David Metsky
Well-known member
The weather forecast looked somewhat favorable, so we decided to head north and see what we could find. For no particular reason we settled on Gale River trail to Galehead Hut and then either South Twin, Galehead or both. I picked up Brenda around 7:00 AM and we hit the trail right around 10:00.
After a short distance on the trail we started running into a large AMC group coming down from the hut. We ran into someone we knew, the AMC Volunteer Coordinator and we talked shop for 15 minutes about the Ski Committee.
The first crossing of the Gale River used to have a bridge, but it got swept away last year. The rock steps for crossing were very easy to navigate, so we were making pretty good time. The second crossing is also easy and soon we were climbing for real.
After the small view up into the headwaters of the Gale River there are a series of rock steps known as Jacob's Ladder. Here, the heat began to take its tole. Although it wasn't bright sun, we were feeling the affects and our pace slowed a bit. We hit the ridge at 12:20 and the hut around 12:40. There we rested on the front porch and chatted with a couple who had done the same hike as us. They were going to bag Galehead and head down. Brenda decided the same thing; I wanted to hit South Twin. We planned on meeting back at the hut. Then we settled in for a quick lunch.
The grunt of a climb up South Twin was pretty much what I remembered. I pushed my pace a bit and it hurt me, bad. Sweat was dripping down my face, and near the top I started getting some leg cramps. I dialed back my pace and just took it easy. It took about 40 minutes to climb the 1100' in .8 miles, but at what cost? Up top there were two women with full packs, I happened to know both from previous trips. Right behind me were a big crop of folks from the hut and my friends decided to flee before the crowd arrived.
I wandered away from the summit a bit and met Chestnut, a northbounder who was headed for Zealand Hut for the night. We chatted a bit and then went out ways. When I got back to the hut I found Brenda resting on the front porch. For the cramps I grabbed two glasses of hut lemonade and we decided to head out ahead of the rain. Just 10 minutes from the hut we met a Quebecois who recognized me from my website and in a combination of his English (very good) and my French (horrible) we had a fine chat. Then the long descent, especially the last mile which goes on forever, and out to the car just before 5:00. A fine day, no rain, lots of fun conversations with trail friends, and, did I mention, no rain.
Photos are here: Link
-dave-
After a short distance on the trail we started running into a large AMC group coming down from the hut. We ran into someone we knew, the AMC Volunteer Coordinator and we talked shop for 15 minutes about the Ski Committee.
The first crossing of the Gale River used to have a bridge, but it got swept away last year. The rock steps for crossing were very easy to navigate, so we were making pretty good time. The second crossing is also easy and soon we were climbing for real.After the small view up into the headwaters of the Gale River there are a series of rock steps known as Jacob's Ladder. Here, the heat began to take its tole. Although it wasn't bright sun, we were feeling the affects and our pace slowed a bit. We hit the ridge at 12:20 and the hut around 12:40. There we rested on the front porch and chatted with a couple who had done the same hike as us. They were going to bag Galehead and head down. Brenda decided the same thing; I wanted to hit South Twin. We planned on meeting back at the hut. Then we settled in for a quick lunch.
The grunt of a climb up South Twin was pretty much what I remembered. I pushed my pace a bit and it hurt me, bad. Sweat was dripping down my face, and near the top I started getting some leg cramps. I dialed back my pace and just took it easy. It took about 40 minutes to climb the 1100' in .8 miles, but at what cost? Up top there were two women with full packs, I happened to know both from previous trips. Right behind me were a big crop of folks from the hut and my friends decided to flee before the crowd arrived.
I wandered away from the summit a bit and met Chestnut, a northbounder who was headed for Zealand Hut for the night. We chatted a bit and then went out ways. When I got back to the hut I found Brenda resting on the front porch. For the cramps I grabbed two glasses of hut lemonade and we decided to head out ahead of the rain. Just 10 minutes from the hut we met a Quebecois who recognized me from my website and in a combination of his English (very good) and my French (horrible) we had a fine chat. Then the long descent, especially the last mile which goes on forever, and out to the car just before 5:00. A fine day, no rain, lots of fun conversations with trail friends, and, did I mention, no rain.
Photos are here: Link
-dave-
