sapblatt
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The epic weekend continued very early on Saturday as Sherpa John and I worked out a car spot at about 4:30 am. We dropped his car at the Gale River Trailhead and went back to Zealand Road where I dropped him off at the Hale Brook Trail for the start of his marathon day. How he maneuvered the Twinway at that speed in that much snow is amazing to me; and from what he wrote in his report is seems that the Bondcliff Trail and West Bond Trail was even worse!
I headed up the Zealand Trail at 5:45am and made it to the hut before 7:30. I refilled my water and talked to some of the guests, many of whom I would be seeing later that day on the trail and Galehead Hut. I headed out on the Twinway at 7:45.
The falls were rushing at full force and one of the small crossings was bigger than I had ever seen it before. Just had to think about it for a minute, but it was easily manageable. This trail is pretty much uphill for most of the day until Guyot. The heavy pack was slowing me down a bit, and after seeing Sherpa John head out for 22 + miles with five pounds on his back I was wondering a lot. When I opened my 5th liter of water around 4 pm on South Twin I was glad I carried it!
The snow on the Twinway began less than ½ mile above the hut and really was there the entire way to Guyot and Galehead Hut except for a few short stretches. When I finally made it to the Zeacliffs I was awestruck by the view that I had until now had only seen in pictures. Carrigain is so massive and to see the clouds rolling in from the east was very cool. I knew I had a lot ahead of me so I did not stay long and continued towards Zealand. Sometime around 11am I hit Zealand Mountain. As you know…just a sign and no view, a quick turn back onto the Twinway as I trudged on towards Guyot and the Bondcliff Trail.
A couple of hours after being amazed by the Zeacliff area I was even more impressed with the view as you come over Guyot and down to the junction with the Bondcliff Trail. Unfortunately for me I had given myself a cutoff time of noontime if I was going to attempt the Bonds and it was now almost 1:30pm. I had a quick snack and drink and enjoyed the amazing views into the Pemi. I have never seen the Franconia Ridge from that direction and I loved how Owl’s Head blended into the ridge. The day was completely overcast but the view was amazing. I looked to my left and saw the mass of South Twin that was next on my agenda.
Leaving Guyot the trail was the easiest it had been all day. A pretty lengthy section was snow free and a very long section was flat and straight with pretty smooth going. It was a welcome change. Even the climb up to South Twin was pretty easy going in this direction. As many others have stated, the views from South Twin are among the best in the Whites. I stopped at the ledges before the summit and noticed you could see the tops of all of the mountains except for Mount Washington which was cut off near the top. Five minutes later at the top you could barely see any peaks, the weather was moving my way! I had a 4:00pm cut off in my head for attempting to go to North Twin. Although I was thirty minutes ahead of that I opted to descend to the hut because I was exhausted and it was starting to rain. The Twinway is very steep to and from the hut but it was magnificently made and it really is more like a giant steep staircase in many spots. I got down to the hut in about 30 minutes and claimed a bunk and dumped my gear. I did a quick pack less jaunt up to Galehead with Taylor and some of his family that were also hiking in the area today. The outlook a few hundred feet from the summit gave nice views back to the hut, South Twin and the Pemi.
A nice evening at the hut but it was difficult to believe that it was late May. The temperature dropped to the low thirties and through the night the rain changed to snow. A returned from a bathroom stop at midnight and I was shivering and my teeth were chattering. Over the long underwear went the fleece and hat. It helped. I got up again at 4am to notice 2-3 inches of fresh snow and very strong winds. Around 6:30-7am I talked to Leona from CT who was looking to get down quickly to the Gale River Trailhead and I asked if I could get a ride back to Zealand and she said OK.
We strapped on traction gear and began the descent. Snow as falling to about 3000 feet and then a steady rain. The streams were flowing downhill rapidly as we went down and we knew the Gale River crossings would be at the very least interesting. The first one caused me to go in to my knee on one leg but was not too bad. The speed of the water was a little unnerving. Leona got across fine too. The second one is a tributary that according to Leona as easy on Friday now was a problem. We found a decent route a little to the right of the trail and crossed. From there we bushwhacked up the hill and back to the trail to avoid falling in to the water!
The third crossing was the damaged bridge which had been somewhat reinstalled. This one was actually the scariest to me. The water was hitting the upriver sidepieces of the bridge and the bridge was precariously balanced. I walked across quickly and as sure-footed as I could. Falling in at this spot on Sunday (on either side) could have been disastrous. Happily we made it an enjoyed the rest of our easy walk out in the rain.
I am happy that I reevaluated my goals for the day. The Bonds would have rendered me useless and North Twin would have been tough. A different story with no snow on the Twinway and a slightly lighter pack. I have already planned my next assault on the Bonds and will hit North Twin as a day hike later in the summer after the water levels recede.
The three days combined gave me eight peaks, six 4ks, 7000 feet of elevation and over 25 miles of wild hiking. I missed my hopes at 11 peaks but it was a great time and I will be back to get the others! 28 down – 20 to go!!
I headed up the Zealand Trail at 5:45am and made it to the hut before 7:30. I refilled my water and talked to some of the guests, many of whom I would be seeing later that day on the trail and Galehead Hut. I headed out on the Twinway at 7:45.
The falls were rushing at full force and one of the small crossings was bigger than I had ever seen it before. Just had to think about it for a minute, but it was easily manageable. This trail is pretty much uphill for most of the day until Guyot. The heavy pack was slowing me down a bit, and after seeing Sherpa John head out for 22 + miles with five pounds on his back I was wondering a lot. When I opened my 5th liter of water around 4 pm on South Twin I was glad I carried it!
The snow on the Twinway began less than ½ mile above the hut and really was there the entire way to Guyot and Galehead Hut except for a few short stretches. When I finally made it to the Zeacliffs I was awestruck by the view that I had until now had only seen in pictures. Carrigain is so massive and to see the clouds rolling in from the east was very cool. I knew I had a lot ahead of me so I did not stay long and continued towards Zealand. Sometime around 11am I hit Zealand Mountain. As you know…just a sign and no view, a quick turn back onto the Twinway as I trudged on towards Guyot and the Bondcliff Trail.
A couple of hours after being amazed by the Zeacliff area I was even more impressed with the view as you come over Guyot and down to the junction with the Bondcliff Trail. Unfortunately for me I had given myself a cutoff time of noontime if I was going to attempt the Bonds and it was now almost 1:30pm. I had a quick snack and drink and enjoyed the amazing views into the Pemi. I have never seen the Franconia Ridge from that direction and I loved how Owl’s Head blended into the ridge. The day was completely overcast but the view was amazing. I looked to my left and saw the mass of South Twin that was next on my agenda.
Leaving Guyot the trail was the easiest it had been all day. A pretty lengthy section was snow free and a very long section was flat and straight with pretty smooth going. It was a welcome change. Even the climb up to South Twin was pretty easy going in this direction. As many others have stated, the views from South Twin are among the best in the Whites. I stopped at the ledges before the summit and noticed you could see the tops of all of the mountains except for Mount Washington which was cut off near the top. Five minutes later at the top you could barely see any peaks, the weather was moving my way! I had a 4:00pm cut off in my head for attempting to go to North Twin. Although I was thirty minutes ahead of that I opted to descend to the hut because I was exhausted and it was starting to rain. The Twinway is very steep to and from the hut but it was magnificently made and it really is more like a giant steep staircase in many spots. I got down to the hut in about 30 minutes and claimed a bunk and dumped my gear. I did a quick pack less jaunt up to Galehead with Taylor and some of his family that were also hiking in the area today. The outlook a few hundred feet from the summit gave nice views back to the hut, South Twin and the Pemi.
A nice evening at the hut but it was difficult to believe that it was late May. The temperature dropped to the low thirties and through the night the rain changed to snow. A returned from a bathroom stop at midnight and I was shivering and my teeth were chattering. Over the long underwear went the fleece and hat. It helped. I got up again at 4am to notice 2-3 inches of fresh snow and very strong winds. Around 6:30-7am I talked to Leona from CT who was looking to get down quickly to the Gale River Trailhead and I asked if I could get a ride back to Zealand and she said OK.
We strapped on traction gear and began the descent. Snow as falling to about 3000 feet and then a steady rain. The streams were flowing downhill rapidly as we went down and we knew the Gale River crossings would be at the very least interesting. The first one caused me to go in to my knee on one leg but was not too bad. The speed of the water was a little unnerving. Leona got across fine too. The second one is a tributary that according to Leona as easy on Friday now was a problem. We found a decent route a little to the right of the trail and crossed. From there we bushwhacked up the hill and back to the trail to avoid falling in to the water!
The third crossing was the damaged bridge which had been somewhat reinstalled. This one was actually the scariest to me. The water was hitting the upriver sidepieces of the bridge and the bridge was precariously balanced. I walked across quickly and as sure-footed as I could. Falling in at this spot on Sunday (on either side) could have been disastrous. Happily we made it an enjoyed the rest of our easy walk out in the rain.
I am happy that I reevaluated my goals for the day. The Bonds would have rendered me useless and North Twin would have been tough. A different story with no snow on the Twinway and a slightly lighter pack. I have already planned my next assault on the Bonds and will hit North Twin as a day hike later in the summer after the water levels recede.
The three days combined gave me eight peaks, six 4ks, 7000 feet of elevation and over 25 miles of wild hiking. I missed my hopes at 11 peaks but it was a great time and I will be back to get the others! 28 down – 20 to go!!
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