BIGEarl
Well-known member
February 25, 2006: Hale, Zealand, West Bond, Bond, Bondcliff
Trail: Route 302, Zealand Road, Hale Brook Trail, Lend-A-Hand Trail, Twinway, Bondcliff Trail, Wilderness Trail
The hiking weekend started early. I met Steve on Friday afternoon at the Lincoln Woods center east of Lincoln NH on the Kancamagus Highway, which is where we would finish the hike we had planned for Saturday. We spotted his truck there, transferred his things to my truck, and headed for Lyons – our base camp for the weekend. When we pulled into the driveway at Lyons, Doug pointed us to room 14 and said he would catch up with us eventually for the lodging fee. This is really a good place to stay! Good rate, good people operating the place, hot showers, and a clean place to prepare food and relax with other hikers. We quickly moved our things into the room and headed for the Common Room to prepare dinner. We wanted to eat early, and get as much sleep as possible – we had a big day planned.
The Saturday wake-up was 3:00am. We quickly gathered the things needed for the day and headed to the Common Room for a quick breakfast. With that out of the way we were off for the snowmobile parking area on Route 302, which is also the Winter hiker lot since Zealand Road is closed for the season. The road-walk adds roughly .2 miles on Route 302 and 2.5 miles on Zealand Road before we actually hit the “trail”. The sky was completely clear, the temperature was cold, and there was no wind - yet. We started our day at 4:45am with headlights for the first hour. We were able to move quickly to Hale Brook Trail and started up Mount Hale in less than an hour from leaving the parking lot. An easy walk and good warm-up for the day. Everything was ice with enough powder on top to make for good traction and easy hiking. When we started the steeper climbing on the Hale Brook Trial I was unsure of the footing and stopped to pull out my crampons. I really enjoy the complete traction they offer. We made pretty good time to the summit of Hale. Steve snapped a couple pictures and we headed off on the Lend-A-Hand Trail toward the Zealand Falls Hut. If something happened that would force us to bail-out on the hike, the Zealand Falls Hut would be the most likely target relief. We needed to stop and check in there with the caretaker, Adam. He provided us with the latest weather information and cautioned us regarding the expected conditions on the exposed areas of the ridge (Guyot – Bondcliff). We stayed at the hut for approximately 30 minutes and headed off on the Twinway toward Mount Zealand.
As we approached the summit area we also started to encounter much more fresh snow, drifts, and wind. This was surely going to be a winter hike! We kept moving to stay warm. While moving across an open ridge section leading to Zealand we had some trouble following the trail due to the drifting but got through the area with only a short delay. A short distance before reaching the spur trail to the actual summit we met a solo hiker that encountered problems the day before and was forced to stay the night. His facial expression seemed to suggest it wasn’t a completely pleasant experience. I believe he was headed for the hut. At the spur trail Steven took his first step and was immediately caught in a spruce trap. He managed to get himself out and in another step he was making post holes. Back on the trail and pull out the snow shoes. They stayed on for nearly all of the remainder of the hike. With the snow shoes, the .1 mile out and back to the Zealand summit was quick and we were off to Guyot, and points beyond. Along the trail to Guyot we met five other hikers that were also headed for the Zealand Falls Hut. The drifting was significant in this section. Guyot is completely exposed and the wind was howling. We kept our pace until back in the shelter of the spruce. We took a brief break, made a couple comments about the conditions, and headed for the Bondcliff Trail and West Bond Spur. We were able to move quickly through this area since others had previously broken the trail. When we arrived at the West Bond Spur there was no sign of any hiker traffic and the trail was completely drifted in. Steve headed out breaking the trail and clearing snow from the overhanging branches along the way. This was a big job that really slowed us down. We were experiencing a steady wind-driven snow as well. The day started to become difficult and we were not to enjoy the great views of the Bonds. We hit West Bond and made a u-turn heading back to the Bondcliff Trail. Along the way we met another solo hiker that was camped in the South Twin area and came over to “bag the Bonds”. He was happy to see the West Bond Spur had been broken out. Thanks to Steve.
As we approached the open area of Mount Bond, Steve decided to add a layer. The wind had really increased, the snow had dropped visibility to a few hundred feet, and we still had ten plus miles to go. We reached the summit of Mount Bond, grabbed a couple pictures, and with no views to enjoy we headed off for Bondcliff. Upon breaking out of the spruce on Mount Bond we were hit with a strong wind from the northeast that would continue until we passed the summit of Bondcliff and made it down the south side, once again in the shelter of spruce. We cleared Bondcliff, in daylight, and met two other hikers that came to the summit for a quick hike – they were camped a short distance below the summit. A short visit, a couple more pictures, and we were off.
We managed to cover at least one more mile before I pulled out the headlight, Steve waited a while longer (young eyes). From here, darkness slowly closed in on us and we had a hike down to the Wilderness Trail, and the long slog out to Lincoln Woods.
We managed to find our way to the waiting truck at 9:15pm. By the time we got moving, stopped for a couple drinks at a local store in Lincoln, retrieved my truck from the starting location, showered, and had dinner, it was well past midnight (and well past my bedtime). We decided to sleep in on Sunday and planned on a 5:00am start.
Trail: Route 302, Zealand Road, Hale Brook Trail, Lend-A-Hand Trail, Twinway, Bondcliff Trail, Wilderness Trail
The hiking weekend started early. I met Steve on Friday afternoon at the Lincoln Woods center east of Lincoln NH on the Kancamagus Highway, which is where we would finish the hike we had planned for Saturday. We spotted his truck there, transferred his things to my truck, and headed for Lyons – our base camp for the weekend. When we pulled into the driveway at Lyons, Doug pointed us to room 14 and said he would catch up with us eventually for the lodging fee. This is really a good place to stay! Good rate, good people operating the place, hot showers, and a clean place to prepare food and relax with other hikers. We quickly moved our things into the room and headed for the Common Room to prepare dinner. We wanted to eat early, and get as much sleep as possible – we had a big day planned.
The Saturday wake-up was 3:00am. We quickly gathered the things needed for the day and headed to the Common Room for a quick breakfast. With that out of the way we were off for the snowmobile parking area on Route 302, which is also the Winter hiker lot since Zealand Road is closed for the season. The road-walk adds roughly .2 miles on Route 302 and 2.5 miles on Zealand Road before we actually hit the “trail”. The sky was completely clear, the temperature was cold, and there was no wind - yet. We started our day at 4:45am with headlights for the first hour. We were able to move quickly to Hale Brook Trail and started up Mount Hale in less than an hour from leaving the parking lot. An easy walk and good warm-up for the day. Everything was ice with enough powder on top to make for good traction and easy hiking. When we started the steeper climbing on the Hale Brook Trial I was unsure of the footing and stopped to pull out my crampons. I really enjoy the complete traction they offer. We made pretty good time to the summit of Hale. Steve snapped a couple pictures and we headed off on the Lend-A-Hand Trail toward the Zealand Falls Hut. If something happened that would force us to bail-out on the hike, the Zealand Falls Hut would be the most likely target relief. We needed to stop and check in there with the caretaker, Adam. He provided us with the latest weather information and cautioned us regarding the expected conditions on the exposed areas of the ridge (Guyot – Bondcliff). We stayed at the hut for approximately 30 minutes and headed off on the Twinway toward Mount Zealand.
As we approached the summit area we also started to encounter much more fresh snow, drifts, and wind. This was surely going to be a winter hike! We kept moving to stay warm. While moving across an open ridge section leading to Zealand we had some trouble following the trail due to the drifting but got through the area with only a short delay. A short distance before reaching the spur trail to the actual summit we met a solo hiker that encountered problems the day before and was forced to stay the night. His facial expression seemed to suggest it wasn’t a completely pleasant experience. I believe he was headed for the hut. At the spur trail Steven took his first step and was immediately caught in a spruce trap. He managed to get himself out and in another step he was making post holes. Back on the trail and pull out the snow shoes. They stayed on for nearly all of the remainder of the hike. With the snow shoes, the .1 mile out and back to the Zealand summit was quick and we were off to Guyot, and points beyond. Along the trail to Guyot we met five other hikers that were also headed for the Zealand Falls Hut. The drifting was significant in this section. Guyot is completely exposed and the wind was howling. We kept our pace until back in the shelter of the spruce. We took a brief break, made a couple comments about the conditions, and headed for the Bondcliff Trail and West Bond Spur. We were able to move quickly through this area since others had previously broken the trail. When we arrived at the West Bond Spur there was no sign of any hiker traffic and the trail was completely drifted in. Steve headed out breaking the trail and clearing snow from the overhanging branches along the way. This was a big job that really slowed us down. We were experiencing a steady wind-driven snow as well. The day started to become difficult and we were not to enjoy the great views of the Bonds. We hit West Bond and made a u-turn heading back to the Bondcliff Trail. Along the way we met another solo hiker that was camped in the South Twin area and came over to “bag the Bonds”. He was happy to see the West Bond Spur had been broken out. Thanks to Steve.
As we approached the open area of Mount Bond, Steve decided to add a layer. The wind had really increased, the snow had dropped visibility to a few hundred feet, and we still had ten plus miles to go. We reached the summit of Mount Bond, grabbed a couple pictures, and with no views to enjoy we headed off for Bondcliff. Upon breaking out of the spruce on Mount Bond we were hit with a strong wind from the northeast that would continue until we passed the summit of Bondcliff and made it down the south side, once again in the shelter of spruce. We cleared Bondcliff, in daylight, and met two other hikers that came to the summit for a quick hike – they were camped a short distance below the summit. A short visit, a couple more pictures, and we were off.
We managed to cover at least one more mile before I pulled out the headlight, Steve waited a while longer (young eyes). From here, darkness slowly closed in on us and we had a hike down to the Wilderness Trail, and the long slog out to Lincoln Woods.
We managed to find our way to the waiting truck at 9:15pm. By the time we got moving, stopped for a couple drinks at a local store in Lincoln, retrieved my truck from the starting location, showered, and had dinner, it was well past midnight (and well past my bedtime). We decided to sleep in on Sunday and planned on a 5:00am start.
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