I debated whether to try the PEMI this fall with the Lincoln Woods Trail closure for repairs in the first mile but after feeling recovered from Mammoth Trail Fest and fit I decided to give this a shot while we still had nice fall weather.
I went CCW starting from the map in the parking lot since I know the loop that way from an attempt last year and could chase Jordan's splits. Plus you get the smoothest/flattest 5 miles done with fresh legs.
It was a perfect day for running with dry conditions, mostly cloudy skies, peak foliage before all the leaves are down and light winds. It felt chilly out there and we had a hard frost so I did a later start and ran in a tee plus a hat most of the time. It was probably mostly in the low 50's with a bit of 40's on the ridge and a tiny bit of ice/snow above treeline but not enough to affect my footing.
The cool weather made it feel a lot nicer than when I tried this exactly one year ago on a hotter sunny day and I was able to go light with just two flasks to start and a refill at the Galehead hut from the spigot.
Starting out on the Eastside trail was a bit of an adventure but I was able to cross the river rock-hopping and only get a bit wet and scrambled up the bank and found the main trail without issue maybe losing a minute or so.
I felt strong climbing all day and just tried to focus on efficient downhills but still had a handful of close calls with trips or near ankle rolls and had to remind myself to be in control.
I fueled well using Hyperlyte in the flasks and a few supplemental gels and was able to never hit a wall and was pushing at the end to see if I could get sub-5. The cold weather definitely helped with being able to go light on carrying liquid without paying a price and ended up really dehydrated so it was likely ideal conditions for a fat unsupported time.
When I got back down to the river I tried to cross the river a bit further upstream but it was about a 20-foot drop from an overhanging bank so I had to backtrack and find a better way down. I ended up going chest deep fording the Pemigewasset and saw I had 7 minutes to go sub 5 hours when I made it across and found the trail. I ripped the last runnable mile plus but ended up a minute over 5 hours.
Shout-out to Jordan for setting such a stout time to beat and all the runners that have pushed this ionic route over the years. Hoping to do it again soon and spend more time taking in the views. Looking forward to see if anyone can go under 5 hours in the future.
I took a few splits for those interested:
BONDCLIFF: 1:18:28
BOND: 1:32:40
S TWIN: 2:02:56
GARFIELD: 2:49:03
LAFAYETTE: 3:30:46
FLUME: 4:19:57
PARKING LOT: 5:01:11