NH Tramper
Member
The Original Plan: The original plan was to get help with a car spot at Hale Brook trailhead with some mountain-found friends (Rick and Lisa -- Pathfinder here on the forums, met on a past trip with Earl and Sue -- and some friends of theirs), go to North Twin trailhead for a second spot, then all start together at Gale River trailhead. From there we would hike to Galehead, do the Twins (that sounds kinky, huh?), then go our separate ways, them taking North Twin trail to make an excellent day hike and me going back to South Twin, then to the Guyot Campsite to tent it for the night. My second day I was to proceed to Zealand via the Twinway, head to Hale via Lend-a-Hand, then to descend via Hale Brook Trail back to my truck. There was only one problem with my end of the plan: The Bonds. But I'll get to that.
Galehead: Galehead was, well, Galehead, but it was about the journey on this one, not the destination. We stopped back in at the hut figuring to say hello to the gourmet gatherers, but we were a little early and didn't hang out long enough to shake hands or exchange names at the just-arriving foodies. I asked the caretaker to pass along best wishes to the group from NH Tramper and friends, and we left for South Twin.
Galehead Hut as seen from the Galehead lookout. Sun wasn't out yet. South Twin is to the right.
The Twins: Well, the Twins were awesome, especially the south summit. The day was beautiful, the breezes perfect, the views amazing. We ate, then went to the North summit were a fellow hiker took this shot of us:
Here we are on the North Twin lookout. I'm in the black shirt, Rick and Lisa to my right.
Lure of The Bonds: I planned to skip past The Bonds, saving them for my 48th, but like some crack addict, I just couldn't resist. They had been pulling at me from the charting-start of this adventure. I had intended to stay strong, though, and stick to my plan, but after I ate and rested a bit with my many new-found friends -- Steve and Kristen and dog Brewski a.k.a. Dummy (met on South Twin), the Syracuse guys, and Parrot and Bullethead -- at our very crowded-like-refugees overflow spot near Guyot (where I saw a spruce grouse), things changed.
Six tents (not all shown) in a space made for two. It worked and we all had good times. The guy is Steve.
The Impulse Strikes (Part I): Yep. Things changed. I was sitting there when all of a sudden Parrot and Bullethead decided to hit West Bond for the sunset. I resisted for a few seconds then said "wait for me" as I quickly removed my Crocs and put on my boots. I grabbed a layer, a headlamp, and my trekking poles, and off we went. I felt like the wind not hauling my pack and all. The West Bond summit was amazing, and crowded, though the sunset was less than dramatic due to a lack of clouds. Being the so-called "magic hour" and all, though, Bondcliff was nicely lit.
Bondcliff from West Bond near sunset. Can you hear it calling? I can. And it's sooo close, just right there.
The Impulse Strikes (Part II): By the time I got back to our tent site I had formed a plan to wake early (3:30 am) so as to reach Bondcliff for sunrise. I asked my new neighbors if they wanted in. All showed some enthusiasm, but they also knew that they might feel differently from inside a warm sleeping bag on a windy ridge at that time of the morning. I was a bit more sure. I woke without an alarm at 3:15 am, thought it over myself for ten minutes, then quickly went into action. As planned, I called out to everyone, but only a couple of groggy people replied and declined the adventure. Going solo, as I thought I might have to do, I brought a pack with safety gear, my headlamp, some layers, a snack, and some water, then I quietly left camp. I hiked to Mt. Bond in complete darkness, following the trail as it appeared in the cone of light from my headlamp. That was cool. By the time I summited there was a faint reddish line of light to the east; the sun was coming into our longitude. It was windy. I kept going. By the time I reached the col the wind was blowing a gale (literally), I had to lean into it. The sky was getting lighter but the birds were still silent and I still needed my lamp to negotiate the trail. By the time I reached the Bondcliff summit I was starting to get a sunrise view. I watched and waited and it happened before my eyes. My timing was spot-on. The sky became brilliant over Mt. Washington. This was an amazing time. The wind was still howling but I was quite comfy -- and quite happy to be alive at that moment. It was just me and the mountain.
Oh, hell yeah, it was worth it.
Zealand and Hale: Sunrise on Bondcliff was the highlight of an awesome journey. I got back to a mostly awake camp, shared photos and my tale with enthusiasm (to enthusiastic listeners), ate, packed, said my goodbyes since we were all striking out in different directions, and I went on my way. I hiked over Guyot, which is a very nice dome of a mountain, and proceeded along the very nice Twinway Trail to Zealand. Not much to say about Zealand. I took the spur and took a photo of the my hiking poles laying on the cairn. From there I want to the very pretty Zealand Falls and the hut, a very nice hike with lots cool side distractions to look at, then went back up to the Lend-a-Hand Trail. I hiked some more on this well-maintained trail making way for Hale. At times I felt the Lend-a-Hand Trail should have been called the Gimme-a-Break Trail since the summit of Hale always seemed to be one more hump beyond me. My feet were getting tired. I was meeting and talking to many nice people along the way so I was still having a great day. I finally reached the huge cairn on Hale, climbed it so I could get a bit of a view (Willey Range to the east, the Twins to the west), then I left for my truck.
What the Hale? Is that all there is? Yep, my pack, my poles, a cairn.
The Emergency: While on Hale I met a father and son team just before they were leaving down Hale Brook. Ten minutes later the son came back up and asked if I had an aspirin. I did. He and his dad had found a man 0.1 from the summit who appeared to be having a heart attack (later, according to the news, it was heat exhaustion). It's why I carry aspirin in my first aid kit... you never know. I soon followed him down the trail and saw the scene. There were a half-dozen hikers by that time, one a doctor from what I heard, so I asked if the situation was under control (it was as best as it could be), so I continued on. I met rescuers along the way and gave them an update the best I could and continued on to the trailhead. At the trailhead there more officials. Medical people, Forestry personnel, and SAR hikers. I answered a number of questions, helping the best I could, then I left. I believe the plan was to get the man to the summit, then airlift him via a Blackhawk (which is what they did as I learned). I agreed that it was probably the best course of action since he was so close to the top. I do hope the man is okay and that all went well for all parties. Scary stuff.
Trail Conditions: Not much to report, but details can be found here.
Galehead: Galehead was, well, Galehead, but it was about the journey on this one, not the destination. We stopped back in at the hut figuring to say hello to the gourmet gatherers, but we were a little early and didn't hang out long enough to shake hands or exchange names at the just-arriving foodies. I asked the caretaker to pass along best wishes to the group from NH Tramper and friends, and we left for South Twin.
Galehead Hut as seen from the Galehead lookout. Sun wasn't out yet. South Twin is to the right.
The Twins: Well, the Twins were awesome, especially the south summit. The day was beautiful, the breezes perfect, the views amazing. We ate, then went to the North summit were a fellow hiker took this shot of us:
Here we are on the North Twin lookout. I'm in the black shirt, Rick and Lisa to my right.
Lure of The Bonds: I planned to skip past The Bonds, saving them for my 48th, but like some crack addict, I just couldn't resist. They had been pulling at me from the charting-start of this adventure. I had intended to stay strong, though, and stick to my plan, but after I ate and rested a bit with my many new-found friends -- Steve and Kristen and dog Brewski a.k.a. Dummy (met on South Twin), the Syracuse guys, and Parrot and Bullethead -- at our very crowded-like-refugees overflow spot near Guyot (where I saw a spruce grouse), things changed.
Six tents (not all shown) in a space made for two. It worked and we all had good times. The guy is Steve.
The Impulse Strikes (Part I): Yep. Things changed. I was sitting there when all of a sudden Parrot and Bullethead decided to hit West Bond for the sunset. I resisted for a few seconds then said "wait for me" as I quickly removed my Crocs and put on my boots. I grabbed a layer, a headlamp, and my trekking poles, and off we went. I felt like the wind not hauling my pack and all. The West Bond summit was amazing, and crowded, though the sunset was less than dramatic due to a lack of clouds. Being the so-called "magic hour" and all, though, Bondcliff was nicely lit.
Bondcliff from West Bond near sunset. Can you hear it calling? I can. And it's sooo close, just right there.
The Impulse Strikes (Part II): By the time I got back to our tent site I had formed a plan to wake early (3:30 am) so as to reach Bondcliff for sunrise. I asked my new neighbors if they wanted in. All showed some enthusiasm, but they also knew that they might feel differently from inside a warm sleeping bag on a windy ridge at that time of the morning. I was a bit more sure. I woke without an alarm at 3:15 am, thought it over myself for ten minutes, then quickly went into action. As planned, I called out to everyone, but only a couple of groggy people replied and declined the adventure. Going solo, as I thought I might have to do, I brought a pack with safety gear, my headlamp, some layers, a snack, and some water, then I quietly left camp. I hiked to Mt. Bond in complete darkness, following the trail as it appeared in the cone of light from my headlamp. That was cool. By the time I summited there was a faint reddish line of light to the east; the sun was coming into our longitude. It was windy. I kept going. By the time I reached the col the wind was blowing a gale (literally), I had to lean into it. The sky was getting lighter but the birds were still silent and I still needed my lamp to negotiate the trail. By the time I reached the Bondcliff summit I was starting to get a sunrise view. I watched and waited and it happened before my eyes. My timing was spot-on. The sky became brilliant over Mt. Washington. This was an amazing time. The wind was still howling but I was quite comfy -- and quite happy to be alive at that moment. It was just me and the mountain.
Oh, hell yeah, it was worth it.
Zealand and Hale: Sunrise on Bondcliff was the highlight of an awesome journey. I got back to a mostly awake camp, shared photos and my tale with enthusiasm (to enthusiastic listeners), ate, packed, said my goodbyes since we were all striking out in different directions, and I went on my way. I hiked over Guyot, which is a very nice dome of a mountain, and proceeded along the very nice Twinway Trail to Zealand. Not much to say about Zealand. I took the spur and took a photo of the my hiking poles laying on the cairn. From there I want to the very pretty Zealand Falls and the hut, a very nice hike with lots cool side distractions to look at, then went back up to the Lend-a-Hand Trail. I hiked some more on this well-maintained trail making way for Hale. At times I felt the Lend-a-Hand Trail should have been called the Gimme-a-Break Trail since the summit of Hale always seemed to be one more hump beyond me. My feet were getting tired. I was meeting and talking to many nice people along the way so I was still having a great day. I finally reached the huge cairn on Hale, climbed it so I could get a bit of a view (Willey Range to the east, the Twins to the west), then I left for my truck.
What the Hale? Is that all there is? Yep, my pack, my poles, a cairn.
The Emergency: While on Hale I met a father and son team just before they were leaving down Hale Brook. Ten minutes later the son came back up and asked if I had an aspirin. I did. He and his dad had found a man 0.1 from the summit who appeared to be having a heart attack (later, according to the news, it was heat exhaustion). It's why I carry aspirin in my first aid kit... you never know. I soon followed him down the trail and saw the scene. There were a half-dozen hikers by that time, one a doctor from what I heard, so I asked if the situation was under control (it was as best as it could be), so I continued on. I met rescuers along the way and gave them an update the best I could and continued on to the trailhead. At the trailhead there more officials. Medical people, Forestry personnel, and SAR hikers. I answered a number of questions, helping the best I could, then I left. I believe the plan was to get the man to the summit, then airlift him via a Blackhawk (which is what they did as I learned). I agreed that it was probably the best course of action since he was so close to the top. I do hope the man is okay and that all went well for all parties. Scary stuff.
Trail Conditions: Not much to report, but details can be found here.
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