BIGEarl
Well-known member
May 29, 2010: Garfield Ridge Traverse – Twins to Garfield
Trails: North Twin Trail, North Twin Spur, Twinway, Frost Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Mt. Garfield Trail
Summits: North Twin, South Twin, Galehead, Garfield
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), Happyhiker (Karen), and me
Originally, we were looking at possibly hiking a longer version which included several peaks on Franconia Ridge but the reported conditions in the Twins made us scale our plans back. We started the day meeting at the trailhead for the Mt. Garfield Trail where we consolidated gear, left Happyhiker’s vehicle and drove to the end of Haystack Road and the trailhead for North Twin Trail and our hike back. A few minutes ahead of plan we were on the trail.
We had pretty good conditions at the start. The forecast for the day was a little questionable but not bad enough to affect our plans. The hike to the third crossing of Little River went fast. The trail is in great shape. Even the herd path bypass of the first two crossings was a very pleasant walk with no challenges at all. Little River was a little bigger than usual and we needed to put more thought into the crossing but everybody made the far side with dry feet. We crossed a short distance upstream of the island and then bushwhacked straight uphill to the trail – our usual approach.
Anybody that has hiked the Twins over the past few months has certainly seen the great amount of damage from last winter. There has been a huge effort thrown at the problem and the trail all of the way to North Twin is cleared of blowdowns. Thanks to everybody involved – your efforts are definitely appreciated. The hike to North Twin was typical with occasional stops on the long endless climb from the 3rd. crossing of Little River. A short distance below the summit we came into some patches of snow and needed a snowman, or two. This is always a fun break. The reported snow that started around 3800 feet was pretty well taken care of by last week’s heat. There were only a couple patches of snow and ice on the trail with a little more in the woods. We paid a brief visit to the outlook on North Twin but were soon headed to South Twin and the real views.
The North Twin Spur is still a clean-up challenge. Roughly mid-way between North Twin and South Twin is a mess with several large blowdowns plugging the trail. We were able to crawl through but this one will take some work. In this area we also met BeccaM headed for North Twin and looking for HikerEd. I hope she found him – evidently he was her ride back to her vehicle. We also came into the most significant amount of snow in this stretch; not a lot but enough to slow progress in a few places. We plodded along and were soon on our final approach to South Twin. I did a quick check and found we were doing great against plan and we enjoyed a little extra lounging on the summit to enjoy the views. As we approached South Twin we were hit by a few sprinkles of rain. To the northwest we could see pockets of rain in the area.
Eventually we were hiking Twinway to the Galehead Hut and Mount Galehead. This was Happyhiker’s second visit to the Twins. Her first visit was back in February when we did one of our winter loops of The Twins & Galehead. Back then everything was under several feet of snow. This time through everything is different. There would be no glissading down to the hut. We worked our way down the steep and rough Twinway to the hut. On the way we met Chris Dailey in the process of completing a Pemi Loop – Go Chris! He started early from Lincoln Woods and was hiking the loop clockwise.
At the hut we found the place mobbed. There were more people there than I’ve ever seen. Sue arrived a little ahead of us and was on one of the porch benches. She grabber her pack and we took off for Galehead and a quick up and down. We hit the Frost Trail, took the short climb to the summit, and returned for a lunch break. By the time we made our way back most of the people had gone.
Along with a quick lunch stop, this was also a water stop. I made a quart of Gatorade and found the water at the hut tasted terrible. I assumed it was related to water treatment in restarting the well from winter shutdown. I also checked my other supply and decided I had enough to make it to the Garfield Ridge Campsite; I’d get good tasting water there.
With lunch over we set off on the Garfield Ridge Trail to Mount Garfield. This trail is currently about as good as it gets. There are some places of mud but it is generally a dry trail. Roughly half way between the Gale River Trail junction and Franconia Brook Trail junction we met Cumulus who was in the area backpacking for the long weekend. It’s always good to see Dennis. All of the way across the trail is clear of blowdowns except for one place a short distance east of the Franconia Brook Trail junction. There are multiple large blowdowns blocking the trail. We were able to scramble over them but folks with large packs might have a tougher time. We passed the trail junction and were on the final climb to Mount Garfield.
The last .7 miles to Garfield is steep, rough, has a running brook in a couple places which has been described by others as a waterfall, requires the use of hands and feet, and is generally just plain fun. Sue really enjoys this stuff and was in the lead. The first target was ~.3 miles up to the Garfield Ridge Campsite and some good water. Slowly and carefully we made our way up the climb. None of us had a problem and soon I was standing with another quart of fresh-made Gatorade enjoying the day. Happyhiker and I also added some fresh water to our supply before heading to the next milestone. Roughly .2 miles up was the junction with the Mt. Garfield Trail. There we stopped for a final dose of repellant – the black flies were out in force.
Finally, we went after the top .2 miles to the summit. On this last section we once again found snowman material. Sue stopped to make a Garfield snowman. With that out of the way we were soon on the summit of Garfield enjoying the 360 degree views. The clouds were in and out all day. Unfortunately, when we hit the summit the clouds were in. They were high clouds and we had pretty nice views to enjoy but they would have been so much nicer with a little afternoon sun.
We hung around the summit for a while, got our pictures, had a snack, and soon it was time to go. The hike back to Happyhiker’s vehicle was a generally “clear sailing” five miles. There were a couple blowdowns along the way but the Mt. Garfield Trail is good. We worked our way down to the stream crossings and hit the far side of all three with dry feet. Eventually we were at the trailhead with some cold refreshment as planned. This was a pretty long day but we made our way through it without headlights on either end.
We loaded our things into the back and drove back to Haystack Road to retrieve the other vehicle. As we were taking care of our final post hike activities the rain started. At first it was only hard enough to make us keep moving. Eventually, the sky opened and the rain really came down. All things considered, we probably really need this rain and more. There were lots of campers along Haystack Road getting wet.
After a quick stop at Beaver Brook we were on the highway south. Thanks Karen for joining the fun. You’re a real treat to hike with and I hope you see something interesting on our hikes again soon and come back for more. Thanks to Sue as always for a fun day in the mountains. That’s four down and one to go then it’s back to work – the vacation will be over. It’s been a pretty good week.
Pictures will follow.
Trails: North Twin Trail, North Twin Spur, Twinway, Frost Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Mt. Garfield Trail
Summits: North Twin, South Twin, Galehead, Garfield
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), Happyhiker (Karen), and me
Originally, we were looking at possibly hiking a longer version which included several peaks on Franconia Ridge but the reported conditions in the Twins made us scale our plans back. We started the day meeting at the trailhead for the Mt. Garfield Trail where we consolidated gear, left Happyhiker’s vehicle and drove to the end of Haystack Road and the trailhead for North Twin Trail and our hike back. A few minutes ahead of plan we were on the trail.
We had pretty good conditions at the start. The forecast for the day was a little questionable but not bad enough to affect our plans. The hike to the third crossing of Little River went fast. The trail is in great shape. Even the herd path bypass of the first two crossings was a very pleasant walk with no challenges at all. Little River was a little bigger than usual and we needed to put more thought into the crossing but everybody made the far side with dry feet. We crossed a short distance upstream of the island and then bushwhacked straight uphill to the trail – our usual approach.
Anybody that has hiked the Twins over the past few months has certainly seen the great amount of damage from last winter. There has been a huge effort thrown at the problem and the trail all of the way to North Twin is cleared of blowdowns. Thanks to everybody involved – your efforts are definitely appreciated. The hike to North Twin was typical with occasional stops on the long endless climb from the 3rd. crossing of Little River. A short distance below the summit we came into some patches of snow and needed a snowman, or two. This is always a fun break. The reported snow that started around 3800 feet was pretty well taken care of by last week’s heat. There were only a couple patches of snow and ice on the trail with a little more in the woods. We paid a brief visit to the outlook on North Twin but were soon headed to South Twin and the real views.
The North Twin Spur is still a clean-up challenge. Roughly mid-way between North Twin and South Twin is a mess with several large blowdowns plugging the trail. We were able to crawl through but this one will take some work. In this area we also met BeccaM headed for North Twin and looking for HikerEd. I hope she found him – evidently he was her ride back to her vehicle. We also came into the most significant amount of snow in this stretch; not a lot but enough to slow progress in a few places. We plodded along and were soon on our final approach to South Twin. I did a quick check and found we were doing great against plan and we enjoyed a little extra lounging on the summit to enjoy the views. As we approached South Twin we were hit by a few sprinkles of rain. To the northwest we could see pockets of rain in the area.
Eventually we were hiking Twinway to the Galehead Hut and Mount Galehead. This was Happyhiker’s second visit to the Twins. Her first visit was back in February when we did one of our winter loops of The Twins & Galehead. Back then everything was under several feet of snow. This time through everything is different. There would be no glissading down to the hut. We worked our way down the steep and rough Twinway to the hut. On the way we met Chris Dailey in the process of completing a Pemi Loop – Go Chris! He started early from Lincoln Woods and was hiking the loop clockwise.
At the hut we found the place mobbed. There were more people there than I’ve ever seen. Sue arrived a little ahead of us and was on one of the porch benches. She grabber her pack and we took off for Galehead and a quick up and down. We hit the Frost Trail, took the short climb to the summit, and returned for a lunch break. By the time we made our way back most of the people had gone.
Along with a quick lunch stop, this was also a water stop. I made a quart of Gatorade and found the water at the hut tasted terrible. I assumed it was related to water treatment in restarting the well from winter shutdown. I also checked my other supply and decided I had enough to make it to the Garfield Ridge Campsite; I’d get good tasting water there.
With lunch over we set off on the Garfield Ridge Trail to Mount Garfield. This trail is currently about as good as it gets. There are some places of mud but it is generally a dry trail. Roughly half way between the Gale River Trail junction and Franconia Brook Trail junction we met Cumulus who was in the area backpacking for the long weekend. It’s always good to see Dennis. All of the way across the trail is clear of blowdowns except for one place a short distance east of the Franconia Brook Trail junction. There are multiple large blowdowns blocking the trail. We were able to scramble over them but folks with large packs might have a tougher time. We passed the trail junction and were on the final climb to Mount Garfield.
The last .7 miles to Garfield is steep, rough, has a running brook in a couple places which has been described by others as a waterfall, requires the use of hands and feet, and is generally just plain fun. Sue really enjoys this stuff and was in the lead. The first target was ~.3 miles up to the Garfield Ridge Campsite and some good water. Slowly and carefully we made our way up the climb. None of us had a problem and soon I was standing with another quart of fresh-made Gatorade enjoying the day. Happyhiker and I also added some fresh water to our supply before heading to the next milestone. Roughly .2 miles up was the junction with the Mt. Garfield Trail. There we stopped for a final dose of repellant – the black flies were out in force.
Finally, we went after the top .2 miles to the summit. On this last section we once again found snowman material. Sue stopped to make a Garfield snowman. With that out of the way we were soon on the summit of Garfield enjoying the 360 degree views. The clouds were in and out all day. Unfortunately, when we hit the summit the clouds were in. They were high clouds and we had pretty nice views to enjoy but they would have been so much nicer with a little afternoon sun.
We hung around the summit for a while, got our pictures, had a snack, and soon it was time to go. The hike back to Happyhiker’s vehicle was a generally “clear sailing” five miles. There were a couple blowdowns along the way but the Mt. Garfield Trail is good. We worked our way down to the stream crossings and hit the far side of all three with dry feet. Eventually we were at the trailhead with some cold refreshment as planned. This was a pretty long day but we made our way through it without headlights on either end.
We loaded our things into the back and drove back to Haystack Road to retrieve the other vehicle. As we were taking care of our final post hike activities the rain started. At first it was only hard enough to make us keep moving. Eventually, the sky opened and the rain really came down. All things considered, we probably really need this rain and more. There were lots of campers along Haystack Road getting wet.
After a quick stop at Beaver Brook we were on the highway south. Thanks Karen for joining the fun. You’re a real treat to hike with and I hope you see something interesting on our hikes again soon and come back for more. Thanks to Sue as always for a fun day in the mountains. That’s four down and one to go then it’s back to work – the vacation will be over. It’s been a pretty good week.
Pictures will follow.
