I’ve been taking my running pretty easily the last couple of months while recovering from some patellar tendinopathy but dove back in last week to photograph the Pemi Loop and Devil’s Path. The physical therapy I’ve been doing with Danielle at Starting Line paid off and I’m feeling injury-free after two big days in the mountains.

I had run/photographed the Pemi Loop by myself back in October and it was fun to return in a different season with old and new friends. Rickey Gates joined from New Mexico and Mike and Chernet came up from Boston. Last year, the air quality had been pretty rough because of the smoke from the Canadian wildfires but this time the air felt much better. It’s always a special section of the White Mountains and I’d happily run here every week if I could. We celebrated with a refreshing dip in the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River then a big meal at Gordi’s.

After a day off in Portland so I could go to the dentist and catch up on e-mails, I was back in the car for a long drive and camped out at Devil’s Tombstone in the Catskills. I met up with Rickey and his friend Matt to drop a car at the western trailhead the night before and we all settled in for an early night.

The Devil’s Path is a fairy-tale style butt-kick and I loved every minute of it. Plateau Mountain is probably the highlight for me and I think it might be some of the 4 best miles of trail running in the Northeast. We took the slow road and even stopped for 15 minutes to complete a trail use survey with someone from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. We capped off the day with milkshakes and burgers at Mama’s Boy Burgers in Tannersville, NY then swam in Kaaterskill Creek thanks to some local intel.

My legs are pretty tired but my heart is ready for the next big trail day.