timmus
Well-known member
After a 3.5h drive from Montreal, I met with Frodo and Dr. Dasypodidae at the 7 Dwarves at 8am. Thom was going up the Twins, and we were going up Hale. We planned to meet him later during the day and go across the Bonds all together.
The sky was supposed to clear up, so I was pretty excited about visiting the Famous Bonds. We had no problem going up Hale and my thoughts about improving the summit views were more about getting rid of that gigantic pile of rocks than cutting few trees down. After a short break inside the not warm but cold hut, we started the ascent up Zeacliff. No views up there, sadly. We put the snowshoes from there, and I found the climb tough on the legs. Maybe it was because I tried to follow Frodo’s pace, or maybe because that morning I forgot my asthma pump. I’d go with the first reason.
Frodo succeed in getting contact with Thom through the radio. He was up South Twin with a big group (Hey, Hi MEB !!!), announcing that he was bailing out. So up Zealand we were, and we hit the top at 2:30, waaayy behind schedule. We seriously thought about changing plans and head down via the Zealand Trail. It was obvious that the sun will go below the horizon before the sky would clear up. And that meant missing the spectacular views from the Bonds. BUT, we were not cold, not tired, and were not ready to finish the day like this. The hell with the views, both of us agreed that it would be more fun up there in the dark than going down in daylight. We crossed Guyot’s summit pretty fast, and I tried to imagine how nice that place is without the clouds, the cold and the wind blowing. We were starting to worry about going accross Bondcliff...
We took the headlamps out of our packs on the summit of West Bond, and I have to say that I had a big grin on my face, I just love being out there at night. I think it’s magical, especially just after the sun set, when there is still little light that reflects on the snow. We went up Bond in no time, and geared up before getting in the exposed section of the ridge. As the wind was blowing crazy (Frodo said something like 30 mph, but it felt much more to me), I was following the glowing light that was moving fast ahead of me. With my snowshoes on, I was tripping on rocks, loosing balance and getting down on my knees when the wind gusts were pushing me on the side. I was glad I had brought a face mask. Many times I had to block my lamp with my hand so I could see Frodo’s light. I knew he would never go really far ahead, but it doesn’t take much to loose the trail in these conditions. Let’s just say that I was very glad that I had THIS guy with me ! No need to say that we didn’t stay long on the summit of Bondcliff, just enough to talk (not seriously) about taking my picture on top of the well-known cliff.
Then it was all about going downhill, back to Lincoln Woods. 6:30pm, 9 miles to go… What a death march I thought! The Boncliff Trail was not too bad, but what about that Wilderness Trail ?!!! It was my first time, and it killed me. I could feel my stretched muscles along the back side of my legs, and my poor back getting sore from a not enough padded backpack. We did a total of 24.4 miles, definitely the longest hike I did so far. Great, amazing company, very cool conditions, it was all good. Well, I can’t say the same thing about the drive back to Montreal. How the hell did I manage to do that ?
The sky was supposed to clear up, so I was pretty excited about visiting the Famous Bonds. We had no problem going up Hale and my thoughts about improving the summit views were more about getting rid of that gigantic pile of rocks than cutting few trees down. After a short break inside the not warm but cold hut, we started the ascent up Zeacliff. No views up there, sadly. We put the snowshoes from there, and I found the climb tough on the legs. Maybe it was because I tried to follow Frodo’s pace, or maybe because that morning I forgot my asthma pump. I’d go with the first reason.
Frodo succeed in getting contact with Thom through the radio. He was up South Twin with a big group (Hey, Hi MEB !!!), announcing that he was bailing out. So up Zealand we were, and we hit the top at 2:30, waaayy behind schedule. We seriously thought about changing plans and head down via the Zealand Trail. It was obvious that the sun will go below the horizon before the sky would clear up. And that meant missing the spectacular views from the Bonds. BUT, we were not cold, not tired, and were not ready to finish the day like this. The hell with the views, both of us agreed that it would be more fun up there in the dark than going down in daylight. We crossed Guyot’s summit pretty fast, and I tried to imagine how nice that place is without the clouds, the cold and the wind blowing. We were starting to worry about going accross Bondcliff...
We took the headlamps out of our packs on the summit of West Bond, and I have to say that I had a big grin on my face, I just love being out there at night. I think it’s magical, especially just after the sun set, when there is still little light that reflects on the snow. We went up Bond in no time, and geared up before getting in the exposed section of the ridge. As the wind was blowing crazy (Frodo said something like 30 mph, but it felt much more to me), I was following the glowing light that was moving fast ahead of me. With my snowshoes on, I was tripping on rocks, loosing balance and getting down on my knees when the wind gusts were pushing me on the side. I was glad I had brought a face mask. Many times I had to block my lamp with my hand so I could see Frodo’s light. I knew he would never go really far ahead, but it doesn’t take much to loose the trail in these conditions. Let’s just say that I was very glad that I had THIS guy with me ! No need to say that we didn’t stay long on the summit of Bondcliff, just enough to talk (not seriously) about taking my picture on top of the well-known cliff.
Then it was all about going downhill, back to Lincoln Woods. 6:30pm, 9 miles to go… What a death march I thought! The Boncliff Trail was not too bad, but what about that Wilderness Trail ?!!! It was my first time, and it killed me. I could feel my stretched muscles along the back side of my legs, and my poor back getting sore from a not enough padded backpack. We did a total of 24.4 miles, definitely the longest hike I did so far. Great, amazing company, very cool conditions, it was all good. Well, I can’t say the same thing about the drive back to Montreal. How the hell did I manage to do that ?
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