Bob Farrell
New member
Name of mountain(s): Bondcliff, Bond and W. Bond
Name of trail(s): Wilderness, Bondcliff, Twinway and Zealand
Hike date(s): 08/14/04
Names: Farmer Bob and Jenifer
Weather and trail conditions: It started out mostly cloudy. Then became partly cloudy. The Wilderness Tr. is in good condition. There were several large branches that fell from the rains. I cleaned them up. Bondcliff Tr. in good condition. The Twinway heading down from Guyot had many mud puddles and water running down the trail. The upper part of the Zealand Tr. was very wet.
Total miles hiked: 20 11:36
Trip report:
08/13/04: We headed up to Hancock Campgrounds around 11am. Jenifer took her car and I took my truck. We found a camping spot without a problem. After we set up our tent, she followed me to the Zealand trailhead. I spotted my truck at Zealand, then we headed to Conway for dinner at the 99.
08/14/04: The alarm on my watch was set for 4am. I woke up at 3:45am because it was raining on our tent. By the time my alarm went off, it stopped raining. We made breakfast and geared up. We left her car at the campsite and headed towards the Kancamagus Highway at 5:30am. We walked to Lincoln Woods.
By the time we got to the Wilderness Tr., we didn’t need our headlamps anymore, but it looked like it was going to rain. The hike on the Wilderness Tr. was long, but easy. It was neat seeing all of the old railroad ties on the trail. When we got close to the bridge over Franconia Brook, we saw something black moving on the right side of the bridge. We both wondered what it was so we hurried quickly on the left side of the trail to see what it was (probably not the best move). It was a pack cover that someone had on their pack. There was a father and son taking a break at the brook. We waved to them as we crossed over the bridge.
Now the Wilderness Tr. got narrow but there were still plenty of railroad ties on the trail. Several spikes were sticking out of the ground were there wasn’t a railroad tie.
We took a break when we got to the Bondcliff Tr. junction.
By the time we started on the Bondcliff Tr., the sun came out.
The hike up the Bondcliff Tr. was easy until we reached the rock stairs. They were a little difficult going up since they were wet.
As we were heading to Bondcliff, the view started to open up. All of a sudden, there was a man behind me. I didn’t hear him coming until he was right behind me. He said hi, and as I stepped to the side of the trail, he ran by me. He was running up the Bondcliff Tr. He said hi to Jenifer and continued up the trail. I wish he gave me a little warning first.
All of the sudden, there was a ledge on the trail. “How are we going to get up that?” Jenifer said. We took a few seconds and checked it out. We didn’t have a problem getting up there but once we did, the views were amazing.
Heading towards the summit, we could see the ledges of Bondcliff and we looked for the spot were most photos from Bondcliff are taken. Once we found it, I scrambled up and Jenifer took a picture. She didn’t like how steep it was so she didn’t go out on the ledge.
We had the summit to ourselves. We took a break and took many pictures. Then we headed up to Mt. Bond. Seeing the trail from Bondcliff, it looked like it was above tree line the whole way. As we got close to Bond, we were back in the trees. There were 360 degree views from the summit.
We took a lunch break. We were amazed by the views and that there was no one else on the summit. There were many peaks I could name but many more I couldn’t. Lincoln and Lafayette were under a cloud. Also most of the Presidential’s were under a cloud. The wind picked up while we were eating so we put on jackets.
We headed down the Bondcliff Tr. towards the W. Bond Spur. While going down the steep descent, we almost missed the Spur Path.
The hike over to W. Bond was fun. The last part of the trail to the top was interesting. A neat little scramble to the summit. We didn’t have the summit of W. Bond to ourselves. There was a man on the summit having lunch. We chatted a bit, then we headed back down.
When we got to the spur path for the Guyot Campsite, we took a break. Two guys came out of the campsite and headed towards the Twinway. We finished our break and headed up Guyot.
Soon the man that was on W. Bond passed us and called us the traversing duo. Then we passed the two guys from the Guyot campsite.
Before we knew it, we were on the Twinway heading towards Zealand Hut.
I started to get tired before we reached the Zealand Spur Path. By the time we got there, we both were getting tired and we didn’t take the path to Mt. Zealand. We’ve been there before so we were going to continue heading down. Soon the guy from the summit of W. Bond passed us again. We wondered were we passed him, since we didn’t see him. He was on Mt. Zealand when we took a break there.
The Zealand Tr. to the hut was very wet and slippery. It took some time getting down the steep rocks on the trail. I slipped once and almost broke a trekking pole.
We were pretty muddy by the time we reached Zealand Hut. We took a long break on the porch. There were a lot of kids around the hut. After getting some water from the hut, we headed down.
The rest of the descent was easy. We were both a little sore by the time we reached my truck but we weren’t really tired.
Just as we left the Zealand parking lot, there were two hitchhikers on the right side of the road. It was a guy and girl and they wanted a lift to Twin Mountain. I said we are going the other way but I’ll give them a ride to Rt.302. They hopped in the back of my truck and took the bumpy ride to 302.
After I dropped them off at the entrance to Zealand Rd., we headed back to our tent, cleaned up, and went to dinner in Lincoln.
We spent the night again in our tent. Then we headed back home early Sunday morning.
The Bonds hike will be one that I will remember for a long time. We had great weather and great views.
Too see pictures from the hike, go to http://community.webshots.com/album/175558766fseoal?963
Name of trail(s): Wilderness, Bondcliff, Twinway and Zealand
Hike date(s): 08/14/04
Names: Farmer Bob and Jenifer
Weather and trail conditions: It started out mostly cloudy. Then became partly cloudy. The Wilderness Tr. is in good condition. There were several large branches that fell from the rains. I cleaned them up. Bondcliff Tr. in good condition. The Twinway heading down from Guyot had many mud puddles and water running down the trail. The upper part of the Zealand Tr. was very wet.
Total miles hiked: 20 11:36
Trip report:
08/13/04: We headed up to Hancock Campgrounds around 11am. Jenifer took her car and I took my truck. We found a camping spot without a problem. After we set up our tent, she followed me to the Zealand trailhead. I spotted my truck at Zealand, then we headed to Conway for dinner at the 99.
08/14/04: The alarm on my watch was set for 4am. I woke up at 3:45am because it was raining on our tent. By the time my alarm went off, it stopped raining. We made breakfast and geared up. We left her car at the campsite and headed towards the Kancamagus Highway at 5:30am. We walked to Lincoln Woods.
By the time we got to the Wilderness Tr., we didn’t need our headlamps anymore, but it looked like it was going to rain. The hike on the Wilderness Tr. was long, but easy. It was neat seeing all of the old railroad ties on the trail. When we got close to the bridge over Franconia Brook, we saw something black moving on the right side of the bridge. We both wondered what it was so we hurried quickly on the left side of the trail to see what it was (probably not the best move). It was a pack cover that someone had on their pack. There was a father and son taking a break at the brook. We waved to them as we crossed over the bridge.
Now the Wilderness Tr. got narrow but there were still plenty of railroad ties on the trail. Several spikes were sticking out of the ground were there wasn’t a railroad tie.
We took a break when we got to the Bondcliff Tr. junction.
By the time we started on the Bondcliff Tr., the sun came out.
The hike up the Bondcliff Tr. was easy until we reached the rock stairs. They were a little difficult going up since they were wet.
As we were heading to Bondcliff, the view started to open up. All of a sudden, there was a man behind me. I didn’t hear him coming until he was right behind me. He said hi, and as I stepped to the side of the trail, he ran by me. He was running up the Bondcliff Tr. He said hi to Jenifer and continued up the trail. I wish he gave me a little warning first.
All of the sudden, there was a ledge on the trail. “How are we going to get up that?” Jenifer said. We took a few seconds and checked it out. We didn’t have a problem getting up there but once we did, the views were amazing.
Heading towards the summit, we could see the ledges of Bondcliff and we looked for the spot were most photos from Bondcliff are taken. Once we found it, I scrambled up and Jenifer took a picture. She didn’t like how steep it was so she didn’t go out on the ledge.
We had the summit to ourselves. We took a break and took many pictures. Then we headed up to Mt. Bond. Seeing the trail from Bondcliff, it looked like it was above tree line the whole way. As we got close to Bond, we were back in the trees. There were 360 degree views from the summit.
We took a lunch break. We were amazed by the views and that there was no one else on the summit. There were many peaks I could name but many more I couldn’t. Lincoln and Lafayette were under a cloud. Also most of the Presidential’s were under a cloud. The wind picked up while we were eating so we put on jackets.
We headed down the Bondcliff Tr. towards the W. Bond Spur. While going down the steep descent, we almost missed the Spur Path.
The hike over to W. Bond was fun. The last part of the trail to the top was interesting. A neat little scramble to the summit. We didn’t have the summit of W. Bond to ourselves. There was a man on the summit having lunch. We chatted a bit, then we headed back down.
When we got to the spur path for the Guyot Campsite, we took a break. Two guys came out of the campsite and headed towards the Twinway. We finished our break and headed up Guyot.
Soon the man that was on W. Bond passed us and called us the traversing duo. Then we passed the two guys from the Guyot campsite.
Before we knew it, we were on the Twinway heading towards Zealand Hut.
I started to get tired before we reached the Zealand Spur Path. By the time we got there, we both were getting tired and we didn’t take the path to Mt. Zealand. We’ve been there before so we were going to continue heading down. Soon the guy from the summit of W. Bond passed us again. We wondered were we passed him, since we didn’t see him. He was on Mt. Zealand when we took a break there.
The Zealand Tr. to the hut was very wet and slippery. It took some time getting down the steep rocks on the trail. I slipped once and almost broke a trekking pole.
We were pretty muddy by the time we reached Zealand Hut. We took a long break on the porch. There were a lot of kids around the hut. After getting some water from the hut, we headed down.
The rest of the descent was easy. We were both a little sore by the time we reached my truck but we weren’t really tired.
Just as we left the Zealand parking lot, there were two hitchhikers on the right side of the road. It was a guy and girl and they wanted a lift to Twin Mountain. I said we are going the other way but I’ll give them a ride to Rt.302. They hopped in the back of my truck and took the bumpy ride to 302.
After I dropped them off at the entrance to Zealand Rd., we headed back to our tent, cleaned up, and went to dinner in Lincoln.
We spent the night again in our tent. Then we headed back home early Sunday morning.
The Bonds hike will be one that I will remember for a long time. We had great weather and great views.
Too see pictures from the hike, go to http://community.webshots.com/album/175558766fseoal?963
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