The Pemi Semi Loop

“That about sums up my thoughts as i emerged from the trees on the backside of Haystack and the Franconia Ridge opened out in front of me, WOW!
Anyway lets start at the beginning. I left my house very late on Thursday night to drive up to The Mad River House in the White Mt National Forest. I arrived there about 2:30am and flopped down on the couch, everyone was already sleeping. Morning came really early as everyone else started stirring, it felt like I had only been sleeping for about 15 minutes.
After I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes I meet Madriver, our awesome host, Twinkle Toes our trip planner, Mousespray, Pepsi, and SirPete. They all looked well rested and ready to go. Madriver whipped up a great breakfast of eggs and waffles. After some last minute rearanging of the packs and gear we loaded up the cars and headed off for the Lincoln Woods Trailhead. We checked in with the rangers and paid our parking fees signed in then headed up the Lincoln Woods Trail. It was an easy hike along a railbed. Madriver had injured his back the week before this trip and had decided to take a muscle relaxer in the morning. Hmmm might not have been a good idea. It didn't just relax his back. Anyway the trail started easy and then got alittle more steep as we made the left turn on to the Osseo trail. this is wher Sirpete, Pepsi, and mouse Spray pulled ahead. Twinkle Toes and myself were happy to hike alower and keep an eye on Madriver who moaned and groaned up the mountain. Somewhere along this trail it begain to rain, not just a drizzle but a real downpour. I quickly pulled out my tarp and we huddled under it until it stopped downpouring.
In a steady drizzle we continued up towards the summit of Mt Flume at 4328'. We arrived at the summit to a great veiw of nothing but white. The fog had dropped so we looked at the edge and kept walking. Sirpete, Mousespray, and Pepsi are no where to be seen. About this time all hell broke loose as a thunderstorm opened up around us. Bad time to be on an exposed summit. We dropped down off the summit and once again oled up under my tarp. This time Twinkle whipped up a batch of hot tea, and uttered the words, "don't burn my nipples" I will let her tell you more about that.
After it stopped thundering around us we pressed on. Twinkle Toes came to a spot in the trail that looked very slippery and scary, a big flat rock tilted on an angle sloping towards a drop off. We she got down on her knees and started edging her way across. Well I looked at the rock and either in a momnet of foolishness of bravery I walked right across, passing inches in front of Twinkles nose as she edged across. Of course this did not make her happy.
The Summit of Mt Liberty was very windy and cold but the sky cleared enough for us to get some views and see the cliff that we walked along on Mt Flume. If I had realized that I was walking along a 200' drop I wouldn't have been so calm.
A quick drop down off of Liberty into Liberty Springs Campsite and we found Sirpete, Mouse Spray and Pepsi waiting for us. Dinner drinks and a sunset view from a big rock then bed time.
Morning came bright and early as we prepared to head for the Fraconia Ridge and Garfield Campsite. Twinkle had twisted her knee the day before and it had stiffened up during the night. this caused some concern as she thought about bailing out down the Liberty Springs Trail a very tough downhill trip. She decide to go on and see the ridge. Sirpete, MadRiver, and Pepsi headed off early then Twinkle, Pepsi and I headed back up to the ridge. Well Twinkles knee was getting worse instead of better but she bravely pushed on. The two of us fell way behind the group, but we knew that they were going to dry off at Haystack mtn. Finally after a long struggle we made it to Haystack and saw the ridge. WOW incredible. I have never seen anything like this before. We made our way along and found Mousespray. The others had left after waiting for 2 hours, they needed to get to Garfield and reserve a spot. At this point Twinkle needed to get off the mountain. We had two chioce she could turn back or complete the ridge and go down the Old Bridle Path from Lafayette. We decided that the bridle path would be the best route, the only things in the way were Mount Lincoln at 5089' and the summit of Layfayette at 5260'. At this point i wasn't sure what I was going to do, let Twinkle go down by herself or go down with her. Mousespray left so that he could get on to Garfield.
Well You will be happy to know that My goodside won the fight and I decided to go down the mountain with her.

To be continued The Ridge and Beyond!”

“Well, don't leave us hanging.”

“really - great report so far, but what happened next?!”

“They must have all died or something like that.”

“Sorry work got in the way!”

“The Franconia Ridge is awesome 5000 feet up and above the tree line it cuts across three major peaks and several small-unnamed peaks. It looks like the rocky backbone of the mountains. Truly unlike anything that I have ever seen before. It was also a bit of a shock! Here we were 2 days into a trip and here comes Grammar and Grandpa hiking along in sandals with black socks on carrying a grocery bag with sandwiches and a bottle of water. You would not believe the crowds! The ridge is an easy day hike from several spots.
This is also where Twinkle and I entered the time warp. Her knee was really hurting now and after a quick lunch we took off. It took us from about 12 until 3:45 to get to Lafayette Mountain, about an inch and a half on the map. Very difficult terrain especially when you have to lift your leg up onto every rock on the trail. Finally we made it to the Summit of Lafayette and hunkered down in the fire tower foundation to have a snack. Spicy Couscous and Tuna ala Twinkle and shot of Sambuca to fortify ourselves. Then there was Capt. America, yes it was a guy in a red white and blue lycra Singlette sitting on another idiots shoulders on top of a large boulder on the summit. Too bad we didn't take a picture of this idiot. Got a good laugh though.
We loaded back up and headed down to the Greenleaf hut. Downhill was definitely harder on Twinkles knee and we had over 3500 feet to go down.
Slow and easy was the trip plan. After getting passed by about 100 people only 4 of which offered to help Twinkle with her pack, and then 2 that offered us a free night in the hut. We made it to Greenleaf hut at 5:30. Man those cots looked comfy. But we needed to get off the Mountain, Twinkle and I where worried that her knee would be even worse in the morning. I tried to get the caretaker to radio the Garfield shelter to let the rest of the group know what was happening, but Garfield didn't have their radio on. They assured me that if there was a problem they would hear about it and took our names. I asked about the trail going down and he said that it was 3.8 miles and should take about 2 hours and 40 minutes. Well it only took us 3hrs and 30 minutes we came out right, as it grew too dark to see.
All the way down I am thinking what are we going to do when we get down? My car is at Madriver’s house a half hour at least away. They don't have cabs or buses up here. I figured worst case we would camp at the bottom and figure it out in the morning.
That was a very long and painful trip for Twinkle as she winced every time her boot hit a rock and she crawled down and butt surfed down some steep parts. We actually passed two people that were slower than us on the way down. This gave us some short-lived encouragement. That was taken away however when a 4 year old came trotting past us! He didn’t have a pack on!
Just as we were getting to the bottom a family came up behind us with a very annoying dog, that I was sure was going to knock Twinkle Toes off her feet. Just as we get to the parking area we started talking to one of the guys in the group and he asks us what we are going to do. We tell him that we aren’t sure and he asks if we need a ride! I almost kissed him and said yes please. He was nice enough to drive us all the way back to Mad rivers house! He might be a new TT member soon also. So ends our adventure! Mousespray, Madriver and Sirpete came down off the mountain at a blistering pace of 13.4 miles in 4 hours on Sunday morning and we spent a day recovering soaking our wounds in the river!
I will definitely be back to hike the rest of the Pemi Loop! Pepsi should be finishing it sometime today solo.
A great Trip, the Whites are Awesome, I will be back!”

“Good trip report LtHiker.

Thanks guys. It was nice to meet all of you. I hope you all enjoyed the trip.”

“Just a note. the black fly's were almost gone. the only bites I got were when madriver drug me throught the beaver dams on the way out.”

“Great Trip Report!

Can't wait to see some pictures...

BTW....how were you able to sleep with all the snorers?”

“Excellent report Lt!

I was in the Pemi, too on Saturday and on Sunday morning. My g.f. (and my dog) and I parked in the same lot y'all started from and headed out the Lincoln Woods trail. However, we stayed on past the Osseo trail head and walked along the valley below the ridge you took and then climbed Owl's head. We came back to Lincoln Woods to camp for the night.

The mosquitos were pretty nasty down below were y'all were, and some of the river crossing were a mite hairy (I had to pick my dog up a few times).

Franconia Ridge is awsome. I was there with MadRiver, SirPete and AmyG (and Express, my son) and came back the next year with Dunadan.”

“Ped the mosquiots were bad in some spots, with a few Black flies thrown in. I definately have to get back up there and finish the loop!

Adventurist, I didn't hear any snoring!”

“great report, include me on your next trip.”

“Nice report. Franconia Ridge is great.

How did the others come down? From the Garfield site did they go off into the pemi wilderness or back out to route 3?”

“Of course you didn't!

You are the Grand Poobah of snoring!”

“Hey Twinks

How is the knee now that you are home? Do you think that you have a major injury or more of a fatigue resulted pain?

Hope it isn't serious! I can pinpoint where and when I messed up my knee 7 years ago backpacking and it sucks!”

“Lee the others came down13 Falls from Garfield back to Lincoln Woods.”

“Adventurist, as far as my snoring, I don't know what you are talking about. I couldn't have been snoring that night in the shelter, you had me awake all night with your porcupine patrol!”

“Great trip report, thanks! Pictures? (I know, we are so spoilt :)”

“Waiting for pictures from someone else. I didn't bring my camera!”

“Sounds like a great trip, I haven’t been up their since the late 70’s, need to go back. T. T. I hope your knee isn’t serious and it heals quickly.”

“Must hike, it seemed like the same kind of pain that i was having on the Devils Path. She just couldn't lift her leg up at all without serious pain.

She toughed it out though and we made it down the mountain.”

“Maybe it’s just a fatigue injury like adventurist said. I think that was the problem I had with mine.”

“Must hike it was definatley awsome! I want to go back, maybe later in the fall if I get a 0 degree bag. It was in the 40's at night as it was it is proably really cold there in the fall.”

“Sounds like fun! Nice report, and I hope ole' twinkle is better, those knee injuries are not fun.”

“maybe some pictures tonight. I'll try.

still at work :(”

“Cool can't wait to see them Pete!”

“I'm hoping to have some pictures developed tomm. - will be sure to post a link.”

“Very nice trip report Lt. You're the hero of the day! I hope Twinks knee is ok. I'm looking forward to the pics.”

“I'm pretty tired but I'll see if I can hit the highlights.

Don't burn my nipples
It is what it is
Sometimes its good for the caretaker to take a walk.
Full moon at Liberty Springs
Passing showers have a different meaning in New Hampshire than most other places.
I'm never wahing my pants again.

It was great meeting everyone.Twinkle Toes planned an awesome trip. I'm just sorry that her knee acted up and she missed some of it. Mad River was great, put us all up for the night and cooked scrambled eggs in the morning. He even let me leave my extra stuff at his place so it wouldn't get stolen at the trailhead. I'm not quite sure yet if anything was or not. Mouse Spray let me use his spare map when I forgot to put mine back in the bag and it got dampend by a passing shower. Actually when we got to Liberty Springs every time I took a step water sloshed out the top of my boot. Lt gets promoted to Sir Lt for his gallantry, And sirpete, he let me try a hiking pole on Saturday, I'll have my own by the next trip, and before he left on Sunday he gove me a tube of energy goo to try. More on this later.

You got the first part so.
We got up sunday morning to the sound of the helicopter delivering supplies to the Garfied campsite, or maybe it was Pete stove. Anyway we packed, said goodbye and they headed down the Franconia Brook Trail. I continued along the Garfield Ridge to Galehead Hut where I ran into Rick, Tom and Jason who had the platform next to us the night before. We left our packs and Jason at the hut and went up Galehead. Pretty uneventful, no view whatsoever but we talked all the way. They're from Bahsten Mass and may show up here any time if they haven't already.
Back at the hut, once again they left their packs and headed up to South Twin. I was somewhere behind them. It wasn't as relentless as I expected but it is quite a climb. 0.8 mile took about an hour. Rick and Tom were there waiting so I stashed my pack in a crevase and with water and camera we headed to North Twin. Great view back to Garfield and Franconia Ridge in the distance.
Back at South Twin we took some pictures, looked at Guyot, where I was headed and tried to figure out which was Zealand. They headed back to the hut to get Jason and their packs and I down Twinway toward Guyot. At the junction of Zealand trail I stashed my pack under some trees and with a platypus bottle and the energy goo Headed to Zealand. That stuff is good, thanks SirPete. Anyway it was either the goo or no pack but the trail was good and I ran most of the way to the peak, almost missed it, I was watching where to put my feet and glanced up to see a little sign that said Zealand Mtn. .1. I knew it was tree coverd so I didn't bother with even the camera but I wish I had because there is a sign and I would have liked a picture. Guess I'll have to go back. I thought about doing it right then but I wanted to get to the campsite and get one of those secluded no snoring platforms and I still had to make a small detour to catch Guyot. When I was almost Back to the junction I ran into a throughhiker, we taked a bit and he kept looking but he never asked what I was doing out there with just an almost empty Platypus.
All along Twinway you come in and out of great views (I don't know how you remember all the details and Twinkle Toes has the pencil).
Arrive at Guyot campsite, Mike and Little Legs are there. She showed me where the most secluded platform was, I had lunch, set up my tent and had dinner, talked to Charlie the caretaker. Actually the relief caretaker, they work 10 days on 4 off. About 7:15 I emptied my pack ala Sirpete and used it like a day pack with just water, power bar, and warm clothes headed to West Bond for the sunset. Before I even got up to the trail I realized I was overdressed and changed back to just shorts and t-shirt. From west bond you can get a great distance view of Bondcliff, Bond, and Guyot and on the other side the sunset over Lafayette and Linclon as well as Liberty, Haystack, a little to the left and Garfield to the right. I should have some pictures. Mike a Little Legs showed up too. They work for a climbing wall company and he does work for a wilderness school, outward bound? I forget, I told them about this site though so maybe show up and correct me. We walked back to the campsite, talked to the caretaker some and then headed to bed.
It rained, so when I woke up I thought it would be wet and I was going to wait but I looked out and it was already dry. Had breakfast, sort of, said goodbye to Mike and Little Legs. Actually her name is Ashley but Little Legs is who she's going to be here when they get back to Detroit.
Bond, unbelievable!! The view to Boncliff, West Bond and as far as Franconia Ridge are just awesome. Until you begin to approach Bondcliff then that gets to take a turn as the best.
There was a memorial poem that someone left yesterday on Bondcliff but other than that I was completely alone. That place is just fantastic, as I got closer I kept getting the camera out and thinking this is a better picture.
I even would have taken one of myself up there but I left the remote for the camera at Mad Rivers because I thought....
It probably would have gotten wet anyway.
After Bondcliff it's pretty much down and out. One spot that's a little tricky but next time you go there Ashley you could do it no problem.
Didn't see anyone until about 1/2 mile from the wilderness trail (railbed) 3 people from Georgia headed up to Bond, past South Twin, Galehead hut and over to 13 Falls tentsite. Today. They said the trail so far was just they have down where they hike and asked if it gets any more rugged. I smiled and said yes.
On to the Wilderness trail, Side trip to Franconia Falls for lunch. Too many bugs. The water looked very inviting but I had enough hiking in wet clothes on Friday and Saturday so I passed and headed out Lincoln Woods Trail to the parking lot. This last part is where I got my first bug bite, the first of many, even with the deet.
I threw my stuff in the carand headed to Mad River's to pick up my stuff, stopping at the gas station in Campton where they have some of the coldest Pepsi you can get short of freezing and a bag of ice to keep it that way.
13 4000 footers
11 from the offical list
8 more off my list
Once again, it was great meeting everyone. I can't wait for next time.”

“Morning:

Pepsi, I'm glad you made it back to civilization with no mishaps. Let me know when you want to venture north again. I would like to do one or two more overnights before fall. That goes for everyone else as well.

I have to say you were all good houseguests and hiking companions. I learned a few valuable lessons, one of which is NEVER TAKE A MUSCLE RELAXANT BEFORE HIKING!!!

I must correct one error, however. There was snoring!!, and strange animal noises coming from several tents. I should know because I didn't sleep very well both nights, but that was my problem and not a result of the snoring or animal noises.

I was extremely happy that everyone got see the Pemi in all its glory. It was unfortunate that the trip didn't continue as planned, but everyone arrived back at the house safe and that is all that matters.”

“Great trip - really enjoyed meeting everyone!

Felt bad for Twinkle with the bum knee. We all really boogied out of there early the next morning, nervous about her & LTHiker. SirPete's stove makes an excellent alarm clock for anyone within a 100ft radius.

Man, that friggin’ rain on Friday was so hard at times, I had my head down with my hood on, and it sounded & felt like someone was standing over me with a hose on jet spray. Loud, hard, big cold raindrops.

And then the lightning on top of Liberty was a little unnerving. As I approached the treeline for the summit, I could see occasional flashing and heard thunder – not a lot, but it only takes one strike. But it was raining so damn hard at that point I just couldn’t bear to wait until around for this storm to end – of course near the summit it was also pretty cold and windy to go along with the rain. So I tried to make a mad scamper across the summit – but with the poor visibility, and an unusual, hidden “J” shaped twist in the trail, I couldn’t find my way off. I threw my hood off for better peripheral vision, and was staying as low as I could darting this way and that, yelling while trying to find the damn trail. Musta looked like some crazed, tripping Spiderman.

When I pulled into camp, I looked like a drowned rat. Actually - that may be insulting to drowned rats.”

“With the nastiness of Friday behind me, i.e. drugs and weather, I exited my tent around 4:30am and after watering the flowers, I sat on the viewing rock and ate breakfast and thanked the hiking gods for providing such a beautiful day. I sat for a few hours waiting for someone else to stir before taking down my tent and heading to the ridge. Once the group began to emerge from their gentle slumber, I borrowed a stove and made coffee and began to pack my gear. Not knowing how my back or my legs were going to perform that day, I wanted to hit the ridge as early as possible so I had a little lead before the two fright trains (Sirpete/pepsi) caught up to me.

After listening to a symphony of yawns, farts, stretches, and farts and more farts, I hit the trail and ventured forth to what I hoped would be a glorious day of hiking. I made it about a hundred yards up the Liberty Springs Trail before sirpete caught up to me and passed me at warp 2 heading to Little Haystack. I caught up to him at the summit about 15 minutes after he arrived so I figured my back and legs were in good shape if I were only 15 minutes behind him.

We sat on the summit and basked in the beauty of the surrounding mountains, which make up the Pemigewasset Wilderness. It was still early, but the conga line was beginning to emerge from the Falling Waters Trail, so we know we couldn't stay too much longer if we wanted to make Garfield at a reasonable hour. Once the ridge begins to fill up, it's almost impossible to make good time because you end up hiking behind mom, dad, and the kids. So after a great deal of soul searching and discussion, sirpete, pepsi, and I decided we had to leave if we were going to secure a platform for us and the group. MouseSpray agreed to say behind and tell Lt.Hiker and Twinkle Toes our plan.

He all headed out toward Lincoln at warp 2 and I stayed with them for about 10 minutes and then realized if I were going to reach Garfield that day, I couldn't use up all my strength on the ridge, so I throttled back and hiked at a steady albeit slower pace than sirpete and pepsi. The ridge was filled with a wide variety of hikers that morning. There were moms, dads, kids, old men, young men, day hikers, backpackers, and lots of pretty girls. I love hiking the ridge and I was feeling a lot stronger than I did on Friday. My legs were good and my back carried my pack without any problems. All and all it was a glorious day on the ridge.

I met sirpete and pepsi on Lafayette and we all eat lunch and scanned the ridge in hopes of spotting MouseSpray, Lt.Hiker and Twinkle Toes before we finally had to leave the throngs of day hikers and head to Garfield. I hadn't hike from Lafayette to Garfield in over 20 years so I forgot just how rugged that section of the trail was. I stayed with sirpete and pepsi as we all bounded over the rocks like Billy goats and I felt good that my back took the pounding. Once we reach the first of many ascents, I fell behind and just hiked my own hike knowing that I would reach the platforms in good time.

I arrived at the Garfield campsite around 4:30pm and met up with sirpete and pepsi who were setting up their tents and chatting with the guys we met at Liberty Springs the night before. The caretaker was informed that there might be one, or two, or three more hikers coming, so he held off assigning the open platform next to us until the last possible moment.

After eating dinner and resting a little, sirpete and I headed back up to the summit of Garfield to watch the sun set. Seeing the Pemi from that vantage point was thrilling and brought home the reason why I love to hike and backpack. It would have been even better if my wife were with me to share the sun set, but that was not to be on this trip. We could see the Galehead Hut from the summit and just make out the thin line that rose straight from the hut to South Twin. The Bonds were beautiful as the setting sun illuminated the shear cliffs that make of Bondcliff.

I could have sat there for hours, but the setting sun signaled to us we needed to get back to camp before dark, since the trail was not one you wanted to hike in pitch black. We met up with a woman and three guys as we headed back to camp and realized at that point that Lt.Hiker and Twinkle Toes did not follow us to Garfield. We all settled in for the night as darkness fell and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning sirpete, MouseSpray, and I were heading out while pepsi was heading over to Guyot for the night. I was torn whether or not to continue or to hike out. My legs were good, but I miscalculated my provisions and all I had left was a bag of peanuts and one rice dinner. I learned a valuable lesson on what to eat during a backpacking trip, so I figured it was a successful trip even if I didn't hit the Bonds, so I decided to call it a day.

On the way out we stopped at 13 falls and sirpete then understood why I wanted to camp there, it's such a lovely place. After taking a few pictures, were headed down the trail at warp 3. We took turns taking the lead and I have to say, we smoked that trail. 13+ miles in four hours was a personal best for me. We arrived at my place around 11:30am and met up with Lt.Hiker and Twinkle Toes. Sirpete took a shower and then headed home while Lt.Hiker, Twinkle Toes and I frolicked in the river for the afternoon.

Although it wasn't the trip that we had planned, I do hope that everyone had a good time and would like to venture north again. I am more than happy to play host.”

“Glad I was able to get some time to read everyone's report. Sounds like a fine trip, even with the adverse circumstances some of you had. Twinks, hope your knee is better. I was actually sensing your pain as I was reading LT's report. BTW, Lt. You did a very unselfish thing in looking out for her. Kudos to you! Glad everyone had a good time and that you folks came home unscathed...”

“The Whites are fantastic!

Didn't get to see a moose - actually, didn't see much wildlife at all with the exception of a few butterflies, a shiny tiny green beetle, and of course, the guys who spent much of the time farting and burping.

This trip kicked my butt. 12 hours hiking down with a screaming knee is one of the least pleasant things I've had to do on a trail.

Thanks again to LT for coming down the mountain with me....and for kidnapping the contents of my pack!

I felt pretty defeated once I got home - but I'm no longer planning on selling off all my gear to take up needlepoint! LOL

I look forward to returning to the area - maybe basecamp with long dayhikes without having to lug a full pack (that's until I buy stock in Campmore to get the new pack, sleeping bag, fancy summer hiking cloths, trekking poles, etc..etc..etc..)

Anyway, it was nice meeting everyone! My favorite part was sitting in the river with a glass of red wine.”

“oh yeah, the knee is getting better - I can bend it now...the satirs aren't killing me today but it still feels pretty bruised..”

“Tell the satyrs to leave you alone, your knee hurts!”

“Don't beat yourself up too much Twinkle, I could have just as easily blown out my back and had to abort the trip. You got to see the Pemi on a beautiful day and you DID hike the ridge with a blown knee, which in and of itself, is no small accomplishment. Whenever you wish to venture north again, let me know. My wife and I would enjoy your company. And yes, I too enjoyed the red wine in the river Jacuzzi.”

“Memorable lines:

Don't burn my nipples.
Stump trained cow.
Let me know if you are getting naked again so I can put down my food.
You guys are gentlemen. You're pigs, but gentlemen.
It's good to be the caretaker.
My, aren't they perky.
Are you on crack?
What time do the Swedish bikini models show up?
Don't worry; everyone will be up as soon as I start my stove.”

“Well folks, I just dropped off some film and will get it back tomm. during lunch...so...by tomm. evening they should be posted!”

“i foprgot to mention - the reason none of you have any bug bites is because they all came after me - i'm covered in the dang things”

“Thats just because you smell so sweet Twinkie!”

“Hey where are all of the pictures!”

“Now that you all have had time to reflex upon our little adventure, if you could rewind back to Friday morning, what would you do differently?

I would not have taken any meds prior to the hike.
I would have taken my stove.
I would have packed different food items.
I would have packed up when I woke up on Saturday and not waited the two hours.
I would not have stopped at Little Haystack but continued on.
I would have continued to the Bonds.

I learned a few valuable lessons on this hike, as I hope to on all of my hikes. Some of the lessons concerned food items, and some concerned group dynamics. All in all, it was an education trip.”

“Hmmm this sounds like a trick question!
I would have packed lighter.
I would have left earlier on Saturday.

I would still have let Twinkle sleep in my sleeping bag.
I would still have helped Twinkle off the Mountain.”

“Mad: It's great to keep on learning, it's a big part of the fun. In a way, each backpack is an experiment.

My formula for back pain has been mega-ibuprofen for the day (plus gentle stretching of muscles connected to the back and light abdominal excersize) where applicable), and more potent pain relievers plus muscle relaxants at night. I'll do this as a preventative if I get even light pain.”

“Thank pedxing. I did do a lot of stretching in the morning prior to getting out of the tent. I found that the stretching allowed my back to carry the weight. My biggest mistake was taking the wrong food items for the trip. My dinner meals were ok, it was just my lunch and snacks that didn't measure up to my needs.”

“I would have distracted LT before he left and taken his "Turkey-Tea".

I would have discouraged those who ate chilli from setting their tents upwind from mine.

I would have combed my hair before arriving back at the house to a burst of laughter.

I would have smuggled a third liter of wine in someone's pack.

I would have brought my candle lantern to help dry out...everything.

I would have brought a road map with the NY pages still in it, so trying to drop Twinkle off at home would not have me touring the Bronx. (by the way, Twink, the traffic wasn't nearly as bad as it looked and I made it home pretty quickly).

I would have hooked up with you guys for a trip sooner...good bunch of people!”

“Actually, both pepsi and I had chili, so we had you butt surrounded. lol”

“Be glad that I didn't eat chili!”

“I'll say!!”