did, some fellow trail runners and their dog came up behind us. They were not running the Pemi, but doing an out and back on the same leg we were on. After a brief talk about our pace thus far and what we have left, one of them said, “You’ve got sub 12 in the bag.” They ran off, moving much faster than we could. At this point something happened to Kyle. He just started moving, fast, not too fast, but faster than we had been. He started moving fast enough that I could keep up with him, but much faster than I would’ve gone had I been up to my own devices. He would later explain that “sub 12 in the bag” “just got him fired up” and he was able to get a good run going. We were able to keep that energy going and while it did, we both realized the culmination of this 27 year relationship. We felt the energy of the Pemi driving us forward towards some arbitrary goal. We used the goal, we needed the goal, to experience this feeling. A deep connection with this place on Earth and with each other. After what we both agreed was the hardest 8 miles we had ever ran, we crossed the suspension bridge at 11 hours and 35 mins total elapsed time. The technology said just over 30 miles with 9900’ feet of gain. We were knackered, but fell into an embrace on some info graphic sign near the trailhead. We had done it. Sub 12 in the bag.

Over the years, I have come to realize that physical expression leading to emotional expression in powerful places is one of the most potent catalysts for growth. Besides the physiology, the emotional and spiritual components that go into these acts can and will change you for the better. It is ok to do hard things. Kyle is one of the people that taught me that. It's ok to run up a hill so fast you puke; in fact, it's good for you. It is important to do hard acts that challenge you as a person, but it is more important to do them with people that you love and that love you back. Kyle and I love each other, and maybe now more than we had before, but maybe it’s just the same. Either way we shared a truly grounding experience with each other, and because we had each other, we made it all the more powerful. We took each other farther than either of us had ever gone, both on foot, and in the mind, and we were there to get each other back once it was over, to remember the effort and times we’ve had together, not just for those 11 hours and 35 minutes, but for our whole conscious lives.

Love you bud.