Bonds/Zealand/Hale question

[brobichaud]

Mike (NH Tramper) and I are planning a Bonds/Zealand/Hale traverse, going south to north, and I just had a question as to the exit. With Hale being the final peak, which is the shortest exit, Firewardens to North Twin Trail to Little River Road, or Hale Brook to Zealand Road and out? Neither of us have been on Firewardens, and I'd be more than a little concerned about trying to follow an unfamiliar trail with darkness possibly encroaching. What say you all?

 

[Kevin Rooney]

I believe Firewarden's will be a bit shorter - maybe 1/2 mile? Not quite as boring as the road walk, either.

If lack of familiarity is an issue - maybe reverse direction, and do Firewarden's first?

 

[brobichaud]

Thanks Kevin. I think my biggest issue with doing it north to south, is the 5 miles of lower Bondcliff Trail and Lincoln Woods... the flatness kills me at the end of a long hike. So much so, that I'd rather get that done as the warm up, than the cool down. Though coming from the north saves 500 to 600 feet of gain, which I'm sure my legs would appreciate. I do want to check out Firewardens, though maybe I'll save it for another time... and bring my skis.

 

[MadRiver]

I’ve done 9 north to south and 1 south to north. I prefer the north to south because once you hit Guyot most of the climbing is down. Going south to north I was still climbing until Zeacliff. However, if you are doing a south to north, once you come down Hale you only have an easy 2.5 road walk. And if the sun is setting and the moon is out, it is a nice walk.

 

[JoeCedar]

Keep in mind for S/N that you may have to do some uphill trail-breaking at the end of a hard day from the hut to Hale on a little-used trail (unless hut dwellers have packed it out). Also, if you haven't done Fire Wardens, it has a number of turns and switchbacks which if blown in with new snow, may be hard to find. Hale Brook, on the other hand, is a highway and easy to follow. Then you just have the mindless road walk to get out.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

FWIW - there's a bit of snow in the forecast, coming in Thursday nite/Friday. The weekend looks pretty good. Also - read somewhere that the horses have torn up the trails coming off the Bonds.

 

[peakbagger]

The Firewardens trail is worth a separate trip when its daylight, although it would be pretty spectacular on a clear night with a full moon. I dont think finding your way down would be that difficult, the trail get a lot of use and the terrain was cut by bulldozer long ago so its follows a distinct old road bed.

 

[DMOutdoors]

I recently contemplated the same exact exit plan on my Galehead, Twins, Zealand, and Hale hike a couple of weeks ago. It was frigid that day, and I was running out of daylight when I was on Hale. I read before that the Lend-A-Hand was broken out and when I was at the summit, I saw that it indeed was. I was parked at Beaver Brook Wayside, so not necessarily right at the end of the trail. I wanted to check out the FW Trail, but I opted for the sure-bet in getting down to the road (Route 302) before dark, rather than making a mistake at the end of a long hike.

My hike was the 1/26 and the Lend-A-Hand was broken out with ski tracks, with more dusting over as I got nearer to Hale. I was pleased, but if its not broken out, I didn't find it to be too difficult to follow. The section between Zealand and Hale drags on. Good luck!