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Grid: Semi-Pemi Traverse

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Saturday, May 27, 2023

Miles: 27.85

Start: Garfield TH

End: Lincoln Woods TH

Elevation gain/loss: 8383’/8658′

Peaks: Garfield, Galehead, South Twin, North Twin, Zealand, Guyot, West Bond, Bond, Bondcliff

I met my shuttle from Ali’s Rides at 6am at Lincoln Woods TH. I was in a hurry and didn’t realize that I’d left my heart rate chest strap, my headphones, and my wallet in my car. Ali’s Rides was kind enough to be flexible in the timing of payment, and I was able to pay them before the end of the day. After gathering myself and processing the different day I’d have without my headphones, I headed out from the Garfield TH at 6:40am. I was at the summit of Garfield by 8:30am and enjoyed having it all to myself.

Then I headed over to Galehead hut, summited the mountain, and then stopped at the hut to use their bathroom and refill my 2L water bladder. Then it was onward to South Twin; I ran into my first section of snow descending South Twin heading for North Twin. It was only ~0.4 miles but the packed snow was unstable and kept breaking through so it slowed me down. After tagging the North Twin summit, it was back over to South Twin. As I headed toward Guyot on the AT, I hit a large section of melting, knee-deep snow at least a mile long. But I kept myself moving, passed by a number of people, and made it out the other side without any falls. Then I went out and back to Zealand, summited Guyot, and headed for the Bonds.

I ran out of water just as I hit West Bond, so I was without water until I descended off of Bondcliff but I made the best of it. Bond was nice, and the descent over to Bondcliff is still one of my favorite views in the Whites. I stopped to filter and drink a liter at a small spring on the way down, and stopped again at the first stream crossing to filter up 2 more liters. Then I started running. I ran the last 6 miles out along the Bondcliff and Lincoln Woods trails. My legs felt great as I ran in, which was a very pleasant surprise – the miles went by quickly and I was back at my car by 6:20pm.

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