Mount Garfield Summit
After our big day yesterday bagging 4 summits along the Franconia Ridge, we decided on a smaller objective for today, Sunday August 10th, 2025. We chose Garfield, a single peak that will complete my Pemi Loop peak bagging mission.
We had a late start of 9AM in the parking lot and headed up a dirt trail through nicely shaded forest. The forecast again today was calling for hot sunny weather 30C with no wind. The trail to Garfield is a 5 mile/8km consistent ramp that starts as a dirt trail and becomes more rocky as you ascend. Footstep cadence can kept quite high on this approach as the trail was nicely constructed with switchbacks towards the top. We got passed by a few groups of hikers with fresher legs than ours and passed other groups that had made some concerning attire choices (jeans!). After reaching the junction of the ridge trail, the rhythm changes as large chunky boulders requires more high steps and turnover slows down. Luckily this doesn't last long, and the Garfield summit offers excellent views of the Pemi Range on one side and down into the valley on the other. It took us 2.5 hours to get to the top. The sun's rays were intense on the summit, so after a 30 min break, we decided to descend. The trail down was pretty easy but we were getting passed as the toll from the previous day and today were starting to take effect. With the hot sweaty weather, I was developing 6 blisters on my feet and the ones on the bottom of my big toes were tender and my pace slowed down. All in all a nice trail with great views.
Stats:
Distance: 15.8km
Time: 5 hours
Elevation 3100ft
Weather: Hot!
This is peak #108 on my Northeast115er journey
We had a late start of 9AM in the parking lot and headed up a dirt trail through nicely shaded forest. The forecast again today was calling for hot sunny weather 30C with no wind. The trail to Garfield is a 5 mile/8km consistent ramp that starts as a dirt trail and becomes more rocky as you ascend. Footstep cadence can kept quite high on this approach as the trail was nicely constructed with switchbacks towards the top. We got passed by a few groups of hikers with fresher legs than ours and passed other groups that had made some concerning attire choices (jeans!). After reaching the junction of the ridge trail, the rhythm changes as large chunky boulders requires more high steps and turnover slows down. Luckily this doesn't last long, and the Garfield summit offers excellent views of the Pemi Range on one side and down into the valley on the other. It took us 2.5 hours to get to the top. The sun's rays were intense on the summit, so after a 30 min break, we decided to descend. The trail down was pretty easy but we were getting passed as the toll from the previous day and today were starting to take effect. With the hot sweaty weather, I was developing 6 blisters on my feet and the ones on the bottom of my big toes were tender and my pace slowed down. All in all a nice trail with great views.
Stats:
Distance: 15.8km
Time: 5 hours
Elevation 3100ft
Weather: Hot!
This is peak #108 on my Northeast115er journey
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