Galehead, Garfield loop

[loanshark]

Liz and I decided to bag Galehead and Garfield yesterday. We left the Gale River trailhead around 6.00 a.m. The hike went very smoothly. The first crossing of the not so little tributary was barely rock hoppible. However the next crossing required shoe removing. Other than the inconvenience it posed no problem. The next couple of crossings were a rock hop with the water part way up your boots. The rest of the trail is very easy, and in pretty good shape. We made the hut in no time. After dropping our packs, we summitted galehead, took the usual pictures, and headed back. Hiking without the packs seemed like cheating. Back at the hut, filled the water bottles, had a snack, and did some front porch sittin. It was a beautifull mourning on the front porch. The sun was burning off the summit clouds on the twins and we knew we would have some great views from Garfield. After some prodding Liz got me going again. The Garfield Ridge Trail is much rougher than the Gale River Trail. There are several ups and downs. The footing was very slick, and there was alot of standing water. In spite of all this we made pretty good time. That is until we came across a nasty section just below the Garfield Campsite. It was pretty steep with a river flowing right down the trail. We studied it for a moment, took our time and made it without incident. We were both glad that was behind us. The remainder of the climb went smoothly. The summit was crowded. All kinds of people up there. We stayed long enough to get some great photos as the clouds had cleared and the views in all directions were strong. We could clearly see the Bonds and thought of our great hike last week with Earl and Sue. The hike down the Garfield trail was easy. There was a steady stream of people headed to the summit. A friend told me about a little short cut between the first 2 water crossings that save us a big piece of the road walk back to the Gale River Trailhead. What a great hike. 39 down, but who's counting.

http://community.webshots.com/user/loanshark9

 

[rocket21]

Nice job! Finally, it was a nice summer weekend day yesterday!

 

[BIGEarl]

....The Garfield Ridge Trail is much rougher than the Gale River Trail. There are several ups and downs. The footing was very slick, and there was alot of standing water. In spite of all this we made pretty good time. That is until we came across a nasty section just below the Garfield Campsite. It was pretty steep with a river flowing right down the trail. We studied it for a moment, took our time and made it without incident. ....

That section leading to the Garfield Ridge Campsite is the best part of the hike!

I'm glad you took some time to enjoy it.

A couple weeks ago Sue and I ran into quite a few people that had descended that section and they were all singing the same tune. I suspect descending is more interesting than ascending.

Congratulations on a couple more checkmarks.

 

[The Feathered Hat]

Rocket and I totally saw you guys up on Garfield from the Bonds. In fact, Jeremy said, "Look up there, Loanshark and Liz!" Of course, he has better eyes than I do, being half my age and all.

Great report, short and sweet!

 

[loanshark]

Galehead & Garfield

Thanks all. It was a very enjoyable hike. Steve, does that make you 48/48? Thanks Earl, Your right that was the most interesting part of the hike. As a matter of fact Liz is still talking about it today. Jeremy, thanks for the tip on the shortcut. By the way we made a feable attempt at posting some pictures on web shots.

 

[grumpygran]

Water on the Galehead Trail

Silverfox and I are planning to up to Galehead on Tuesday so I will remember to put in my towel and dry socks! Grumpygran.

 

[loanshark]

Galehead

Better to be safe than sorry, Maybe it will run off enough to not need them.

 

[Silverfox]

Holy Cow!!!

pictures...!!

nice job Loanshark and Liz

good smiley face on garfield after the rough and wet ridge walk...

 

[yvon]

What is the best way to do it Up Gale River an Dw Garfield Tr or opposite way?
Thank you.

 

[DougPaul]

What is the best way to do it Up Gale River an Dw Garfield Tr or opposite way?
Thank you.

The Gale River Tr is steeper and has some potentially difficult stream crossings. The Garfield Tr is a graded path (old road) and the stream crossings can be bypassed.

Take your choice.

Doug

 

[BIGEarl]

What is the best way to do it Up Gale River an Dw Garfield Tr or opposite way?
Thank you.

The section of the Garfield Ridge Trail between the junction with the Franconia Brook Trail and the Garfield Ridge Campsite has a very steep section that is also a running brook (cascade) right now - lots of water. Unless you enjoy descending this kind of stuff, hiking in on Gale River and exiting via Mt. Garfield Trail may be the best choice (in other words, do the loop clockwise).

Enjoy the hike.

 

[yvon]

Thank you everybody, we did it yesterday (August 8) and loanshark, we did not need to remove our boots.

 

[loanshark]

boot removal

That's good Yvon, The river must have run off some.