The Bonds, North and South Twin, and Galehead Hikes

TRIP DATE:      August 7-9, 2015                                

TRIP LOCATION:          The Bonds, North and South Twin, and Galehead with two nights at Galehead Hut

MEETING TIME:          9 am at trailhead of North Twin trail to car spot and carpool to Gale River trailhead

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS (INCLUDING LEADERS): Six       

TOTAL HIKING TIME (IN HOURS):       1st Day: About 4 hours up Gale River trail to hut, and another hour round trip to Galehead summit. 2nd Day: 10 hours up South Twin and out to Bond and Bondcliff and return, including spur to West Bond. 3rd Day: 6 hours 15 minutes up South Twin, over North Twin and descent to spotted cars.

LENGTH IN MILES:      1st Day: 6.2 miles (about 5.2 to hut plus 1 mile up Galehead and back). 2nd Day: 12.3 miles. 3rd Day: 6.4 miles

TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN (IN FEET):    1st Day: 2400 feet including Mt. Galehead. 2nd Day: 4201 feet cumulative gain. 3rd Day: 1128 feet up South Twin before beginning descent

DIFFICULTY:  A  day 2, B days 1 and 3      (A=very strenuous; B=strenuous; C=average; D=easy)

LEADER NAME(S):       Len Ulbricht

CO-LEADER NAME(S): Walt Granda

TRAILHEAD PARKING LOCATION & DESCRIPTION:    We met at North Twin trailhead, left three cars and carpooled two cars to Gale River trailhead. North Twin trailhead about 3 miles in on dirt road from Rte. 3. Gale River trailhead about 2+ miles in on dirt road (Trudeau Rd) from Rte. 3. About 3 miles of Rte. 3 separates the two access roads.

CAR SPOTTING REQUIRED?:      Yes                   TIME REQUIRED TO SPOT CARS: 30 minutes

WAS TRIP WITHIN WHITE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST?              Yes

BRIEFLY DESCRIBE SPECIFIC TRAILS HIKED AND TRAIL CONDITIONS ENCOUNTERED: 1st Day: Gale River trail to hut, Frost trail to Galehead summit and back. Muddy conditions on first two miles of Galehead trail. 2nd Day: Twinway trail up South Twin and Guyot to Bondcliff trail and Mts. Bond and Bondcliff. On return took West Bond spur to West Bond and back.  The first half mile up South Twin is steep and a jumble of boulders. The rest of Twinway and Bondcliff trail have wet spots and several ups and downs. 3rd Day: Twinway up South Twin (again) and then North Twin trail over North Twin and descent to spotted cars. Last two miles has 3 water crossings. Water level was low (no recent rains). We changed to water crossing shoes though other hikers rock hopped. There is no longer a fallen tree across first crossing (when descending) to scootch across on.

WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR HIKE: Perfecto. Three days of sunshine, temps in 60s, and light winds.

OTHER COMMENTS (problems, views, terrain, etc.): Strenuous 2nd day of 12 miles in 10 hours  (book time 8 hours) required monitoring progress against pre-planned schedule in case early turn around became necessary. See attached waypoint schedule.

Photo:  Mt Bond to Bondcliff from West Bond
Left peak is Mt Bond (el 4698 ft). Right peak is Bondcliff (el. 4265 ft)
Courtesy of Len Ulbricht

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Galehead Hut in White Mountains

TRIP DATE:      9/13/13 – 9/14/13                

TRIP LOCATION:          Galehead Hut – White Mountains                 

WAS TRIP CANCELLED? (y/n):  N (Rescheduled from Memorial Day Weekend 5/25 – 5/27/13)

MEETING TIME: 9:00 am                   

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS (INCLUDING LEADERS): 6         

TOTAL HIKING TIME (IN HOURS): 12 hours   

LENGTH IN MILES:      12.1 mi.

TOTAL ELEVATION GAIN (IN FEET):    3678 ft.

DIFFICULTY:      B                             (A=very strenuous; B=strenuous; C=average; D=easy)

LEADER NAME(S):       Leslie  Carson

CO-LEADER NAME(S):             Maureen Kelly

TRAILHEAD PARKING LOCATION & DESCRIPTION:    North Twin Trailhead off Haystack Rd. Twin Mtn., NH

CAR SPOTTING REQUIRED?:    Yes, Gale River Trailhead    TIME REQUIRED TO SPOT CARS: 20 min.

WAS TRIP WITHIN WHITE MOUNTAIN NATIONAL FOREST?  Yes     

IF YES TO ABOVE, DESCRIBE SPECIFIC TRAILS HIKED AND TRAIL CONDITIONS ENCOUNTERED:

Hiked up North Twin Trail, fairly wet and muddy. Had a significant river crossing – 4 people went across the river by scooting along a log and two others took off boots and waded across the river. Foggy with no views at North Twin summit, but it was “Flags over 48” day in the Whites so several people were at the summit with the US flag. We celebrated Karen Singleton’s completion of her 48^th 4K footer with cheers, pictures and champagne. We continued to hike on North Twin Spur to South Twin mtn. (no views) then down Twinway trail to Galehead hut. Had a lovely turkey dinner at the hut with many other people celebrating birthdays and anniversaries. Karen’s birthday was on Sunday.

On Sunday after breakfast, we hiked up to Galehead mtn. and had gorgeous views. It was a beautiful sunny, bright day with lots of visibility. A perfect fall day although it technically wasn’t fall yet. We could see for miles. Hiked back to the hut, grabbed our gear and had a lovely hike down the Gale River trail to the cars.

WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR HIKE:  Saturday was overcast, drizzly. Sunday was sunny and beautiful.

OTHER COMMENTS (problems, views, terrain, etc.)

This hike was rescheduled from Memorial Day weekend. Unfortunately, not all the participants who signed up in May were able to participate in this hike. They were refunded their money. Secondly, the original hike was for 3 days, two nights at Galehead hut, self-service, with group meals. The original plan included hiking North and South Twin, Galehead and the Bonds. We were given a credit from AMC and had to use it before the end of the calendar year. I was disappointed that we were unable to reschedule during a self-service season without getting too late in the season and the cost for one night with full service at the hut was, in my opinion, very expensive ($124). I believe the cost was prohibitive for some people. I do not plan to lead overnight hikes to the huts when in full service on a weekend in the future.