Dave Bear
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- Joined
- Dec 13, 2007
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Galehead and Garfield May 16th & 17th
On Friday night Sunshine Chris and I headed in to Galehead hut at about 9:30 P.M. after briefly meeting a nice fellow from Arlington, Eric. I had never hiked the trail before and was anxious to see what the river crossings would be like. It’s a very nice hike in and I love to night hike because it feels as though your senses become much more keen. The white blossoms on the bushes reflected brightly off our headlamps and there sweet smell invited us up the path. You could hear the strong current of the river a ways before the crossings but all of them were fairly easy with large boulders and sometimes a lengthy stride to get across. Eric had caught up to us just before the first crossing and we enjoyed his company until we were almost to the ridge trail. We arrived at the hut around 1:00 A.M. and found the bunks empty and quiet.
Chris had hiked Galehead so she relaxed in the morning while I made a quick trip up and back. I had brought along snowshoes and packed them for the summit trip but found I was able to bareboot everything to the top. I put on microspikes for the decent on some greasy snow sections. At the overlook I took in the view again and could see Chris on the porch of the hut enjoying the morning sun. This is truly a wonderful location and well built hut!
I knew some friends were coming up during the day so I called them from the overlook with an update on the snow conditions I had encountered. Surprisingly on Galehead my Verizon cell had two bars and great reception! When I got down to the hut Chris was chatting with the caretaker Emily. She was very sweet and cheerful and was happy to talk about the hut and recent ridge trail conditions. Eric visited a bit before heading for his steep climb up to the Twins.
Chris had decided not to bring snowshoes so I lent her mine for a while and I stayed on microspikes. The spikes turned out to be the best choice and less than half way across to Garfield we both wore them. The ridge trail had several ups and downs and very nice views from the high points back to the Twins, to the hut, out across the Pemi toward Owl’s Head, and sometimes forward to Garfield. Emily passed us early on the ridge as she headed down Gale River and two girls that had camped at Garfield campsite met us part way across. Most of the trail was snow but firm enough to stand on top. The day was gorgeous and I wanted to make good time before it began to soften up. The deepest area was near Franconia Brook trail junction but still not worth going back to snowshoes for the climb.
As we climbed to Garfield we met Cumulus coming down. He was very excited from his nice time at the summit and was delighted that this trail was not Carrigain all over again. After his hut stay he would continue across South Twin and the Bonds. Way to go Dennis! We met a few others as we climbed but found we had the summit and endless views to ourselves. My boots had soaked through in the snow so I broke out dry socks and let the sun dry my boots and footbeds while I cooked a hot late lunch. We spent a full hour and twenty minutes enjoying the day before we decided to pack up and head down. Just as we were leaving we heard happy familiar voices and were greeted by Gillian and Brian. It would have been easy to be lulled into spending more time on the warm rocks with beautiful views but we felt it only fair they get the summit to themselves for a while.
As we got down to the Garfield trail we found more folks headed up to share the summit and felt that we had been spoiled with its peaceful beauty in solitude. The trail down was very gradual and not too much snow. Soon we reached a small stream and filtered some water, here Brian and Gillian would pass by us on their way down. The next section was open hardwoods with many yellow birches.
The trail had some portions with many small rocks that could easily take you for a ride. I had mentioned something about this to Chris and a short time later she took a quick hard fall but was able to protect her face with her hands. Note to self – mentioning possible bad events brings bad karma! Oops! As Chris was beginning to get up she said, “ Stop, look at the beautiful trillium!” “Lets take pictures!” We also noticed an old power or telephone line pole. Could even have been for telegraph but it was young enough to have a galvanized support cable. My wife, who is Chris’s sister has complained that our photos are mostly mountains and views and she would rather we get some more interesting shots! So the rest of the way down was at a slower pace enjoying the trail and fulfilling this obligation.
Before we got down to the hemlock grove on Spruce Brook we ran into an area that has been badly damaged and has many blowdowns the trail crew had to cut out of the way. What amazed me is the strength with which this damage was affected. Large hardy maples snapped off like toothpicks or up rooted and slammed down. Everything was laying in the same direction in a very close area. It must have been a fierce and concentrated storm to wreak such havoc. The walk through the hemlocks was a nice end to the hike with beds of needles and cones on the trail.
As we drove back to Gale River TH we met two young moose that took their time getting off the road. I was glad Chris was driving at a more accommodating pace for the situation than I normally do! Another great weekend for the woods despite the forecast! I’m really starting to believe when they say rain its time to pack and head out!
Hope to post some pics soon!
On Friday night Sunshine Chris and I headed in to Galehead hut at about 9:30 P.M. after briefly meeting a nice fellow from Arlington, Eric. I had never hiked the trail before and was anxious to see what the river crossings would be like. It’s a very nice hike in and I love to night hike because it feels as though your senses become much more keen. The white blossoms on the bushes reflected brightly off our headlamps and there sweet smell invited us up the path. You could hear the strong current of the river a ways before the crossings but all of them were fairly easy with large boulders and sometimes a lengthy stride to get across. Eric had caught up to us just before the first crossing and we enjoyed his company until we were almost to the ridge trail. We arrived at the hut around 1:00 A.M. and found the bunks empty and quiet.
Chris had hiked Galehead so she relaxed in the morning while I made a quick trip up and back. I had brought along snowshoes and packed them for the summit trip but found I was able to bareboot everything to the top. I put on microspikes for the decent on some greasy snow sections. At the overlook I took in the view again and could see Chris on the porch of the hut enjoying the morning sun. This is truly a wonderful location and well built hut!
I knew some friends were coming up during the day so I called them from the overlook with an update on the snow conditions I had encountered. Surprisingly on Galehead my Verizon cell had two bars and great reception! When I got down to the hut Chris was chatting with the caretaker Emily. She was very sweet and cheerful and was happy to talk about the hut and recent ridge trail conditions. Eric visited a bit before heading for his steep climb up to the Twins.Chris had decided not to bring snowshoes so I lent her mine for a while and I stayed on microspikes. The spikes turned out to be the best choice and less than half way across to Garfield we both wore them. The ridge trail had several ups and downs and very nice views from the high points back to the Twins, to the hut, out across the Pemi toward Owl’s Head, and sometimes forward to Garfield. Emily passed us early on the ridge as she headed down Gale River and two girls that had camped at Garfield campsite met us part way across. Most of the trail was snow but firm enough to stand on top. The day was gorgeous and I wanted to make good time before it began to soften up. The deepest area was near Franconia Brook trail junction but still not worth going back to snowshoes for the climb.
As we climbed to Garfield we met Cumulus coming down. He was very excited from his nice time at the summit and was delighted that this trail was not Carrigain all over again. After his hut stay he would continue across South Twin and the Bonds. Way to go Dennis!
We met a few others as we climbed but found we had the summit and endless views to ourselves. My boots had soaked through in the snow so I broke out dry socks and let the sun dry my boots and footbeds while I cooked a hot late lunch. We spent a full hour and twenty minutes enjoying the day before we decided to pack up and head down. Just as we were leaving we heard happy familiar voices and were greeted by Gillian and Brian. It would have been easy to be lulled into spending more time on the warm rocks with beautiful views but we felt it only fair they get the summit to themselves for a while.As we got down to the Garfield trail we found more folks headed up to share the summit and felt that we had been spoiled with its peaceful beauty in solitude. The trail down was very gradual and not too much snow. Soon we reached a small stream and filtered some water, here Brian and Gillian would pass by us on their way down. The next section was open hardwoods with many yellow birches.
The trail had some portions with many small rocks that could easily take you for a ride. I had mentioned something about this to Chris and a short time later she took a quick hard fall but was able to protect her face with her hands. Note to self – mentioning possible bad events brings bad karma! Oops! As Chris was beginning to get up she said, “ Stop, look at the beautiful trillium!” “Lets take pictures!” We also noticed an old power or telephone line pole. Could even have been for telegraph but it was young enough to have a galvanized support cable. My wife, who is Chris’s sister has complained that our photos are mostly mountains and views and she would rather we get some more interesting shots! So the rest of the way down was at a slower pace enjoying the trail and fulfilling this obligation.
Before we got down to the hemlock grove on Spruce Brook we ran into an area that has been badly damaged and has many blowdowns the trail crew had to cut out of the way. What amazed me is the strength with which this damage was affected. Large hardy maples snapped off like toothpicks or up rooted and slammed down. Everything was laying in the same direction in a very close area. It must have been a fierce and concentrated storm to wreak such havoc. The walk through the hemlocks was a nice end to the hike with beds of needles and cones on the trail.
As we drove back to Gale River TH we met two young moose that took their time getting off the road. I was glad Chris was driving at a more accommodating pace for the situation than I normally do!
Another great weekend for the woods despite the forecast! I’m really starting to believe when they say rain its time to pack and head out! Hope to post some pics soon!
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