NH_Mtn_Hiker
New member
Christiemae, Doug, and I met at the Lincoln-Woods parking area at 5:30 Saturday morning and dropped a couple of cars then headed to the Zealand Trail parking area to begin our 20 mile odyssey.
I'd bagged the Bonds from several routes in the past, but I'd never done the traverse. So when Christiemae posted the trip I jumped at it dispite the warnings from people here
and at R.O.T. about Ernesto. Besides, I'd heard Ernesto was suffering from "tropical depression" and wasn't suppose to be any real threat.
When we started up the Zealand Trail at 6:30 I told Christie and Doug that this was a good trail to spot moose on. (just ask Cantdog) Christie replied that she'd never seen a moose while hiking...that changed about a half hour later when she was the first to spot a huge bull moose about 15 yards in front of us just a few feet off the trail. He was quite an ominous sight standing there with tattered velvet hanging from his blood covered antlers which glistened in the early morning light. Christie and I watched him for a few minutes while Doug took a break. Finally the moose moved on...in Dougs direction, and close enough for Doug to smell him...I guess the moose about scared the crap out of him.
A little further up the trail we spotted a beaver about 10 yards from us in one of the small ponds below the Zealand Hut. He didn't seem overly concerned about our presence. We watched him for a bit then mosied on up the trail. When we reached the Zealand Hut, most of the tourists were still having breakfast, we took a short break here then headed for Zeacliff.
As we neared Zeacliff we heard the roar of thunder coming from behind. At first we thought it must be Ernesto coming for us, then we realized it wasn't thunder, but Thunderbolts. Moments later a pair of A-10's screamed through Zealand Notch just below us. We couldn't see them but there's no mistaking the sound of them once you've heard them a few times. We arrived at Zeacliff shortly afterwards, which was a bit breezy, took a break and enjoyed some of Doug's blueberry cake, then headed off to Zealand stopping briefly to chat with a grouse along the way.
Doug is a trip leader for the NH chapter of the AMC and as such has lots of experience bagging 4,000 footers. Zealand would be #42 of 48 for Christiemae who's only been working on her 4,000 footers for about 2 years. After bagging the Bonds later on this day she would have only Isolation and the Wildcat's remaining...and Isolation will likely be completed before this trip report is.
After reachng the rather anti-climatic summit of Zealand we took a quick picture then headed back down the spur to the Twinway collecting Doug, who had stopped for a break, along the way. Let's face it, Zealand stinks...sometimes literally. After turning right on the Twinway we headed off to Guyot passing a few thru-hikers along the way.
We expected to find the taller summits shrouded in clouds, but upon reaching Guyot we discovered that only Carrigain and a couple of other tall peaks were cloud covered. Even the Franconia Ridge was clear of clouds. Christie and I took lots of pics from Guyot and the Bonds, which explains why there are a few duplicates. We got pics of every peak around including my favorite...The Captain.
Just before we reached the summit of West Bond we ran into a couple of Yaa-hoo's who called themselves Frodo and Spongebob...at least Ernesto wasn't with them. On West Bond we took more pics then headed over Bond to Bondcliff passing several groups all headed for the Guyot shelter. I'll bet it was crowded there Saturday night. After descending to the Wilderness Trail and hiking back to the suspension bridge near the Franconia Falls Campground we decided to cross the Pemi and take the East Side Trail back to the Lincoln-Woods parking area.
All-in-all it was another great hike. Ernesto must have stayed home because we never saw hide-nor-hair of him. Of course with clear views from Guyot and the Bonds I don't think even he could have spoiled a trip like this and what better way to finish a hike than with pizza at G&H Pizza in Lincoln.
98 pics and further commentary here.
I'd bagged the Bonds from several routes in the past, but I'd never done the traverse. So when Christiemae posted the trip I jumped at it dispite the warnings from people here
and at R.O.T. about Ernesto. Besides, I'd heard Ernesto was suffering from "tropical depression" and wasn't suppose to be any real threat.When we started up the Zealand Trail at 6:30 I told Christie and Doug that this was a good trail to spot moose on. (just ask Cantdog) Christie replied that she'd never seen a moose while hiking...that changed about a half hour later when she was the first to spot a huge bull moose about 15 yards in front of us just a few feet off the trail. He was quite an ominous sight standing there with tattered velvet hanging from his blood covered antlers which glistened in the early morning light. Christie and I watched him for a few minutes while Doug took a break. Finally the moose moved on...in Dougs direction, and close enough for Doug to smell him...I guess the moose about scared the crap out of him.
A little further up the trail we spotted a beaver about 10 yards from us in one of the small ponds below the Zealand Hut. He didn't seem overly concerned about our presence. We watched him for a bit then mosied on up the trail. When we reached the Zealand Hut, most of the tourists were still having breakfast, we took a short break here then headed for Zeacliff.
As we neared Zeacliff we heard the roar of thunder coming from behind. At first we thought it must be Ernesto coming for us, then we realized it wasn't thunder, but Thunderbolts. Moments later a pair of A-10's screamed through Zealand Notch just below us. We couldn't see them but there's no mistaking the sound of them once you've heard them a few times. We arrived at Zeacliff shortly afterwards, which was a bit breezy, took a break and enjoyed some of Doug's blueberry cake, then headed off to Zealand stopping briefly to chat with a grouse along the way.
Doug is a trip leader for the NH chapter of the AMC and as such has lots of experience bagging 4,000 footers. Zealand would be #42 of 48 for Christiemae who's only been working on her 4,000 footers for about 2 years. After bagging the Bonds later on this day she would have only Isolation and the Wildcat's remaining...and Isolation will likely be completed before this trip report is.
After reachng the rather anti-climatic summit of Zealand we took a quick picture then headed back down the spur to the Twinway collecting Doug, who had stopped for a break, along the way. Let's face it, Zealand stinks...sometimes literally.
After turning right on the Twinway we headed off to Guyot passing a few thru-hikers along the way.We expected to find the taller summits shrouded in clouds, but upon reaching Guyot we discovered that only Carrigain and a couple of other tall peaks were cloud covered. Even the Franconia Ridge was clear of clouds. Christie and I took lots of pics from Guyot and the Bonds, which explains why there are a few duplicates.
We got pics of every peak around including my favorite...The Captain. Just before we reached the summit of West Bond we ran into a couple of Yaa-hoo's who called themselves Frodo and Spongebob
...at least Ernesto wasn't with them. On West Bond we took more pics then headed over Bond to Bondcliff passing several groups all headed for the Guyot shelter. I'll bet it was crowded there Saturday night. After descending to the Wilderness Trail and hiking back to the suspension bridge near the Franconia Falls Campground we decided to cross the Pemi and take the East Side Trail back to the Lincoln-Woods parking area.All-in-all it was another great hike. Ernesto must have stayed home because we never saw hide-nor-hair of him. Of course with clear views from Guyot and the Bonds I don't think even he could have spoiled a trip like this and what better way to finish a hike than with pizza at G&H Pizza in Lincoln.
98 pics and further commentary here.
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