Pemigewasset Wilderness Day 2

I knew day 2 would be the hardest of my hike, and I was a little nervous. The plan was to hike up Zealand, take a break on Zeacliff for snack, tag Zealand (which is viewless), and go to Guyot for lunch. Guyot is actually higher than Zealand, but it's a sub peak of something; no 200 foot decent. After Guyot, I would go to the campground, snag a spot in the shelter, and then hike with my daypack  at least to Bond and Bondcliff and maybe to West Bond as well. Then I would return for dinner and go to bed early. And that's exactly what I did!

I had built up the hike from the hut to Zeacliff in my mind as a Big Hard Deal because it was the big elevation climb and I would have a pretty full pack still. What I didn't count on was having fresh legs from sleeping in the hut, and a huge and delicious breakfast featuring oatmeal, coffee, and this egg thing that was quite yummy!  I was so full and had so much energy, the hike was totally fine. Yes, it was uphill, but the pack was actually well distributed in terms of weight, and I was excited about my day! Before I knew it, I was at Zeacliff, which had amazing views!  I had the place to myself for about 10 minutes before these two guys showed up, and I sat and had a snack and enjoyed the view. Soon I was off, though, because I had a lot more to do - it was 5 miles with the heavy pack, and I wanted to get going.

Zealand is one of those peaks where there is no view, just a pile of rocks, there's a spur off the path that's about .2 miles, but it's almost flat. I went and tapped the top - there were two people there eating, and we joked about the silliness of it all. I moved on to Guyot which I saw had a view.  It was amazing!  I sat on some rocks and enjoyed the scenery, and knowing that I was just .8 miles from the campground.  I was getting a little nervous about the campground because I didn't bring my tent and was planning to stay in the Guyot shelter - some people who I talked to on the trail said that there had been a group there the night before.  That  night, though, I was the first one!  I tried lying in all the spots to see which made me least claustrophobic, and eventually decided on the side on the bottom. I spent a few minutes resting my feet, eating, and moving things to my day pack, then I was off to the Bonds!

The Bonds are super remote - from the top of Bond you can only see two manmade things - the tower on Mt. Washington, and the Loon Mt ski trails.  It's beautiful.  The way the path works, you go to the top of Bond, over and down the other side to get to Bondcliff.  Getting to the top of Bond was pretty easy, but it was a long way down to Bondcliff!  There was a long ridgeline between Bond and Bondcliff, and I thought it would be a nice hike, but it was super rocky.  Bondcliff was beautiful (but buggy). There was a guy on the mountain doing Tae Chi, and I thought what a perfect place it was for it! It was serene and completely away from civilization. The bugs drove me back to Bond after only about 15 minutes, though.

The hike back up was killer!  That was definitely the hardest hike I did during the trip, it was long, rocky, and above the tree line - so exposed to the sun.  I was so happy to get to the top of Bond again.  I borrowed bug spray from some guy up there, and had a good rest and ate a peanut butter sandwich.  On the way up Bond, I actually passed someone!  I was a little nervous for him, because I don't pass people, but he soon made it to the top. Once he got there, he came next to me and just lay down. It was a little unconventional, but we had a nice chat - he was hiking the Pemi Loop with a friend, he retired 10 years ago, and he prefers retirement to working. I hope when I'm retired I'm still out hiking the Pemi!  I spent about 30 minutes on top of Bond, but eventually had to head out.

I wasn't sure if I should do West Bond that day too, I stupidly didn't bring enough water. But, as I got close I thought it didn't look that hard, and it would be good to get done on the first day. And, I was right.  West Bond was so nice with a wonderful view of the other Bonds, and not very difficult at all!  I was so glad that I went up there that day. I sat around and ate for a bit, before a group came up - there was one woman who was finishing her 48 the next day on the Bonds.  I was getting hungry and thirsty, so I headed down.

I had an MRE that I got from my visit to USU, and the ravioli was supposed to heat with a chemical reaction. but at the last minute I got nervous, because I wasn't sure how I would cool the heater down way out there, and you have to pack everything out.  So, I ate the ravioli cold, and it was so disgusting. Then I read for about 15 minutes and went to bed at like 9:00!