BIGEarl
Well-known member
May 24, 2014: Bonds-Zealand Traverse
Trails: Wilderness Trail, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur, Twinway, Zealand Trail
Summits: Bondcliff, Bond, West Bond, Zealand
Hikers: Larry Donoghue, Keith Malone, Sue Seskevich, Dennis Pednault, and me
The day went like clockwork, from one end to the other. Sue and I headed north from Nashua on schedule. As we arrived to Zealand Road in Twin Mountain and made the turn I glanced in the mirror and noticed Larry turning behind us having approached from the opposite direction. We drove to the end of Zealand Road to spot Larry’s vehicle at the trailhead lot. A few minutes later Dennis pulled in and we were off to Lincoln Woods to meet Keith; we found him there and ready to go. The plan was for a 7:00am on trail time. It was 7:00am as we crossed the suspension bridge at Lincoln Woods. What a start!
We headed out Wilderness Trail and very quickly dropped into a comfortable pace. With only a couple stops along the way we completed the hike to Bondcliff Trail junction all warmed up and well ahead of plan. The stop there was a short one and we were soon making our way along Bondcliff Trail. I was expecting a great amount of mud along the lower part of the trail but it was surprisingly dry. There was mud but not nearly the test I had expected. The recent rain had me concerned about the lower crossings. We found very easy crossing conditions and lost no time making it past these obstacles. Soon we were above the Bondcliff Trail crossings and into the climb to Bondcliff.
The trail was dry and generally clear of late-season ice. We found a few small patches around 3400 feet (I think) but they were not significant and presented no problem in the climb. As we worked closer to the treeline on Bondcliff the trail became rockier. Eventually we rounded a turn and came to the small ledge to climb just below the treeline. It was dry with no ice; a lot like climbing some stairs. We all hit the top, a few steps more and we had views! What a surprise we had with the views! Overhead we had broken clouds with some patches of blue and occasional sun, and no wind. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve been on Bondcliff with such conditions and still have fingers left over. We’re having a really good day.
After a few view pictures we continued above the scrub and on to the summit area. Suddenly it was time for the usual Bondcliff behavior. Some went to the photo-op cliff for the standard cliff shot, we got a few summit pictures and view pictures, and I think some had quick refreshment (I enjoyed a 16 ounce Monster Ultra). Before we allowed ourselves the chance to cool off at all we were back into the hike headed to Bond.
Bondcliff to Bond is a relatively short 1.2 miles of rocky ridge, with much of it exposed. Often the wind roars up the slope from the west-northwest and across the ridge making it difficult to stand, but not on this trip. We enjoyed very mild conditions all of the way to Bond. The trail to Mount Bond was an easy rock hop all the way. We arrived to Mount Bond still enjoying terrific views in all directions. While we were there we took a longer break, sandwiches and various other snacks came out; it was time for the feedbag. As we were enjoying the break we also noticed some significant weather coming in from the north and northeast. A few comments were tossed around and very quickly we were all on our feet and headed north toward our next target; West Bond.
Between Bond and West Bond Spur the weather very quickly changed. Out came the rain jackets and pack covers. Soon we had a fairly heavy rain with a solid northerly wind driving it. We came to patches of snow that were perfect for a snowman but Sue didn’t want to hold everybody up in the conditions we had to make a snowman. We kept moving. We hit the West Bond Spur junction, made the turn and started out. I think we all kept our hoods up and our heads down and just walked. Eventually we were working our way of the steep final section to the summit. We didn’t stay on the summit for very long at all; conditions weren’t dangerous, just very unpleasant. Summit pictures out of the way we made the u-turn and headed back to Bondcliff Trail to continue our hike north. A short distance before reaching Bondcliff Trail Larry realized he had lost his pack rain cover. He decided to take his chances on someone finding it and somehow getting it back.
As quickly as the conditions changed for the worse, they started to change back again. By the time we reached the Guyot Shelter spur we once again had no rain, no wind, and sun. Mother Nature was having some fun with us. We climbed away from the shelter spur and on to Mount Guyot summit. After a few more pictures we were headed to the next milestone; the north end of Bondcliff Trail at the junction with Twinway. There we met Jason Beaupre and his partner (sorry, I forgot the name – some day I’ll learn to write stuff like this down). They were headed back the way we came and Larry asked them to watch for the pack cover.
Soon, we all continued on our way; next target for the day, Zealand. We made the turn and headed out Twinway. As we hiked back into the trees we also hiked into areas of snow and ice. Suddenly our next target changed; we had friendly weather conditions and plenty of soft snow. We all needed Sue to get to work on one of her snowy friends. Sue obliged and created a nice one on the south side of the trail. After a few more pictures we were again on our way to our final target for the hike. The trail had a fairly consistent cover of snow and ice but we were able to work with exposed rocks or the edges of the trail and kept bare booting the day. We reached the col and started the climb to Zealand. The trail approaching Zealand is exposed to the afternoon sun and completely clear.
We reached the Zealand Summit Spur, went left and made our way through the mud to the summit tree. The treed summit doesn’t require an extended visit; we got some pictures and were quickly on our way.
Once we were back on Twinway the hike is generally mild terrain all of the way to the trailhead. There are a few very rocky sections along the way across Zealand Ridge and then again on the descent from Zeacliff to the Zealand Falls Hut. As we made our way down from Zeacliff, the weather changed again and we stopped to pull out the rain gear, again. We worked our way through these areas and gradually approached Whitewall Brook, which was running higher that I recall ever seeing it. Crossing it required a leap of faith from each of us; and each of us landed on the opposite side upright and ready to continue. After passing around a couple corners, we were making a quick stop at Zealand Falls Hut. This was our final stop for the hike. Once we left the hut we generally found a solid pace for our exit hike and cruised to the trailhead lot and waiting vehicles. Along the way the weather again changed and we arrived to the trailhead lot with lots of blue sky and sun, and well ahead of plan.
Dennis and Larry had their vehicles at the end of Zealand Road; Dennis headed for Gorham and the rest of us piled into Larry’s vehicle for the run to Lincoln Woods where Keith and I left our vehicles. Along the way we collectively managed to leave a smell in Larry’s vehicle that will definitely have an affect on resale value. But, I digress…
When we arrived at Lincoln Woods there was no pack cover. Eventually Keith and Larry drove away; Sue and I took a few minutes to change into dry things. That’s all the time that was needed. After the quick change, we tossed our things into the truck and climbed in. As we were pulling away from the parking space I glanced in the mirror and there was Jason running across the parking lot. I backed into the parking space and he gave us Larry’s pack cover. That was a nice ending to a really good day.
Thanks to everybody for a fun day in the mountains. Can’t wait to go again!
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Trails: Wilderness Trail, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur, Twinway, Zealand Trail
Summits: Bondcliff, Bond, West Bond, Zealand
Hikers: Larry Donoghue, Keith Malone, Sue Seskevich, Dennis Pednault, and me
The day went like clockwork, from one end to the other. Sue and I headed north from Nashua on schedule. As we arrived to Zealand Road in Twin Mountain and made the turn I glanced in the mirror and noticed Larry turning behind us having approached from the opposite direction. We drove to the end of Zealand Road to spot Larry’s vehicle at the trailhead lot. A few minutes later Dennis pulled in and we were off to Lincoln Woods to meet Keith; we found him there and ready to go. The plan was for a 7:00am on trail time. It was 7:00am as we crossed the suspension bridge at Lincoln Woods. What a start!
We headed out Wilderness Trail and very quickly dropped into a comfortable pace. With only a couple stops along the way we completed the hike to Bondcliff Trail junction all warmed up and well ahead of plan. The stop there was a short one and we were soon making our way along Bondcliff Trail. I was expecting a great amount of mud along the lower part of the trail but it was surprisingly dry. There was mud but not nearly the test I had expected. The recent rain had me concerned about the lower crossings. We found very easy crossing conditions and lost no time making it past these obstacles. Soon we were above the Bondcliff Trail crossings and into the climb to Bondcliff.
The trail was dry and generally clear of late-season ice. We found a few small patches around 3400 feet (I think) but they were not significant and presented no problem in the climb. As we worked closer to the treeline on Bondcliff the trail became rockier. Eventually we rounded a turn and came to the small ledge to climb just below the treeline. It was dry with no ice; a lot like climbing some stairs. We all hit the top, a few steps more and we had views! What a surprise we had with the views! Overhead we had broken clouds with some patches of blue and occasional sun, and no wind. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve been on Bondcliff with such conditions and still have fingers left over. We’re having a really good day.
After a few view pictures we continued above the scrub and on to the summit area. Suddenly it was time for the usual Bondcliff behavior. Some went to the photo-op cliff for the standard cliff shot, we got a few summit pictures and view pictures, and I think some had quick refreshment (I enjoyed a 16 ounce Monster Ultra). Before we allowed ourselves the chance to cool off at all we were back into the hike headed to Bond.
Bondcliff to Bond is a relatively short 1.2 miles of rocky ridge, with much of it exposed. Often the wind roars up the slope from the west-northwest and across the ridge making it difficult to stand, but not on this trip. We enjoyed very mild conditions all of the way to Bond. The trail to Mount Bond was an easy rock hop all the way. We arrived to Mount Bond still enjoying terrific views in all directions. While we were there we took a longer break, sandwiches and various other snacks came out; it was time for the feedbag. As we were enjoying the break we also noticed some significant weather coming in from the north and northeast. A few comments were tossed around and very quickly we were all on our feet and headed north toward our next target; West Bond.
Between Bond and West Bond Spur the weather very quickly changed. Out came the rain jackets and pack covers. Soon we had a fairly heavy rain with a solid northerly wind driving it. We came to patches of snow that were perfect for a snowman but Sue didn’t want to hold everybody up in the conditions we had to make a snowman. We kept moving. We hit the West Bond Spur junction, made the turn and started out. I think we all kept our hoods up and our heads down and just walked. Eventually we were working our way of the steep final section to the summit. We didn’t stay on the summit for very long at all; conditions weren’t dangerous, just very unpleasant. Summit pictures out of the way we made the u-turn and headed back to Bondcliff Trail to continue our hike north. A short distance before reaching Bondcliff Trail Larry realized he had lost his pack rain cover. He decided to take his chances on someone finding it and somehow getting it back.
As quickly as the conditions changed for the worse, they started to change back again. By the time we reached the Guyot Shelter spur we once again had no rain, no wind, and sun. Mother Nature was having some fun with us. We climbed away from the shelter spur and on to Mount Guyot summit. After a few more pictures we were headed to the next milestone; the north end of Bondcliff Trail at the junction with Twinway. There we met Jason Beaupre and his partner (sorry, I forgot the name – some day I’ll learn to write stuff like this down). They were headed back the way we came and Larry asked them to watch for the pack cover.
Soon, we all continued on our way; next target for the day, Zealand. We made the turn and headed out Twinway. As we hiked back into the trees we also hiked into areas of snow and ice. Suddenly our next target changed; we had friendly weather conditions and plenty of soft snow. We all needed Sue to get to work on one of her snowy friends. Sue obliged and created a nice one on the south side of the trail. After a few more pictures we were again on our way to our final target for the hike. The trail had a fairly consistent cover of snow and ice but we were able to work with exposed rocks or the edges of the trail and kept bare booting the day. We reached the col and started the climb to Zealand. The trail approaching Zealand is exposed to the afternoon sun and completely clear.
We reached the Zealand Summit Spur, went left and made our way through the mud to the summit tree. The treed summit doesn’t require an extended visit; we got some pictures and were quickly on our way.
Once we were back on Twinway the hike is generally mild terrain all of the way to the trailhead. There are a few very rocky sections along the way across Zealand Ridge and then again on the descent from Zeacliff to the Zealand Falls Hut. As we made our way down from Zeacliff, the weather changed again and we stopped to pull out the rain gear, again. We worked our way through these areas and gradually approached Whitewall Brook, which was running higher that I recall ever seeing it. Crossing it required a leap of faith from each of us; and each of us landed on the opposite side upright and ready to continue. After passing around a couple corners, we were making a quick stop at Zealand Falls Hut. This was our final stop for the hike. Once we left the hut we generally found a solid pace for our exit hike and cruised to the trailhead lot and waiting vehicles. Along the way the weather again changed and we arrived to the trailhead lot with lots of blue sky and sun, and well ahead of plan.
Dennis and Larry had their vehicles at the end of Zealand Road; Dennis headed for Gorham and the rest of us piled into Larry’s vehicle for the run to Lincoln Woods where Keith and I left our vehicles. Along the way we collectively managed to leave a smell in Larry’s vehicle that will definitely have an affect on resale value. But, I digress…
When we arrived at Lincoln Woods there was no pack cover. Eventually Keith and Larry drove away; Sue and I took a few minutes to change into dry things. That’s all the time that was needed. After the quick change, we tossed our things into the truck and climbed in. As we were pulling away from the parking space I glanced in the mirror and there was Jason running across the parking lot. I backed into the parking space and he gave us Larry’s pack cover. That was a nice ending to a really good day.
Thanks to everybody for a fun day in the mountains. Can’t wait to go again!
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
