In the interest of full disclosure. As the one that planned this hike, posted the open call on it, worked out the logistical details, and maintained communications with the individuals involved, these are my impressions from the day......
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January 7, 2011: Garfield Ridge Traverse – Twins to Garfield
Trails: North Twin Trail, North Twin Spur, Twinway, Frost Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Mt. Garfield Trail
Summits: North Twin, South Twin, Galehead, Garfield
Hikers: Peakbagger (Dennis), Michael Costanza, Tom Rankin, Laurie Rankin, Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
What a great way to start the new year of hiking! We’ve hiked this traverse a number of times but never in winter. This time we had some old friends and new ones joining us for the trip. We started the day at the winter trailhead for the Mt. Garfield Trail. There we consolidated gear into two vehicles, left two behind, and headed for the end of Little River Road and our hike. The planned hike is a good one and we would need all day to get it done.
Based on recent experience and reports, all we needed for additional footwear was MicroSpikes; the snowshoes and crampons stayed behind. We grabbed our things and set off. From Little River Road we hiked a route including a snowmobile trail, ski trail, and piece of Haystack Road to reach the summer trailhead for N. Twin Trail. From there, we were hiking the traverse.
It looked like one and possibly two others were out in front of us on the trail – they would have had an early start. N. Twin Trail is in good shape. The muddy areas are starting to get solid, the water is down, and there are no blowdowns along the way. The trail was covered in a coating of fresh fluffy snow, but only around a half inch; just enough to hide the ice. We made our way to the first crossing of Little River and stopped to pull out the MicroSpikes. We were finding enough hidden ice to make footing a little questionable. With the traction problem taken care of we left the trail and followed the herd path that bypasses the first two crossings of Little River. Along the way between the crossings we stopped at the point where the Old Fire Warden’s Trail to Hale takes off to the left-rear. I took a few pictures and video for future reference.
Everything went well all of the way to the third crossing. There, the tracks in front of us continued much further upstream than necessary. The ice bridging is pretty well established at this point and we had no trouble cutting across the river a short distance upstream of the trail. On the far side, instead of walking downstream to the trail we simply climbed the left bank; the trail is a short distance above the river; sometimes direct is better.
The work is about to start. From the third crossing to the summit of N. Twin is ~2.4 miles and 2400 feet in elevation; it’s a good climb with some steep sections along the way. Peakbagger was out front, right where I wanted him. His pace seems slow but it’s a steady pace that requires very few stops along the way and in the end we complete the climb much faster. We all settled into a terrific “Peakbagger pace” and just climbed. At the third crossing of Little River there were large patches of blue sky overhead but by the time we reached the upper elevations we had a general cloud cover that remained for the rest of the hike. Fortunately, the cloud cover was high and we were able to enjoy some pretty nice views from the Twins.
We reached N. Twin and wandered to the viewpoint for a little eye candy. We were being hit with a good breeze from the west and didn’t hang around long; we needed to keep moving to stay warm. Back at the summit area we got a few pictures and set off for S. Twin following the N. Twin Spur. Again, it was clear sailing.
Sue and I hiked this area last month, before winter had officially arrived. At the time the trail had a good snow cover and it was not tracked out at all. Now, since winter is here the hiker traffic is up and the trail is very well tracked out and packed. We enjoyed a nice trip to South Twin on a clear, packed trail. Before leaving the sheltered trail and climbing to the summit of South Twin we stopped to pull out a few things; added layers, head gear, warmer gloves, etc. The wind was up and we needed a little additional protection.
We hit the summit of South Twin, got the usual pictures, and kept moving – the wind kicked us off this summit too. On the descent from South Twin to the junction with Garfield Ridge Trail we met quite a few others on their climb. It seemed there were a lot of people hiking a Galehead – Twins loop probably from Beaver Brook Wayside Area.
We reached the trail junction and stopped for a little refreshment. Sue brought peanut butter squares but I already had my mouth full so I passed. I figured one or two of those treats would be nice on the drive south. We finished our break and set off for Galehead. The climb to the summit of Galehead is an easy half mile and a very good warm-up to the PUDs on Garfield Ridge Trail. We hit the summit area, got our pictures, and made the u-turn back down.
The temperature was a little warm making the snow ideal. At the hut we stopped and watched while Sue made another huge snowman in front of the hut. There were quite a few others there enjoying the show. There’s pictures.
The snowman break ended and we started our hike of Garfield Ridge Trail to Mt. Garfield. Even with the PUDs this trail is pretty good hiking right now. There isn’t a lot of ice; MicroSpikes were very adequate for the job. The snow cover has most of the rough trail surface (rocks and roots) covered as well. We made a couple stops to regroup along the way but generally just hiked all of the way to the junction with Franconia Brook Trail. Along the way we met a couple friends out for the weekend; Petch and Crazy Bob. They were headed for Galehead but their stuff was left at the Garfield Shelter where they planned to stay the night. After a short visit we were all on our way.
From the trail junction to the summit is roughly 1.1 miles and 1100 feet with most of the elevation jammed into the final ~.6 miles (it’s a very steep final approach). Along the way we made a quick stop at the Garfield Ridge Campsite. The water from the spring is about as good as it gets. We topped off a couple bottles for the remainder of the hike, enjoyed some while we were there, and continued the climb to the summit. Soon we passed the junction with Mt. Garfield Trail and a short time later we were climbing the summit slabs. Back at the campsite we were in and out of clouds, they became more significant at the trail junction, at the summit we were really socked in with visibility limited to a couple hundred feet. The wind was blowing, it was a little uncomfortable, it’s been a long day, and we still had a 6.2 mile exit hike; we didn’t hang around. One by one we made our way off the summit rocks and back to the trail. It’s a short, steep, and fast walk down to the Mt. Garfield Trail junction. We made the turn and continued down.
The Mt. Garfield Trail is a real treat right now. On the upper half, the snow depth has the trail surface above all of the rough stuff (rocks, etc.) on the trail and there is no ice. We were able to really move on our descent. Once we dropped to the lower half of the Mt. Garfield Trail we found quite a bit of ice but the warm temperature had its surface soft and very good for MicroSpikes. After the ice we alternated between light snow/ice cover and bare ground. Much quicker than expected we landed on the road at the summer trailhead. From there we had a short road walk of ~1.2 miles on Gale River Road to the waiting trucks. We were loading our things into the trucks a good hour sooner than expected. Nice!
It didn’t take long to pack and leave for Little River Road and the other vehicles. The heated soft seats of the truck really felt good. At the end of Little River Road we moved our gear around, said our goodbyes, and all went our separate ways.
Thanks Dennis, I really enjoy hiking with you and hope you are back again soon. Laurie and Tom, it was good to see you both again and finally spend some time on the trials together. Hopefully our hike plans line up again soon. I’m sure we’ll hike again with Michael soon. In a little over a week, we have enjoyed two winter hikes together and he’s taken out eight W48 peaks – not bad! He’ll have this done in no time.
Thanks Sue – nice start to 2012. We have a lot more shuffling to do.
Pictures will follow.
