The Semi-Pemi™
The white mountains, New Hampshire
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September 2021
About the trail
Pemigewasset Loop is a 31mi trek (part of which is the AT) through the White Mountains that is known to be challenging but gorgeous. The Semi-Pemi is only completing half of the loop. Turns out the east coast has bear boxes! One day we'll finish the full loop.
The story
Day 1- 16+ mi (supposed to be 12 mi)
This was our first backpacking trip together on the east coast and we treated it like we were on the west coast. We packed heavy, with a full bear can and too much stuff including our heavy REI basics tent. We had done day hikes on the east coast before but never one like this. We started out at 6am, in a downpour, and lost the trail a few times in the first 5 miles. Then we got to the river crossings where, like west-coast hikers, we tried to never put our feet in the water. This lead to us getting even more lost as the rain had completely washed away the trail and so we wandered. As the sun set, we realized we were still 3+ miles from the camp and set about trekking through the darkness to finally reach it, soaked, exhausted and sore.
Day 2- 4 mi
We started late after giving our gear time to dry out in the sun. At this point we realized we were only going to have time to do half of the loop, and had a lazy day walking along ridge lines and through forests. We decided to camp illegally outside the AT Club hut (oops) partly because they had bathrooms, before starting our decent on day 3
Day 3 - 12 mi
Got going downhill, then wading through boggy trails as we made our way around the flats and the valley. Abby saw a cat out on an adventure, to whom she yelled "GO ADVENTURE KITTY GO!", and it made our weekend.
