Jeff&Henry
New member
Galehead, North & South Twin via Gale River Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Frost Trail, Twinway & North Twin Spur
Equipment: None really...traction wasn't necessary.
A perfect ten day for mid-May!
We departed Gale River Road Trailhead around 8:15 AM and were very pleased to find the weather inching towards 50 degrees. Although dry at first, there are large sections of trail that are quite wet and muddy, and some sections where the trail is a river. The new section of trail, along the west edge of the river was quite good most of the way, and we decided to ditch a layer of our clothing behind a large rock, as the temps continued to rise quite quickly, and it would appear they would not be necessary. Also, we appreciated only one river crossing.
We did not encounter any snow on Gale River Trail, although on the Garfield Ridge Trail, there were only a few very small sections (mostly in the shady areas) that had any snow at all. No need for traction at all. After a rather quick hike up, we were pleased to find the Galehead Hut open and left our packs for a quick touch on Galehead. The overlook proved to be a much bigger highlight with extensive views of the Pemi, and a glimpse of our next challenge -- the Twins.
We grabbed one pack back at the hut and headed up the Twinway. I must admit, I found the 0.8 on the Twinway up to South Twin to be a quite tough! As we neared the summit, we encountered some more slush, although by day's end, it was all breaking apart and traction really wouldn't have helped that much.
The summit wind (which we had been listening to much of the hike up) blew around us, but we still didn't don anymore layers -- we had simply worked too hard, and air was not cool enough to chill us. Views in every direction were spectacular.
We then turned our attention to North Twin. I must say, the trek from South Twin to North Twin on the spur trail was probably the most "eclectic" trail of the day. We began with some good amounts of slush, then nice flat dry trail, then more mud, then more slush. The overlook on North Twin offered wonderful views of Mount Garfield and Franconia Ridge. It was at this point, we discovered that the pack we'd taken (for water) was not the pack we had stashed our food in, so we quickly departed because our stomachs were grumbling.
The track back over to South Twin was less fun, as everything was turning to mud. And much of the remaining snow was already breaking apart with the busy Saturday traffic. After a quick tag again on South Twin, we began the long, slow descent to the hut. We passed a AMC worker climbing up towards South Twin, with the goal of clearing any drains -- thank goodness for people like him. It's MUCH appreciated!
(Note: As tired as we were, we were completely IN AWE at a wonderful father carrying his 4-5 year daughter in a backpack. After seeing that, I decided I really had no business complaining about the pain in my legs! And he had left the Gale River trail head a few minutes after us. COMPLETE RESPECT for you my man!)
By mid-afternoon, the front porch and lawn of Galehead resembled a small party. Everyone was enjoying the warm sun and their lunches. After a quick refill of water and a Snickers from the hut, we began to head down. We reached the trailhead around 4:30 PM and I must admit, this was a tough hike and long day -- but we scored three more summit (up to 39 now) and enjoyed a flawless May Day in the mountains. As a final note: we only encountered mosquitoes and black flies within the final mile or so on our way out. It would appear the warm temps have finally awakened them. ;-(
Pictures to come...
Equipment: None really...traction wasn't necessary.
A perfect ten day for mid-May!
We departed Gale River Road Trailhead around 8:15 AM and were very pleased to find the weather inching towards 50 degrees. Although dry at first, there are large sections of trail that are quite wet and muddy, and some sections where the trail is a river. The new section of trail, along the west edge of the river was quite good most of the way, and we decided to ditch a layer of our clothing behind a large rock, as the temps continued to rise quite quickly, and it would appear they would not be necessary. Also, we appreciated only one river crossing.
We did not encounter any snow on Gale River Trail, although on the Garfield Ridge Trail, there were only a few very small sections (mostly in the shady areas) that had any snow at all. No need for traction at all. After a rather quick hike up, we were pleased to find the Galehead Hut open and left our packs for a quick touch on Galehead. The overlook proved to be a much bigger highlight with extensive views of the Pemi, and a glimpse of our next challenge -- the Twins.
We grabbed one pack back at the hut and headed up the Twinway. I must admit, I found the 0.8 on the Twinway up to South Twin to be a quite tough! As we neared the summit, we encountered some more slush, although by day's end, it was all breaking apart and traction really wouldn't have helped that much.
The summit wind (which we had been listening to much of the hike up) blew around us, but we still didn't don anymore layers -- we had simply worked too hard, and air was not cool enough to chill us. Views in every direction were spectacular.
We then turned our attention to North Twin. I must say, the trek from South Twin to North Twin on the spur trail was probably the most "eclectic" trail of the day. We began with some good amounts of slush, then nice flat dry trail, then more mud, then more slush. The overlook on North Twin offered wonderful views of Mount Garfield and Franconia Ridge. It was at this point, we discovered that the pack we'd taken (for water) was not the pack we had stashed our food in, so we quickly departed because our stomachs were grumbling.
The track back over to South Twin was less fun, as everything was turning to mud. And much of the remaining snow was already breaking apart with the busy Saturday traffic. After a quick tag again on South Twin, we began the long, slow descent to the hut. We passed a AMC worker climbing up towards South Twin, with the goal of clearing any drains -- thank goodness for people like him. It's MUCH appreciated!
(Note: As tired as we were, we were completely IN AWE at a wonderful father carrying his 4-5 year daughter in a backpack. After seeing that, I decided I really had no business complaining about the pain in my legs! And he had left the Gale River trail head a few minutes after us. COMPLETE RESPECT for you my man!)
By mid-afternoon, the front porch and lawn of Galehead resembled a small party. Everyone was enjoying the warm sun and their lunches. After a quick refill of water and a Snickers from the hut, we began to head down. We reached the trailhead around 4:30 PM and I must admit, this was a tough hike and long day -- but we scored three more summit (up to 39 now) and enjoyed a flawless May Day in the mountains. As a final note: we only encountered mosquitoes and black flies within the final mile or so on our way out. It would appear the warm temps have finally awakened them. ;-(
Pictures to come...
Last edited:
