BIGEarl
Well-known member
November 24, 2012: Galehead & The Twins
Trails: Gale River Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Frost Trail, Twinway, N. Twin Spur
Summits: Galehead, S. Twin, N. Twin
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
“I love it when a plan comes together.”
Col. John "Hannibal" Smith – The A-Team
It’s the final hike-day we have for November and the final hike needed to finish our Grid hikes for the month. For a while I think Sue and I were both a little concerned about the month but our plan for the month seems to be coming together.
Again, we arrived to a completely empty trailhead lot. Evidently, our hike line-up isn’t interesting to anybody. As we were traveling Gale River Loop Road along the way to the trailhead, we passed a number of parked vehicles I assume were “hunter” vehicles and met a Conservation Officer (aka Game Warden). We took a front row parking place, grabbed our things, and set off. Our first target for the day was Galehead Mountain.
The first section of Gale River Trail is clear and generally dry. There are a few places where the mud requires some care to get past but generally we just hiked. Eventually, we arrived at the old “first crossing” of Gale River and the start of the relocated trail section (I believe the White Mountain Guide places this location at 1.7 miles). I think this will be our third time hiking the new section of trail. The relocation eliminates the large crossings and has only one smaller crossing a short distance from the start. This trail section is becoming very well established.
By the time we reached the end of the new section of trail the sleet had started. The ground was still clear but the precipitation was starting to build. We continued along back on the old trail route headed for the Garfield Ridge Trail. After hiking along the stream for a short distance the trail turned and headed up the slope to the ridge. As we climbed there was a significant increase in ice. Fortunately, the sleet was very dry and the ice was very hard. This combination worked well and gave us a comfortable amount of traction with bare boots. We were able to continue bare booting the hike.
We hit the Garfield Ridge Trail, made the turn, and headed for the hut. Our first target for the day was Galehead. As we arrived at the area of Garfield Ridge – Twinway junction we met five others; evidently three backpackers and two day hikers. All were starting up Twinway. We continued past the hut and made our way to the summit of Galehead. At this point the ground was generally covered in snow and ice but the traction was still pretty good. As we started to climb Galehead it seemed we might pull out the MICROspikes on our descent. We made it to the summit with no need for additional traction, got a few pictures, and made a u-turn back to Twinway and our remaining targets for the day.
Right at the start of Twinway there is a small bump to get over that had us both thinking MICROspikes, but we got past it and kept moving. The conditions changed quite a bit as we climbed to South Twin. At one point a little past half-way up we could see back down to the hut and there was a pretty good snow squall moving in. We kept climbing and soon met a pair of hikers descending on MICROspikes. They indicated conditions were very difficult in the upper elevations and spikes were needed. We kept bare booting without traction problems. A short distance below the treeline we met another pair also commenting on the difficult conditions.
We made it to the summit of S. Twin and got our usual pictures. The conditions were very windy, blowing snow, and no views. We didn’t hang around at all and headed back into the trees for the short out-and-back to North Twin.
The wind and snow continued eventually completely hiding all traces of ice. A few times we nearly went down due to hidden ice. Finally, it was time to pull out the light traction. With MICROspikes in the game we headed to North Twin without any traction issues. In the area of the ledges there were several places where the ice was starting to build but it was nothing the MICROspikes couldn’t handle. Soon we hit the summit, grabbed some pictures and then u-turned to South Twin. It was another viewless hike of The Twins; we’ve had a few.
Now we’re on our exit hike. The cloud cover is heavy and darkness seemed to be arriving early. I was hoping to delay pulling out the headlights until we were back on Garfield Ridge Trail. We cleared South Twin and made it back below the treeline and out of the wind before stopping to get the headlights. Fortunately, both of us enjoy headlight hiking; we still had a pretty good walk back to the truck.
MICROspikes have a tough time biting on hard ice and the on-trail ice was hard. After a while it was clear we were going to enjoy some of the same difficulties the others had on their descent of Twinway. Descending from South Twin to Garfield Ridge Trail took extra time. The trail had become completely snow-covered; the snow consistency seemed to be very different and the slippery conditions were much worse than earlier on our ascent. I managed to lose my footing once and went down but Sue was very quick with her reaction and grabbed a trail-side tree with one hand and me with the other. Nice catch! No harm – no foul. The snow settled and we kept hiking. As we descended the conditions improved with decreasing amounts of ice.
We continued back out on the route we hiked in; Garfield Ridge Trail and Gale River Trail to the trailhead. At the Gale River Trail my headlight indicated the batteries were nearly dead so I made a change. With the light from Sue’s headlight it was easier to simply install new batteries that I had in my camera case instead of removing my pack and pulling out my back-up light. After the brief delay we were on our final cruise to the trailhead.
Suddenly it was daytime. I have a new Petzl Myo RXP that replaced an old Myo 5 that I really enjoyed. I was sad when the Myo 5 died but this new light is incredible. If you’re shopping for a new light, check this one out. It isn’t cheap but I am seldom disappointed when I shop quality instead of price as a lead criteria. But, I digress…..
There were no surprises on Gale River Trail and we arrived back to the trailhead generally on-plan for the hike; we started a little late and finished a little late. There was only one vehicle in the lot and no tracks in the snow from others. We loaded our things, Sue pulled out a couple drinks from the cooler, and we headed south.
Thanks Sue, November is done.
Pictures will follow.
Trails: Gale River Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Frost Trail, Twinway, N. Twin Spur
Summits: Galehead, S. Twin, N. Twin
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
“I love it when a plan comes together.”
Col. John "Hannibal" Smith – The A-Team
It’s the final hike-day we have for November and the final hike needed to finish our Grid hikes for the month. For a while I think Sue and I were both a little concerned about the month but our plan for the month seems to be coming together.
Again, we arrived to a completely empty trailhead lot. Evidently, our hike line-up isn’t interesting to anybody. As we were traveling Gale River Loop Road along the way to the trailhead, we passed a number of parked vehicles I assume were “hunter” vehicles and met a Conservation Officer (aka Game Warden). We took a front row parking place, grabbed our things, and set off. Our first target for the day was Galehead Mountain.
The first section of Gale River Trail is clear and generally dry. There are a few places where the mud requires some care to get past but generally we just hiked. Eventually, we arrived at the old “first crossing” of Gale River and the start of the relocated trail section (I believe the White Mountain Guide places this location at 1.7 miles). I think this will be our third time hiking the new section of trail. The relocation eliminates the large crossings and has only one smaller crossing a short distance from the start. This trail section is becoming very well established.
By the time we reached the end of the new section of trail the sleet had started. The ground was still clear but the precipitation was starting to build. We continued along back on the old trail route headed for the Garfield Ridge Trail. After hiking along the stream for a short distance the trail turned and headed up the slope to the ridge. As we climbed there was a significant increase in ice. Fortunately, the sleet was very dry and the ice was very hard. This combination worked well and gave us a comfortable amount of traction with bare boots. We were able to continue bare booting the hike.
We hit the Garfield Ridge Trail, made the turn, and headed for the hut. Our first target for the day was Galehead. As we arrived at the area of Garfield Ridge – Twinway junction we met five others; evidently three backpackers and two day hikers. All were starting up Twinway. We continued past the hut and made our way to the summit of Galehead. At this point the ground was generally covered in snow and ice but the traction was still pretty good. As we started to climb Galehead it seemed we might pull out the MICROspikes on our descent. We made it to the summit with no need for additional traction, got a few pictures, and made a u-turn back to Twinway and our remaining targets for the day.
Right at the start of Twinway there is a small bump to get over that had us both thinking MICROspikes, but we got past it and kept moving. The conditions changed quite a bit as we climbed to South Twin. At one point a little past half-way up we could see back down to the hut and there was a pretty good snow squall moving in. We kept climbing and soon met a pair of hikers descending on MICROspikes. They indicated conditions were very difficult in the upper elevations and spikes were needed. We kept bare booting without traction problems. A short distance below the treeline we met another pair also commenting on the difficult conditions.
We made it to the summit of S. Twin and got our usual pictures. The conditions were very windy, blowing snow, and no views. We didn’t hang around at all and headed back into the trees for the short out-and-back to North Twin.
The wind and snow continued eventually completely hiding all traces of ice. A few times we nearly went down due to hidden ice. Finally, it was time to pull out the light traction. With MICROspikes in the game we headed to North Twin without any traction issues. In the area of the ledges there were several places where the ice was starting to build but it was nothing the MICROspikes couldn’t handle. Soon we hit the summit, grabbed some pictures and then u-turned to South Twin. It was another viewless hike of The Twins; we’ve had a few.
Now we’re on our exit hike. The cloud cover is heavy and darkness seemed to be arriving early. I was hoping to delay pulling out the headlights until we were back on Garfield Ridge Trail. We cleared South Twin and made it back below the treeline and out of the wind before stopping to get the headlights. Fortunately, both of us enjoy headlight hiking; we still had a pretty good walk back to the truck.
MICROspikes have a tough time biting on hard ice and the on-trail ice was hard. After a while it was clear we were going to enjoy some of the same difficulties the others had on their descent of Twinway. Descending from South Twin to Garfield Ridge Trail took extra time. The trail had become completely snow-covered; the snow consistency seemed to be very different and the slippery conditions were much worse than earlier on our ascent. I managed to lose my footing once and went down but Sue was very quick with her reaction and grabbed a trail-side tree with one hand and me with the other. Nice catch! No harm – no foul. The snow settled and we kept hiking. As we descended the conditions improved with decreasing amounts of ice.
We continued back out on the route we hiked in; Garfield Ridge Trail and Gale River Trail to the trailhead. At the Gale River Trail my headlight indicated the batteries were nearly dead so I made a change. With the light from Sue’s headlight it was easier to simply install new batteries that I had in my camera case instead of removing my pack and pulling out my back-up light. After the brief delay we were on our final cruise to the trailhead.
Suddenly it was daytime. I have a new Petzl Myo RXP that replaced an old Myo 5 that I really enjoyed. I was sad when the Myo 5 died but this new light is incredible. If you’re shopping for a new light, check this one out. It isn’t cheap but I am seldom disappointed when I shop quality instead of price as a lead criteria. But, I digress…..
There were no surprises on Gale River Trail and we arrived back to the trailhead generally on-plan for the hike; we started a little late and finished a little late. There was only one vehicle in the lot and no tracks in the snow from others. We loaded our things, Sue pulled out a couple drinks from the cooler, and we headed south.
Thanks Sue, November is done.
Pictures will follow.
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