Alone in the Pemi Wilderness – Winter Camping Adventure

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3 Days of Winter Hammock Camping, Backpacking, & Snowshoeing in the White Mountains Pemigewasset Wilderness.

This trip was sponsored by Backcountry, who gave me the opportunity to upgrade three of my essential winter backpacking gear items for this trip. A gear list can be found at the end of this post.

FTC Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through my links, at no additional cost to you. Individual gear selections were made by me and all opinions are my own.

For this 3 day, 2 night spring winter camping trip, I’ll be hiking what amounts to a sort of “Half Pemi Loop”.  While a full pemi loop consists of the Franconia Ridge on one side and the Bondcliff ridge on the other, my plan was to use the lesser used Franconia Brook trail to go straight up the middle of the loop.  This would take me above treeline right near the summit of Mt Garfield, with the option to take either the Franconia Ridge to the west, or the Bondcliffs to the east in order to return to the Lincoln Woods visitor center where I had left my Jeep.

Even during “regular” backpacking season, the White Mountains are a quite challenging area to hike due to notoriously rapid changing weather conditions and steep, rugged terrain.  Add in some deep snow, ice, rain, high winds and a freeze / thaw temp range of 40° to 16° F, and things can get even more fun.  I had a great time, but it was probably the toughest solo winter backpacking trip I’ve ever done.

Winter Half Pemi Route Oveview – Sintax77

No permit is required to camp in the White Mountains NF, but there are rules and regulations regarding backcountry camping.  You can find more information on the USFS White Mountains website here. Some parking areas, such as the one I used for this trip, do require a vehicle fee of $5 per day.

Full GPS track data, including campsites, water sources, etc, for this trip and many others can be downloaded on my Trip Data Page.

Trailhead Used: Lincoln Woods Visitor Center, 44°03’51.9″N 71°35’16.0″W
Kancamagus Hwy, Lincoln, NH 03251

This parking area has room for many, many cars. There are bathrooms and a NFS Ranger station on site. A daily vehicle fee or presentation of  a National Park Pass is required.

Trails Used, Day 1

  • Begin at the Lincoln Woods Parking Lot
  • Lincoln Woods Trail
  • Franconia Brook Trail
  • Setup Camp along  Franconia Brook Trail
    • I simply chose a random spot along the trail with some decent trees for my hammock.  Camping is permitted in this area so long as you’re 200 feet from the trail or water.

Day 1 Mileage: 4.7 miles
Day 1 Gross Elevation Gain: 860 feet

Winter Half Pemi Loop – Day 1 Elevation Profile – Sintax77

Trails Used, Day 2

  • Continue north on Franconia Brook Trail.
  • West on Garfield Ridge Trail (Appalachian Trail South)
  • Spur Trail to Garfield Ridge Tentsite and shelter.
  • Setup camp at Garfield Ridge campsite.
    • Note: There is a spring at the base of the spur trail, but due to the conditions, I melted snow for water right at the campsite.

Day 2 Mileage: 8 miles
Day 2 Gross Elevation Gain: 2,789 feet

Winter Half Pemi Loop – Day 2 Elevation Profile – Sintax77

Trails Used, Day 3

  • Continue on Garfield Ridge Trail (Appalachian Trail South)
  • Franconia Ridge Trail (Appalachian Trail South)
  • Osseo Trail
  • Lincoln Woods Trail
  • Return to the parking lot.

Day 3 Mileage: 14 miles
Day 3 Gross Elevation Gain: 4,100 feet

Winter Half Pemi Loop – Day 3 Elevation Profile – Sintax77

Grand Total Mileage: 26.6 Miles
Grand Total Gross Elevation Gain: 7,749 feet
*Mileage & Elevation may be slightly different during better conditions, as I was frequently route finding and not necessarily hiking on the actual trail at all times.

Summits Tagged

  • Mount Garfield
  • Mount Lafayette
  • Mount Lincoln
  • Little Haystack Mountain
  • Mount Liberty
  • Mount Flume

My Three New Gear Choices from Backcountry

Other Notable Backpacking Gear from Backcountry used

*For Backcountry items, viewers can get 15% their first order with code SINTAX77

Cottage Vendor Gear Used

Other Gear Seen