BIGEarl
Well-known member
June 30, 2007: Bondcliff, Mt. Bond, West Bond, Mt. Guyot, and Zealand Mountain
Trails: Wilderness Trail, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur, Twinway Trail, Zealand Trail
Distance – Elevation: 19.8 Miles, 5,450 Feet (altimeter log)
There are several “big” hikes I’m interested in completing this year, a Bonds-Zealand Traverse being one. A traverse of the Bonds and Zealand is considered by many to be a big hike. Another hiker (Steve) posted this hike for others to join and since it was on my to-do list and I had nothing else planned I decided to join the hike.
Typically, the hike starts at the end of Zealand Road in Twin Mountain and travels south to Lincoln Woods. Hiking the reverse direction (south to north) adds roughly 850 feet of elevation gain to the day. We hiked it the hard way (south to north).
At 6:30am several of us met at the end of Zealand Road to leave a couple vehicles to be waiting when we stepped out of the woods. Then, we drove to Lincoln Woods to meet the remainder of the group and set off on the traverse. There were six hikers in the group; Steve (organizer), Christa, Sue, Amicus (Mike), Katharine, and BIGEarl (me). As it turned out we all seemed to enjoy hiking at about the same speed.
At approximately 7:30am we set off on the Wilderness Trail from Lincoln Woods. This trail follows an old logging railroad bed into the Pemigewasset Wilderness. It is straight and flat with very little elevation gain. We followed the Wilderness Trail to the base of the Bondcliff Trail, a distance of 4.7 miles and only 450 feet of elevation gained. The best part of this trail is the gentle warm-up it provides. Once we hit the Bondcliff Trail the real work started.
The Bondcliff Trail is in great shape for its full length. The section leading to the summit of Bondcliff has been completely cleared of blowdowns and all water bars have been maintained. The Bondcliff summit is 4.4 miles out on the trail and involves an elevation gain of 2,650 feet. There are a number of sections of stone stairs along the steeper portions of the trail. We maintained a moderate pace from the start and were able to reach the open summit of Bondcliff approximately 12:00pm. All of the way up we were hiking in sheltered conditions but once we came to the summit area we also became exposed to the wind, which was blowing quite hard. The wind speed was probably in the area of 30mph with significant gusts. Air temperature was in the low 50’s which made for occasionally uncomfortable conditions.
We enjoyed our first summit of the day for a while. The views were great and we took quite a few pictures, including the required Bondcliff Pose (a number of them are in the slideshow). We departed Bondcliff for Mt. Bond at approximately 1:00pm. The hike to Mt. Bond involves 1.2 miles and 650 feet of additional elevation plus the loss of 200 feet in leaving Bondcliff. We managed to cover this distance and elevation in approximately an hour – the cold and windy conditions kept us moving.
At approximately 2:00pm we were on Mt. Bond enjoying the great views it had to offer. More pictures, a quick snack, and we were off for West Bond. Much of this short hike is sheltered and we had some relief from the cold and wind. In no time we were at the West Bond Spur and headed out the ridge that leads to West Bond. The trail is generally in dense spruce all the way out and emerges to the open summit at the very end. This gave everybody a chance to warm up a little. The West Bond Spur is only .5 miles in length and we were quickly on the summit snapping pictures and looking at our next target – Mt. Guyot.
The hike to Mt. Guyot is a sheltered and rough trail. Along the way we passed the Guyot Campsite. As we approached Mt. Guyot the wind noise was again very obvious and we were headed for another large dose of fresh air on the exposed summit. We stopped for a brief break and refreshments at the Guyot cairn. After a while Amicus suggested we continue and we were immediately underway headed for the Bondcliff – Twinway trails junction. High winds, cool temperatures, and exposed conditions kept us moving quickly back to the shelter of the spruce on the Twinway Trail. We followed the Twinway Trail to the Zealand Summit Spur, made the short round trip to the summit, and continued to the Zealand Falls Hut. This is a fairly rough trail with a lot of up and down in addition to the large angular rocks throughout the trail. Hiking the Twinway involves a lot of rock-hopping similar to hiking in the northern Presidentials.
Along this section the group became spread out. We were all heading for the Zealand Falls Hut where we planned to re-group before the final 2.8 miles to the waiting vehicles. Along the way some stopped to enjoy the views to Whitewall Mountain and Carrigain Notch from the Zeacliff outlook above the hut.
Over a period of fifteen to twenty minutes we re-grouped at the hut. We relaxed for a while, had some refreshments, and set off on the final hike out. The rough trail conditions continued for a short distance from the hut. There is a quick loss of approximately 200 feet in the initial .3 miles and another 450 over the remaining 2,5 miles. In other words, the final 2.5 miles is a mild cool-down period. We stepped into the trailhead lot around 13 hours after leaving Lincoln Woods. Considering the time spent on the summits and at the hut we probably beat “book time” by a comfortable amount. Book time for this hike is actually a little over 12hr. 30min.
I’ve now hiked this hike in both directions. In my view placing the Wilderness Trail at the beginning of the day makes the added 850 in elevation gain a small price to pay for a happy ending. Hiking the Wilderness Trail at the end of a long day is 4.7 miles of pure agony. South-to-north gets my vote.
This was the third week in a row with great conditions for photography. I have posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the Bonds-Zealand Slideshow
Trails: Wilderness Trail, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur, Twinway Trail, Zealand Trail
Distance – Elevation: 19.8 Miles, 5,450 Feet (altimeter log)
There are several “big” hikes I’m interested in completing this year, a Bonds-Zealand Traverse being one. A traverse of the Bonds and Zealand is considered by many to be a big hike. Another hiker (Steve) posted this hike for others to join and since it was on my to-do list and I had nothing else planned I decided to join the hike.
Typically, the hike starts at the end of Zealand Road in Twin Mountain and travels south to Lincoln Woods. Hiking the reverse direction (south to north) adds roughly 850 feet of elevation gain to the day. We hiked it the hard way (south to north).
At 6:30am several of us met at the end of Zealand Road to leave a couple vehicles to be waiting when we stepped out of the woods. Then, we drove to Lincoln Woods to meet the remainder of the group and set off on the traverse. There were six hikers in the group; Steve (organizer), Christa, Sue, Amicus (Mike), Katharine, and BIGEarl (me). As it turned out we all seemed to enjoy hiking at about the same speed.
At approximately 7:30am we set off on the Wilderness Trail from Lincoln Woods. This trail follows an old logging railroad bed into the Pemigewasset Wilderness. It is straight and flat with very little elevation gain. We followed the Wilderness Trail to the base of the Bondcliff Trail, a distance of 4.7 miles and only 450 feet of elevation gained. The best part of this trail is the gentle warm-up it provides. Once we hit the Bondcliff Trail the real work started.
The Bondcliff Trail is in great shape for its full length. The section leading to the summit of Bondcliff has been completely cleared of blowdowns and all water bars have been maintained. The Bondcliff summit is 4.4 miles out on the trail and involves an elevation gain of 2,650 feet. There are a number of sections of stone stairs along the steeper portions of the trail. We maintained a moderate pace from the start and were able to reach the open summit of Bondcliff approximately 12:00pm. All of the way up we were hiking in sheltered conditions but once we came to the summit area we also became exposed to the wind, which was blowing quite hard. The wind speed was probably in the area of 30mph with significant gusts. Air temperature was in the low 50’s which made for occasionally uncomfortable conditions.
We enjoyed our first summit of the day for a while. The views were great and we took quite a few pictures, including the required Bondcliff Pose (a number of them are in the slideshow). We departed Bondcliff for Mt. Bond at approximately 1:00pm. The hike to Mt. Bond involves 1.2 miles and 650 feet of additional elevation plus the loss of 200 feet in leaving Bondcliff. We managed to cover this distance and elevation in approximately an hour – the cold and windy conditions kept us moving.
At approximately 2:00pm we were on Mt. Bond enjoying the great views it had to offer. More pictures, a quick snack, and we were off for West Bond. Much of this short hike is sheltered and we had some relief from the cold and wind. In no time we were at the West Bond Spur and headed out the ridge that leads to West Bond. The trail is generally in dense spruce all the way out and emerges to the open summit at the very end. This gave everybody a chance to warm up a little. The West Bond Spur is only .5 miles in length and we were quickly on the summit snapping pictures and looking at our next target – Mt. Guyot.
The hike to Mt. Guyot is a sheltered and rough trail. Along the way we passed the Guyot Campsite. As we approached Mt. Guyot the wind noise was again very obvious and we were headed for another large dose of fresh air on the exposed summit. We stopped for a brief break and refreshments at the Guyot cairn. After a while Amicus suggested we continue and we were immediately underway headed for the Bondcliff – Twinway trails junction. High winds, cool temperatures, and exposed conditions kept us moving quickly back to the shelter of the spruce on the Twinway Trail. We followed the Twinway Trail to the Zealand Summit Spur, made the short round trip to the summit, and continued to the Zealand Falls Hut. This is a fairly rough trail with a lot of up and down in addition to the large angular rocks throughout the trail. Hiking the Twinway involves a lot of rock-hopping similar to hiking in the northern Presidentials.
Along this section the group became spread out. We were all heading for the Zealand Falls Hut where we planned to re-group before the final 2.8 miles to the waiting vehicles. Along the way some stopped to enjoy the views to Whitewall Mountain and Carrigain Notch from the Zeacliff outlook above the hut.
Over a period of fifteen to twenty minutes we re-grouped at the hut. We relaxed for a while, had some refreshments, and set off on the final hike out. The rough trail conditions continued for a short distance from the hut. There is a quick loss of approximately 200 feet in the initial .3 miles and another 450 over the remaining 2,5 miles. In other words, the final 2.5 miles is a mild cool-down period. We stepped into the trailhead lot around 13 hours after leaving Lincoln Woods. Considering the time spent on the summits and at the hut we probably beat “book time” by a comfortable amount. Book time for this hike is actually a little over 12hr. 30min.
I’ve now hiked this hike in both directions. In my view placing the Wilderness Trail at the beginning of the day makes the added 850 in elevation gain a small price to pay for a happy ending. Hiking the Wilderness Trail at the end of a long day is 4.7 miles of pure agony. South-to-north gets my vote.
This was the third week in a row with great conditions for photography. I have posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the Bonds-Zealand Slideshow
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