BIGEarl
Well-known member
December 10, 2011: Twins and Galehead
Trails: Beaver Brook Ski Trails, Gale River Road, Gale River Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Twinway, North Twin Spur, Frost Trail
Summits: North Twin, South Twin, Galehead
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
Winter hasn’t started yet but the winter-like conditions made this hike into a tough day in the mountains. Even in good conditions, hiking the Twins and Galehead is a full day. Normally, we hike this combination as a traverse from Haystack Road (Little River Road in winter) to Gale River Road (Beaver Brook Wayside Area in winter). Hiking a round trip from Beaver Brook Wayside Area makes the hike a couple miles longer and adds some elevation. The difference between a traverse versus a round trip isn’t enough to justify driving a second vehicle to the mountains.
We reached Beaver Brook Wayside Area early, grabbed our things, and set off. The ski trail, Gale River Road, and the early part of Gale River Trail all were tracked out and the early warm-up was easy. The mud pits on the lower Gale River Trail are not frozen. Eventually we made it to the relocated section of Gale River Trail still following tracks. Somewhere along the way, the tracks ended and we were breaking trail. Down low the snow depth was ~4 inches, sometimes a little deeper due to drifting. Eventually we would find a solid 12+ inches with drifts of ~24 inches. But, that’s later.
The relocated section of Gale River Trail isn’t marked (I don’t recall a single blaze), but the trail corridor is easy to follow. There are a couple small streams along the way but nothing like the crossings of Gale River that the relocation was intended to eliminate from the route. My first impression of this new section is very positive – the crew did a good job. The new section is only ~1 mile in length and soon we landed back on the “old” route a short distance after the upper crossing of Gale River. The entrances to the old route, at both ends of the new section are very well blocked to discourage use.
A short distance after leaving the new section of trail we started the climb to Garfield Ridge Trail. The trail is loaded with large rocks, some of which were most likely placed for erosion control. In summer these offer terrific footing for the ascent and descent. Right now, many of these rocks are somewhat ice-covered, and currently also covered with loose snow. The footing is questionable all of the way to the trail junction. Sue and I continued to bare boot the hike and carefully climbed to Garfield Ridge Trail without any real problems beyond an occasional slip. At the trail junction we barely paused, made the left turn, and headed for the junction with Twinway. The Garfield Ridge Trail was very similar to Gale River Trail; lots of snow and ice-covered rocks with very slippery conditions. We continued to bare boot the hike accepting slower progress in favor of avoiding needless wear on our MicroSpikes from all of the rocks along the way. We completed the short hike to Twinway, made the turn, and started the climb to South Twin. We made it roughly a quarter mile into the climb when the conditions finally won; out came the MicroSpikes. With a little added traction we were able to easily make the climb without worrying about the footing.
We hit the open summit of S. Twin in a cloud; it was cold and windy. After the usual summit pictures we took off for North Twin. The short-term objective was to get back into the trees for a little relief from the wind. On leaving S. Twin we found the snow conditions to significantly change; the general depth of snow was at least twelve inches and there were many knee-deep drifts to break through. Days like this make me really look forward to winter. Seriously, right now it seems the only ones out there are the Gridiots. Once winter officially arrives, everybody chasing the W48 list (or some other “winter” list) should join the fun and the added traffic will help keep the trails open.
Roughly half way to North Twin we met a solo hiker. That’s only one set of tracks but the remaining hike to North Twin was easier because it was there. I’m sure the other hiker enjoyed easier conditions as he followed our tracks south.
The trail corridor between South and North Twin is completely clear and wide – thanks Dave, you do good work! We made it to North Twin and got the usual summit shots. With clouds still blowing through, we didn’t bother with the viewpoint and simply made the u-turn and headed back to South Twin and eventually Galehead.
On the return hike the conditions started to open a little and we enjoyed some really nice S. Twin views once we left the trees. It was still cold and windy but we couldn’t skip getting at least a few pictures of the terrific views that were in front of us. Before everything froze up we headed back down Twinway to the junction with Garfield Ridge Trail on our way to Galehead.
Still on MicroSpikes the descent was easy. We had little in the way of traction issues but I think both of us were really cautious with our approach to the trail. We reached the trail junction and two others were just leaving on their exit walk. We made the left turn and headed to Galehead. By now it was getting late and the days are about as short as they get, between the Galehead Hut and the climb to Galehead we stopped to pull out the headlights. We knew the hike would end with headlights and for us it’s one of the enjoyable parts of hiking at this time of year.
The trail to the summit was tracked-out. Watch out for the mud pits; they’re not frozen and they’re deep. We hit the summit, took some pictures, u-turned, and started our exit hike. The walk back out was generally just a long walk. The descent from Garfield Ridge Trail gave the ice-covered rocks one more shot at us and we both managed some minor slips and falls along the way. No harm done. Back at lower elevations the snow depth was less and we cruised to the summer trailhead. The short road walk on Gale River Road and the shortcut via to ski trails to Beaver Brook Wayside Area didn’t take long at all. Soon we had our things loaded into the back of the truck and we were in the front waiting for some heat (diesels are a little slow to get warm – heated seats help). The windshield finally cleared and we hit the highway.
That was a tough day, but a lot of fun – winter’s getting real close. Thanks Sue.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Trails: Beaver Brook Ski Trails, Gale River Road, Gale River Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Twinway, North Twin Spur, Frost Trail
Summits: North Twin, South Twin, Galehead
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
Winter hasn’t started yet but the winter-like conditions made this hike into a tough day in the mountains. Even in good conditions, hiking the Twins and Galehead is a full day. Normally, we hike this combination as a traverse from Haystack Road (Little River Road in winter) to Gale River Road (Beaver Brook Wayside Area in winter). Hiking a round trip from Beaver Brook Wayside Area makes the hike a couple miles longer and adds some elevation. The difference between a traverse versus a round trip isn’t enough to justify driving a second vehicle to the mountains.
We reached Beaver Brook Wayside Area early, grabbed our things, and set off. The ski trail, Gale River Road, and the early part of Gale River Trail all were tracked out and the early warm-up was easy. The mud pits on the lower Gale River Trail are not frozen. Eventually we made it to the relocated section of Gale River Trail still following tracks. Somewhere along the way, the tracks ended and we were breaking trail. Down low the snow depth was ~4 inches, sometimes a little deeper due to drifting. Eventually we would find a solid 12+ inches with drifts of ~24 inches. But, that’s later.
The relocated section of Gale River Trail isn’t marked (I don’t recall a single blaze), but the trail corridor is easy to follow. There are a couple small streams along the way but nothing like the crossings of Gale River that the relocation was intended to eliminate from the route. My first impression of this new section is very positive – the crew did a good job. The new section is only ~1 mile in length and soon we landed back on the “old” route a short distance after the upper crossing of Gale River. The entrances to the old route, at both ends of the new section are very well blocked to discourage use.
A short distance after leaving the new section of trail we started the climb to Garfield Ridge Trail. The trail is loaded with large rocks, some of which were most likely placed for erosion control. In summer these offer terrific footing for the ascent and descent. Right now, many of these rocks are somewhat ice-covered, and currently also covered with loose snow. The footing is questionable all of the way to the trail junction. Sue and I continued to bare boot the hike and carefully climbed to Garfield Ridge Trail without any real problems beyond an occasional slip. At the trail junction we barely paused, made the left turn, and headed for the junction with Twinway. The Garfield Ridge Trail was very similar to Gale River Trail; lots of snow and ice-covered rocks with very slippery conditions. We continued to bare boot the hike accepting slower progress in favor of avoiding needless wear on our MicroSpikes from all of the rocks along the way. We completed the short hike to Twinway, made the turn, and started the climb to South Twin. We made it roughly a quarter mile into the climb when the conditions finally won; out came the MicroSpikes. With a little added traction we were able to easily make the climb without worrying about the footing.
We hit the open summit of S. Twin in a cloud; it was cold and windy. After the usual summit pictures we took off for North Twin. The short-term objective was to get back into the trees for a little relief from the wind. On leaving S. Twin we found the snow conditions to significantly change; the general depth of snow was at least twelve inches and there were many knee-deep drifts to break through. Days like this make me really look forward to winter. Seriously, right now it seems the only ones out there are the Gridiots. Once winter officially arrives, everybody chasing the W48 list (or some other “winter” list) should join the fun and the added traffic will help keep the trails open.
Roughly half way to North Twin we met a solo hiker. That’s only one set of tracks but the remaining hike to North Twin was easier because it was there. I’m sure the other hiker enjoyed easier conditions as he followed our tracks south.
The trail corridor between South and North Twin is completely clear and wide – thanks Dave, you do good work! We made it to North Twin and got the usual summit shots. With clouds still blowing through, we didn’t bother with the viewpoint and simply made the u-turn and headed back to South Twin and eventually Galehead.
On the return hike the conditions started to open a little and we enjoyed some really nice S. Twin views once we left the trees. It was still cold and windy but we couldn’t skip getting at least a few pictures of the terrific views that were in front of us. Before everything froze up we headed back down Twinway to the junction with Garfield Ridge Trail on our way to Galehead.
Still on MicroSpikes the descent was easy. We had little in the way of traction issues but I think both of us were really cautious with our approach to the trail. We reached the trail junction and two others were just leaving on their exit walk. We made the left turn and headed to Galehead. By now it was getting late and the days are about as short as they get, between the Galehead Hut and the climb to Galehead we stopped to pull out the headlights. We knew the hike would end with headlights and for us it’s one of the enjoyable parts of hiking at this time of year.
The trail to the summit was tracked-out. Watch out for the mud pits; they’re not frozen and they’re deep. We hit the summit, took some pictures, u-turned, and started our exit hike. The walk back out was generally just a long walk. The descent from Garfield Ridge Trail gave the ice-covered rocks one more shot at us and we both managed some minor slips and falls along the way. No harm done. Back at lower elevations the snow depth was less and we cruised to the summer trailhead. The short road walk on Gale River Road and the shortcut via to ski trails to Beaver Brook Wayside Area didn’t take long at all. Soon we had our things loaded into the back of the truck and we were in the front waiting for some heat (diesels are a little slow to get warm – heated seats help). The windshield finally cleared and we hit the highway.
That was a tough day, but a lot of fun – winter’s getting real close. Thanks Sue.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
![Grand Canyon, North and South Rims [Grand Canyon National Park] (National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/419Y-ycyVUL._SL500_.jpg)
![Grand Teton Day Hikes and National Park Map [Map Pack Bundle] (National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41DB0jvRnbL._SL500_.jpg)
![Yellowstone National Park [Map Pack Bundle] (National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51kGuJ72qjL._SL500_.jpg)
