The Bond Twins - October 19-21

[percious]

After much trouble trying to find a hiking partner for the weekend I finally gave up, set my plans as a solo trip, and resolved to have a great time with some solitude.

Arm PMed me on Thursday offering to give me a car spot. By the end of the day he had graciously offered for me to stay at his girlfriend's lake house for the evening.

I arrived at the lake house around 11pm on Thursday night to a cheerfull Arm. He offered me a beer and showed me where I could sleep for the night. We watched the Mets loose the pennant before heading to our respective beds.

In the morning Arm spotted my car at the Galehead Trailhead, which was a slight change of plans. This would allow me to nab Galehead while I was in the area. I extend my thanks to Arm for his excellent support in my solo venture. Amazingly, he offered me a warm place to stay, a beer (even two!) and did over 2 hours of driving to help me spot my car! He refused any compensation for his good deeds. I sure hope that I can find some way of re-paying him in the future.

Friday morning was a soggy start heading in from the Zealand Trailhead. I talked with a few people who were heading out including a family of four who had stayed the previous night out. Everyone was concerned about the weather. I travelled past the beaver's handy work and arrived at the hut a little soggy, but only 1 hour later. My iPod was helping me crank out the miles.

The vibe at Zealand hut was very unfriendly, and I am not sure what is up with the caretakers, but I certainly did not feel at home there as I have in the past at other shelters. They advised me of the weather report which was posted on the wall. The forecast had changed from sunny and clear on Saturday to 2-3 inches of rain overnight with temperatures dropping to the low twenties, clearing on Saturday with the temps staying low.

I enquired about the cost for staying at the hut and was taken aback by the pricing. I know meals are included, but I like to cook my own food when I'm in the back country. Anyway, I figured I mind as well head over to Guyot. Worst case scenerio I would just have to find a way to bail if things got too hairy. It was 12pm.

I headed towards Zealand, noticing how all the rocks in the area formed a "Z" like patern. The waterfalls were flowing, and there was one tricky water crossing. The stairmaster ensued, and I was motoring on up towards Zealand peak. I got lost at Zeacliff for a bit and then found my way. I attained the ridge, which is where the trail got really muddy with all the standing water. I was glad to have my gaiters, and did my best to step on rocks/logs provided to keep your feet dry. The trail was in really rough shape, with many deteriorating boardwalks. There was one nice ladder along the way.

By 1pm I was standing on Zealand looking at a finely carved sign. I did not dawdle. I was riding the ridge, counting the bumps. An alpine zone sign appeared. Oddly, I did not see the usual, "Caution you might kill yourself" sign. The wind was blowing, and I was soaked to the bone. I had skimped on my pants (Marmot Precip) but had decided to take my XCR jacket. I wish I had brought my XCR pants, I would have been much more comfortable.

I moved across the exposed Guyot summit, turning left towards the Bonds. The wind was about 40mph and I was cold, but my clothes were drying out. Back into the trees I ran into the first people I had seen since Zealand Hut. Two men and a women wielded extremely large packs, and they were as soaked as I.

I moved on to Guyot shelter. When I arrived there was one man milling about, he said he had hurt his knee and was "getting lost in the woods" while waiting for his friend to return. I was concerned because I only saw tent platforms, but was relieved to see a rather hearty shelter. It was 2:30pm.

I had a decision to make. Stick to my original plan and head out to the Bonds tomorrow in the wind and cold, returning for a second night at Guyot. Or, do the Bonds today with no hope of views and hike out over the Twins tomorrow. I threw down my sleeping gear and put my food in a pot to re-hydrate. I was feeling chilly, but decided it was best to go for it. I asked how long it took to do the Bonds from there and was informed it was about a 2 hour journey. That would put me back at the shelter around 5pm, which was good timing for dinner. I needed to work up an appetite, so I shoved off.

(cont.)

 

[percious]

I decided to leave West Bond, since I could hike it tomorrow in addition to the Twins if I was unable to hike it that night. I revved up Bond, and I was not looking at the time, but I made it fairly fast. It was odd to descend to an exposed alpine zone, but Bondcliff was just that. The trail just seemed to go on and on, every time I would get to a faulse summit, I would see that the trail went towards another outcrop. I was enjoying the alpine zone however, even though there was some wind. I finally reached the famous photo-op cliff, and then the summit before turning around. It was 4pm.

Back over the bumps, I started to climb the jumble-rock up Bond and thought I heard thunder. I thought I was imagining things since I was tuning out. By the time I re-obtained Bond, it was pretty clear that I was in the middle of a thunderstorm, on a ridge. Sound familiar? My pace quicked to a slow jog, and I was carefull not to slip. The lightning was between 1 and 2 miles away. Way to close! It seemed that every time I reached and exposed section there would be more thunder, then it would subside. At one point a flash of lightning convinced my body to "duck and cover" before my mind had time to think about it. I wanted down from the ridge.

I stopped briefly at the West Bond Spur, and thunder convinced me to head back to Guyot. WB would have to wait. Back at the shelter my companions for the night said they were getting concerned for me. William even stated that they would head out to look for me if I did not return within a reasonable amount of time. It was nice to have such concern from a complete stranger. One man who had left his belongings to grab the Bonds as I did had returned and we shared some conversation.

I cooked a dinner of chicken and dumplings in my wet clothing, trying to dry it out with my body heat. I was really soaked. Warm food helped my spirit, and the vibe at the shelter was very friendly. One man offered me some strange smelling "tobacco" but I declined. Not my thing...

It turned out that David who was in the bunk above me had a very similar hike planned. He had hiked the Bonds today and was planning on heading over to the Garfield Shelter tomorrow. I informed everyone of the weather report and asked him if we could stick together tomorrow. Only problem was that I wanted to hike West Bond, and he had already done so. Everyone drifted off to sleep.

(cont.)

 

[percious]

I woke several times in the night to answer natures call in order to keep myself warm. Snow appeared on the front porch. I was glad that William and Peter had set up a pair of tarps across the door. A frosty 25 degrees outside was reduced to a pleasant 36 inside the shelter. I slept hard when I was sleeping.

The morning was slow going. I was dreading heading over Guyot because the winds were so high. David informed me that he would be heading out a little later than I which would give me some time to get West Bond. William and Peter discussed their plans, which were originally to head over the Bonds before finding their way to the car. They also had an option of heading over the much less exposed Zealand and hitching back to their original trailhead. William said that his family would be concerned for him as he was from Mississipi, and this kind of weather was unusual down there.

I finished breakfast and full-packed it towards West Bond. I was soon on a small outcropping with a miniscule cairn. I considered it the summit, took a picture and headed back towards Guyot. I picked up my fuel bottle at the junction which I had left to signify that I was still up on West Bond. I saw boot prints heading towards Guyot, but could not tell how many pairs there were. I did not appear that David's boots were in the mix, but I was uncertain. I figured he would catch up to me at the latest on North Twin.

Into the alpine zone I went, the winds were blowing, but I was virtually dry and it was not directly in my face. Winds were probably around the 40-50 mile an hour mark which was better than predicted. It was clear enough to see cairn-to-cairn, but I was definitely socked in. I made an arrow in the Hoar Frost at the junction to indicate to David that I was heading towards the Twins instead of bailing. I did not see any footsteps, so I figured that David had either bailed to Zealand with the other two guys, or was still behind me. It was a nice feeling to think that someone was following in my footsteps in case something happened to me.

After the brief alpine exposure I dipped into the trees and carried on towards South Twin. The hike meandered up and down, and being the AT, was much wider than the trails over the Bonds. There were many wet spots, but most were frozen and/or slushy, which made them easier to negotiate. I soon broke above treeline, and decided to head for North Twin since it looked to be a fairly easy jaunt. A long 1.3 miles later I found myself at a small lookout, still in the clouds. There was beautiful hoar frost everywhere.

On my return I soon ran into David who had definitely been making time up on me. He caught up with me nearly at the summit. I grabbed a snack why he did the commital summit ritual. We were now hiking together as we headed back to South Twin. Quickly crossing the summit, we headed back into the trees. We soon came apon the party we I had seen yesterday with very large packs. One of the men had a pack on, with another pack along the ground, looking as if he was dragging it. The woman was hiking below with no pack on. David offered to help, and I also did but they declined.

We reached the woman and had a brief chat. I asked how she was doing.

"I passed out for a bit," was her matter-of-fact reply, which raised my eyebrow. "My brother gave me a power bar, and now I am ok, he'll give me back my pack in a little while." Her responses seemed delayed and her speech slightly slurred. I was thinking hypothermia. The party refused our help and were on their way down, so we moved off ahead allowing them to deal with their own difficulties. There was little I felt I could do.

David and I took a break at the Galehead hut and discussed our plans. I had originally entertained the idea of staying at Garfield, but after talking to some other hikers realized that there would be little space for the evening, and that it would be best just to head out. David was originally gung-ho about staying at the Garfield shelter and hiking Garfield, but changed his mind after we had a bit of food at the shelter.

We headed off to the easily attainable Galehead, and soon returned to our packs at the Shelter. The party of three arrived after finishing their descent of South Twin. We sat and chatted for a bit. The woman seemed to be in better spirits as I offered her my dry seat. They looked like they would be fine after all. We found out that they had stayed the night in the woods between Guyot and South Twin. They had slept the night in bivy's underneat h a tarp which collapsed at one point under the load of heavy snow. I inquired about why they had not stayed at the shelter, to which one of the men's reponse was "We don't stay in shelters." I countered that under these conditions you should probably work with what you have, commenting that it was nice to stay in cook in a nice dry shelter. The sister seemed a bit annoyed. She did say however that she trusted her brothers completely!

I gave her a few cryptic words of warning, since it was apparent that her brothers put her in grave danger. I said "be safe" before leaving.

David and I headed down the Galehead Trail and encountered a few hikers heading up who warned of difficult river crossings. Arm had given me some beta on a herd path which negated the crossings. I wish we had taken his advice, but instead got to hike the last 1.5 miles with soaking wet boots after wading across at the second crossing. We were soon back at the car, and I drove off to retrieve David's bike and drop him at Zealand Trailhead before heading to littleton for some excellent pizza and beer. Cost of dinner $10 per person. Value of a solo with some help from a few strangers $priceless.

-percious

 

[DaveSunRa]

One heck of an adventure. I bet a hot shower sure felt good.

I was on Garfield Summit around noon Sunday, not a breath of wind with blue skys.

 

[cbcbd]

Awesome report! Sounds like the solo trip turned out very un-solo

 

[--M.]

Good story. I liked the dangerous part about the hikers who dragged things and "passed out"! Interesting mental exercise! Thanks for offering your help.

It's fun to see winter arrive so abruptly.

 

[Steve-o]

Good story. I liked the dangerous part about the hikers who dragged things and "passed out"! Interesting mental exercise! Thanks for offering your help.

Agreed.
I like the part about the lakehouse,beers,commital summit ritual and strange smelling tobacco too!

 

[giggy]

great report chris - sounds kind of similar (though not the same) to a hike meb, woody, wu, etc.. did in may or june - we also stayed at guyot in a 2 to 3 inch cold rain. - but had better (not great) weather the 2nd day

funny you mention the zealand 'tude - I was there 2 times this past season and felt the same way both times.

glad ya made out ok - great what I call "hypothermic weekend potential"..

 

[percious]

Thanks for all the responses.

Unfortunately, my "committal" pictures aren't going to be up until January 1st, when the unveiling of www.percious.com v2.0 is going into effect. The pictures are mostly blurry anyway.

cheers.

-percious

 

[LenDawg]

Great T/R. It's all about getting out!