BIGEarl
Well-known member
July 14, 2007: North Twin, South Twin, Galehead, Garfield
Trails: North Twin Trail, North Twin Spur, Twinway, Frost Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Mount Garfield Trail
Distance – Elevation: 15.9 miles, 5,050 feet
Originally the hike was planned for Sunday, July 8 and rescheduled to Sunday July 15 because of uncooperative weather. The weather forecast from four different organizations all agreed on very bad thunderstorms with heavy rain for Sunday, July 15. I moved the hike to Saturday, which was forecast to be good conditions all day. As it turned out the forecasters were right – we had a great day.
Two of us were on the hike, Jon (aka BlueBlaze) and me. We started the day meeting at the trailhead lot for the Mount Garfield Trail on the Gale River Loop Road- our ending point, transferred Jon’s gear into my truck and headed for the end of Haystack Road and the trailhead lot for the North Twin Trail – our start. From here we planned to hike back to Jon’s vehicle passing over North Twin, South Twin, Galehead, and Mount Garfield along the way.
At 7:30am we headed out on the North Twin Trail according to plan. The trail follows the right bank of the Little River initially, but crosses the stream three times before turning away from the river and starting the climb to North Twin. Before coming to the first crossing I noticed the Little River was higher than usual due to the recent rain and decided to bushwhack past the first two crossings to protect my dry feet. The normal herd path used for the bushwhack is more like a developed trail. There is no question in following it along the river to the second crossing. After the second crossing we continued upstream to the third crossing. Approximately one hundred feet upstream from the crossing is an area that was easy to negotiate to the mid-stream island. Then, heading downstream we were able to finish the crossing and continue the day with dry feet. So far, we’re having a good day. Now the real work starts.
From here the trail climbs to the summit of North Twin, a climb of roughly 2,400 feet over a distance of approximately 2.4 miles, with much of the climb falling in a steep portion in the final mile. This hike is long enough to require some planning to avoid early hike burnout. The climb to North Twin is a main concern. We needed to pace our approach to protect the remainder of the hike, which also included some hard work. We made it to the summit of North Twin reasonably on-plan and only encountered one blowdown that needs some attention. A quick break for a drink and some pictures and we were off to South Twin.
The hike from North Twin to South Twin covers 1.3 miles includes an initial descent from the summit of a couple hundred feet and a total elevation gain of 450 feet. The trail is in great shape with a few mud pits that are easily passed. At South Twin we enjoyed the first open summit of the day. The views were great. We had a slight haze and broken clouds but could see to Mount Monadnock without any problem. There was just enough breeze to stay cool and control biting insects. And, we were still reasonably on plan (30-40 minutes later than expected). The lost time wasn’t a concern since we had a major amount of the work behind us. The bad news is we still had a good amount of work ahead of us. We stayed on the summit of South Twin longer than we should have to visit with others and snap pictures. Eventually, we headed down the steep descent of approximately 1,200 feet in .8 miles to the Galehead Hut.
We had a quick lunch break at the hut and visited with a couple others that were relaxing on the porch and enjoying the day. We also reloaded with water. After again spending more time than we should have we were off to the Frost Trail and the quick up-and-down on Galehead Mountain. This side trip involved only 35 – 40 minutes and we were soon passing by the hut for a second time. Again, stopping to visit we lost more time to plan but there were at least two to three hours of daylight after our planned exit and we could fall behind quite a bit more without needing to use headlights.
Now comes the tough part – the Garfield Ridge Trail, which is 3.1 miles of endless punishment between the Galehead Hut and the high point on Mount Garfield. Actually, the Garfield Ridge Trail continues to the summit of Mount Lafayette but we weren’t.
We left the hut heading west and almost immediately encountered the first of many hikers heading east, all with the same comment. Nobody was happy with the trail. The endless up and down and the rough conditions registered with everybody. Hiking west is no better, you just see a different side of the trees. But, I had already done this hike before and knew what to expect. I also tried to prepare BlueBlaze (Jon) for the experience. All you can do is hike at your comfortable speed based on the conditions and not try to force anything. The trail is hard work all the way to the junction with the Franconia Brook Trail. Then, it becomes really hard work. After the Franconia Brook Trail junction the first .3 miles is a mild climb. Then, the trail becomes much steeper with ledge sections that require hands and feet to get past. In some places the ledges have a stream-like flow of water running which makes for slippery conditions. The wet ledges continue to the Garfield Ridge Campsite spur. The final .4 miles to the summit continues as a very steep and rough climb. Eventually we stepped through the final section of growth on the summit ledges and were treated to 360 degree views. By now it was late afternoon, Bondcliff was lit up by the low sun, and the views in all directions were terrific – even with the remaining haze. We stopped to enjoy the views, and visit with some other folks on the summit. While there I took advantage of the 5-bar digital signal and left a message that we were running late and starting our final hike out.
Finally, we headed out on the Mount Garfield Trail to the trailhead lot and our waiting vehicle. This is a five mile hike, all downhill, and much of the upper half on a fairly rough trail. By now we’re low on energy, our legs and feet are tired and sore, and our main interest is to finish the hike. All day there was quite a bit of talking on various subjects but not now. We quietly hiked the Mount Garfield Trail. Approximately three miles out we came upon a solo hiker that heard us coming and stepped off the trail to let us pass. I asked if she was hiking alone and heading for the trailhead, which she was. I invited her to join us and hike together – we were headed to the same place. Chris (the solo hiker) was completing her third 4K since recently starting to hike having completed Lafayette as #1 and Moosilauke as #2.
Jon and Chris ramped up the conversation and I simply continued the hike toward the trailhead. We made it to the area of stream crossings and passed all three with dry feet. A short distance before the trailhead lot we came upon another person heading in without a backpack but holding a flashlight. She was on her way in to find Chris. Evidently she and another person were waiting at the trailhead for Chris and became concerned. The four of us finished the remaining ~.2 miles to the lot.
There are a few longer hikes that interest me for this summer, this being one. I’m happy to have completed the hike but it will take a couple days to finally recover. It was a nice four-bagger for BlueBlaze on his 4K quest.
I've posted some pictures from the day.
Index Page:
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slildeshow
Trails: North Twin Trail, North Twin Spur, Twinway, Frost Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Mount Garfield Trail
Distance – Elevation: 15.9 miles, 5,050 feet
Originally the hike was planned for Sunday, July 8 and rescheduled to Sunday July 15 because of uncooperative weather. The weather forecast from four different organizations all agreed on very bad thunderstorms with heavy rain for Sunday, July 15. I moved the hike to Saturday, which was forecast to be good conditions all day. As it turned out the forecasters were right – we had a great day.
Two of us were on the hike, Jon (aka BlueBlaze) and me. We started the day meeting at the trailhead lot for the Mount Garfield Trail on the Gale River Loop Road- our ending point, transferred Jon’s gear into my truck and headed for the end of Haystack Road and the trailhead lot for the North Twin Trail – our start. From here we planned to hike back to Jon’s vehicle passing over North Twin, South Twin, Galehead, and Mount Garfield along the way.
At 7:30am we headed out on the North Twin Trail according to plan. The trail follows the right bank of the Little River initially, but crosses the stream three times before turning away from the river and starting the climb to North Twin. Before coming to the first crossing I noticed the Little River was higher than usual due to the recent rain and decided to bushwhack past the first two crossings to protect my dry feet. The normal herd path used for the bushwhack is more like a developed trail. There is no question in following it along the river to the second crossing. After the second crossing we continued upstream to the third crossing. Approximately one hundred feet upstream from the crossing is an area that was easy to negotiate to the mid-stream island. Then, heading downstream we were able to finish the crossing and continue the day with dry feet. So far, we’re having a good day. Now the real work starts.
From here the trail climbs to the summit of North Twin, a climb of roughly 2,400 feet over a distance of approximately 2.4 miles, with much of the climb falling in a steep portion in the final mile. This hike is long enough to require some planning to avoid early hike burnout. The climb to North Twin is a main concern. We needed to pace our approach to protect the remainder of the hike, which also included some hard work. We made it to the summit of North Twin reasonably on-plan and only encountered one blowdown that needs some attention. A quick break for a drink and some pictures and we were off to South Twin.
The hike from North Twin to South Twin covers 1.3 miles includes an initial descent from the summit of a couple hundred feet and a total elevation gain of 450 feet. The trail is in great shape with a few mud pits that are easily passed. At South Twin we enjoyed the first open summit of the day. The views were great. We had a slight haze and broken clouds but could see to Mount Monadnock without any problem. There was just enough breeze to stay cool and control biting insects. And, we were still reasonably on plan (30-40 minutes later than expected). The lost time wasn’t a concern since we had a major amount of the work behind us. The bad news is we still had a good amount of work ahead of us. We stayed on the summit of South Twin longer than we should have to visit with others and snap pictures. Eventually, we headed down the steep descent of approximately 1,200 feet in .8 miles to the Galehead Hut.
We had a quick lunch break at the hut and visited with a couple others that were relaxing on the porch and enjoying the day. We also reloaded with water. After again spending more time than we should have we were off to the Frost Trail and the quick up-and-down on Galehead Mountain. This side trip involved only 35 – 40 minutes and we were soon passing by the hut for a second time. Again, stopping to visit we lost more time to plan but there were at least two to three hours of daylight after our planned exit and we could fall behind quite a bit more without needing to use headlights.
Now comes the tough part – the Garfield Ridge Trail, which is 3.1 miles of endless punishment between the Galehead Hut and the high point on Mount Garfield. Actually, the Garfield Ridge Trail continues to the summit of Mount Lafayette but we weren’t.
We left the hut heading west and almost immediately encountered the first of many hikers heading east, all with the same comment. Nobody was happy with the trail. The endless up and down and the rough conditions registered with everybody. Hiking west is no better, you just see a different side of the trees. But, I had already done this hike before and knew what to expect. I also tried to prepare BlueBlaze (Jon) for the experience. All you can do is hike at your comfortable speed based on the conditions and not try to force anything. The trail is hard work all the way to the junction with the Franconia Brook Trail. Then, it becomes really hard work. After the Franconia Brook Trail junction the first .3 miles is a mild climb. Then, the trail becomes much steeper with ledge sections that require hands and feet to get past. In some places the ledges have a stream-like flow of water running which makes for slippery conditions. The wet ledges continue to the Garfield Ridge Campsite spur. The final .4 miles to the summit continues as a very steep and rough climb. Eventually we stepped through the final section of growth on the summit ledges and were treated to 360 degree views. By now it was late afternoon, Bondcliff was lit up by the low sun, and the views in all directions were terrific – even with the remaining haze. We stopped to enjoy the views, and visit with some other folks on the summit. While there I took advantage of the 5-bar digital signal and left a message that we were running late and starting our final hike out.
Finally, we headed out on the Mount Garfield Trail to the trailhead lot and our waiting vehicle. This is a five mile hike, all downhill, and much of the upper half on a fairly rough trail. By now we’re low on energy, our legs and feet are tired and sore, and our main interest is to finish the hike. All day there was quite a bit of talking on various subjects but not now. We quietly hiked the Mount Garfield Trail. Approximately three miles out we came upon a solo hiker that heard us coming and stepped off the trail to let us pass. I asked if she was hiking alone and heading for the trailhead, which she was. I invited her to join us and hike together – we were headed to the same place. Chris (the solo hiker) was completing her third 4K since recently starting to hike having completed Lafayette as #1 and Moosilauke as #2.
Jon and Chris ramped up the conversation and I simply continued the hike toward the trailhead. We made it to the area of stream crossings and passed all three with dry feet. A short distance before the trailhead lot we came upon another person heading in without a backpack but holding a flashlight. She was on her way in to find Chris. Evidently she and another person were waiting at the trailhead for Chris and became concerned. The four of us finished the remaining ~.2 miles to the lot.
There are a few longer hikes that interest me for this summer, this being one. I’m happy to have completed the hike but it will take a couple days to finally recover. It was a nice four-bagger for BlueBlaze on his 4K quest.
I've posted some pictures from the day.
Index Page:
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slildeshow
Last edited:
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