BIGEarl
Well-known member
December 19, 2009: Hale via Zeacliff
Trails: Zealand Road, Zealand Trail, Twinway, Lend-A-Hand, Hale Brook Trail
Summits: Hale
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), and me
The National Weather Service reported the 5:00am temperature in Twin Mountain at -19° Fahrenheit. Without any hesitation at all, Sue and I grabbed our packs and set off for a planned Bonds Traverse. The decision was made to skip Mount Hale since it would probably require trail breaking to the summit and then more trail breaking on Lend-A-Hand to Twinway. It seemed unlikely the two of us could complete that extra work and finish the planned hike in a reasonable time. Instead, we hiked to the end of Zealand Road and took Zealand Trail to Twinway.
Zealand Road is plowed for most of the distance and with the extremely cold temperature the surface was very dry with great traction. The warm-up was a quick one and we made it to the end of Zealand Road and the trailhead for Zealand Trail in a fairly short time. It was a quick 3.7 miles to start the day.
Once we hit Zealand Trail we found very well packed conditions. We continued to bare boot the hike doing no damage to the trail at all. Still making good time we arrived to the Zealand Falls Hut well ahead of plan and decided to stop for a quick break and snack. From the front porch we could see there had been very little traffic around the end of the building on Twinway.
In-fact, after we finished with our break we grabbed our snowshoes and set off for The Bonds. A few feet from the hut we found unbroken trail. Suddenly, we had our hands full. I was aware of a previous hike to the Bonds from Lincoln Woods which probably meant the trail between Zealand Hut and the West Bond Spur junction on Bondcliff Trail was unbroken. We started into the job of breaking Twinway. This trail has very limited markings and following the trail was a test. We managed to spend two hours working roughly half of the way to Zeacliff. There, a couple came by with one pair of snowshoes and one pair of crampons. They alternated between the two taking turns at postholing the trail. Soon after, the hut croo from the Zealand Hut came through headed for Zeacliff. Both pair of hikers offered some welcomed relief. In a couple hundred yards we re-passed the first couple.
We reached the spur to Zeacliff and the only sign of tracks went to the viewpoint – Twinway was one huge drift. We made the turn to the viewpoint to get some pictures and contemplate our day. It was late morning. At the rate we were making forward progress since leaving the hut we would probably reach Lincoln Woods around 12:30 – 1:00am. That seemed a little silly. We knew the High Altitude Cribbage Tournament 2009 was planned for later in the day and a number of friends were participating so the decision was made to return to the hut and see the folks that had surely arrived, and then hike our exit via Mount Hale. We’ll reschedule the Bonds Traverse for another time.
Back at the hut there were quite a few already there for the evening competition, including the 2008 Champion – Gerri. We unloaded our things and spent some time relaxing and visiting. Sue and I were both fairly wet with perspiration from the trail breaking and quickly became chilled. We needed to get moving to generate some heat. We said our goodbyes and grabbed our things to leave. As I was putting my pack on my right shoulder came apart and I was enjoying one of the more painful experiences I’ve had in the past couple years. There was lots of help in getting the pack off and mittens on. I went to work trying to get things back in place but wasn’t having much luck. After spending some time on the porch I moved inside and used the end of a table as my workbench. Eventually, after Sue helped me off with a jacket, success. Soon, we were back on the porch putting our packs on and preparing to go to Hale.
At the Lend-A-Hand – Twinway junction we could see signs of traffic but it didn’t appear to be very recent. I knew there were only a couple steep sections that would be a concern and decided if I were to fall I’d pull my right arm in tight and take the hit. With the fresh snow it couldn’t be that bad. We set off for Mount Hale via Lend-A-Hand. Soon, we were at the first climb and made our way up with no problem. A while later we found ourselves at the second steep climb and again had no trouble getting through. From there the trail became a little more difficult. It was getting late in the afternoon, the light was falling off, and the trail did not seem as well blazed as it was closer to Twinway. We noticed some very fresh rabbit tracks and it appeared the animal was also going to Hale. After a few minutes of moving quietly along, the rabbit jumped across the trail in front of Sue. She was admiring the wildlife and I was thinking hasenpfeffer. There were a couple instances where we had some trouble locating the trail but nothing serious. Soon, we were on the final steep section leading to the summit. We managed to reach the summit cairn with no falls but it was now dark and we were working with headlights.
A couple quick summit pictures and we were heading down Hale Brook Trail to Zealand Road and then back to the winter parking on Route 302. Hale Brook Trail appeared to have seen a fair amount of recent traffic – snowshoe traffic! The trail was in really good shape. There are a few blowdowns in the area of the switchbacks but they were all easy to get past. We made the upper brook crossing and kept hiking to the mid crossing. A short distance below the mid crossing the postholes started. What a mess! I don’t know why they insist on doing it but the trail was perforated. Someone should come up with a way to keep the moose off our trails. They’re free to go anywhere they want – why a hiking trail?
The remainder of the hike was clear sailing. We hit Zealand Road, cruised to the Route 302 lot, headed for Lincoln Woods to retrieve Sue’s car, and hit the highway south.
We started the hike having decided to skip Hale in favor of avoiding a couple unbroken trails that would cost us more time than we had and ended up hiking to Hale. In the process I learned if I’m going Hale anyway, Sue is a terrific partner for the trip.
Thanks Sue and sorry we didn’t hit our planned targets – none of them. Still, we had a full day and I really enjoyed nearly all of it. I hope you did too.
Pictures will follow.
Trails: Zealand Road, Zealand Trail, Twinway, Lend-A-Hand, Hale Brook Trail
Summits: Hale
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), and me
The National Weather Service reported the 5:00am temperature in Twin Mountain at -19° Fahrenheit. Without any hesitation at all, Sue and I grabbed our packs and set off for a planned Bonds Traverse. The decision was made to skip Mount Hale since it would probably require trail breaking to the summit and then more trail breaking on Lend-A-Hand to Twinway. It seemed unlikely the two of us could complete that extra work and finish the planned hike in a reasonable time. Instead, we hiked to the end of Zealand Road and took Zealand Trail to Twinway.
Zealand Road is plowed for most of the distance and with the extremely cold temperature the surface was very dry with great traction. The warm-up was a quick one and we made it to the end of Zealand Road and the trailhead for Zealand Trail in a fairly short time. It was a quick 3.7 miles to start the day.
Once we hit Zealand Trail we found very well packed conditions. We continued to bare boot the hike doing no damage to the trail at all. Still making good time we arrived to the Zealand Falls Hut well ahead of plan and decided to stop for a quick break and snack. From the front porch we could see there had been very little traffic around the end of the building on Twinway.
In-fact, after we finished with our break we grabbed our snowshoes and set off for The Bonds. A few feet from the hut we found unbroken trail. Suddenly, we had our hands full. I was aware of a previous hike to the Bonds from Lincoln Woods which probably meant the trail between Zealand Hut and the West Bond Spur junction on Bondcliff Trail was unbroken. We started into the job of breaking Twinway. This trail has very limited markings and following the trail was a test. We managed to spend two hours working roughly half of the way to Zeacliff. There, a couple came by with one pair of snowshoes and one pair of crampons. They alternated between the two taking turns at postholing the trail. Soon after, the hut croo from the Zealand Hut came through headed for Zeacliff. Both pair of hikers offered some welcomed relief. In a couple hundred yards we re-passed the first couple.
We reached the spur to Zeacliff and the only sign of tracks went to the viewpoint – Twinway was one huge drift. We made the turn to the viewpoint to get some pictures and contemplate our day. It was late morning. At the rate we were making forward progress since leaving the hut we would probably reach Lincoln Woods around 12:30 – 1:00am. That seemed a little silly. We knew the High Altitude Cribbage Tournament 2009 was planned for later in the day and a number of friends were participating so the decision was made to return to the hut and see the folks that had surely arrived, and then hike our exit via Mount Hale. We’ll reschedule the Bonds Traverse for another time.
Back at the hut there were quite a few already there for the evening competition, including the 2008 Champion – Gerri. We unloaded our things and spent some time relaxing and visiting. Sue and I were both fairly wet with perspiration from the trail breaking and quickly became chilled. We needed to get moving to generate some heat. We said our goodbyes and grabbed our things to leave. As I was putting my pack on my right shoulder came apart and I was enjoying one of the more painful experiences I’ve had in the past couple years. There was lots of help in getting the pack off and mittens on. I went to work trying to get things back in place but wasn’t having much luck. After spending some time on the porch I moved inside and used the end of a table as my workbench. Eventually, after Sue helped me off with a jacket, success. Soon, we were back on the porch putting our packs on and preparing to go to Hale.
At the Lend-A-Hand – Twinway junction we could see signs of traffic but it didn’t appear to be very recent. I knew there were only a couple steep sections that would be a concern and decided if I were to fall I’d pull my right arm in tight and take the hit. With the fresh snow it couldn’t be that bad. We set off for Mount Hale via Lend-A-Hand. Soon, we were at the first climb and made our way up with no problem. A while later we found ourselves at the second steep climb and again had no trouble getting through. From there the trail became a little more difficult. It was getting late in the afternoon, the light was falling off, and the trail did not seem as well blazed as it was closer to Twinway. We noticed some very fresh rabbit tracks and it appeared the animal was also going to Hale. After a few minutes of moving quietly along, the rabbit jumped across the trail in front of Sue. She was admiring the wildlife and I was thinking hasenpfeffer. There were a couple instances where we had some trouble locating the trail but nothing serious. Soon, we were on the final steep section leading to the summit. We managed to reach the summit cairn with no falls but it was now dark and we were working with headlights.
A couple quick summit pictures and we were heading down Hale Brook Trail to Zealand Road and then back to the winter parking on Route 302. Hale Brook Trail appeared to have seen a fair amount of recent traffic – snowshoe traffic! The trail was in really good shape. There are a few blowdowns in the area of the switchbacks but they were all easy to get past. We made the upper brook crossing and kept hiking to the mid crossing. A short distance below the mid crossing the postholes started. What a mess! I don’t know why they insist on doing it but the trail was perforated. Someone should come up with a way to keep the moose off our trails. They’re free to go anywhere they want – why a hiking trail?
The remainder of the hike was clear sailing. We hit Zealand Road, cruised to the Route 302 lot, headed for Lincoln Woods to retrieve Sue’s car, and hit the highway south.
We started the hike having decided to skip Hale in favor of avoiding a couple unbroken trails that would cost us more time than we had and ended up hiking to Hale. In the process I learned if I’m going Hale anyway, Sue is a terrific partner for the trip.
Thanks Sue and sorry we didn’t hit our planned targets – none of them. Still, we had a full day and I really enjoyed nearly all of it. I hope you did too.
Pictures will follow.
