Sherpa John
New member
Date(s) Hiked: 8/27
Trails(s) Hiked: Gale River, Twinway, N. Twin Spur, Bondcliff, West Bond Spur, Zealand Spur
Total Distance: 23.6 mi.
Difficulty: Exhausting
Conditions: Some Mud on Twinway between S. Twin and Guyot..otherwise.. PERFECT!
Special Required Equipment: Food and Drink
After waking up at the campsite my friend Firefly showed me, I quickly packed everything up to get on with my day. As I took the short drive North towards Franconia Notch, I was thinking of what peaks I wanted to do today and in what order to do them. My route was still up in the air. all I knew was that I am working on the 48 for the 2nd time for 2005.. and I needed to bag Zealand, West Bond, N. Twin and Galehead.
In the middle of arguing with myself, I missed Exit 32.. and at the same moment.. missed breakfast. I continued on. When I got to the Gale River trailhead I remembered.. that I forgot the slices of pizza left over from the night before. so now.. no breakfast and no lunch. I had 3 cliff bars, no more gatorade mix and now I was angry at myself.
But I threw the slackpack on and headed up the trail leaving the parking area at 7:26 AM. It was a cool morning in the whites. Cold in the places the sun hadn;t quite made it to yet and warm where it had. It was enjoyable all the same as I scurried along. After hitting the Garfield Ridge trail, the hikers who had spent the night at galehead hut were just now coming down the trail heading for their cars. I figure about 15 or so passed me by.
8:40 AM: I reached Galehead hut and refilled my water. I drank 3L during the 4.6 to here. WOW! I was thirsty. I then ate half a clif bar and struck of conversation with some Thru-hikers. It's been 2 weeks since I have seen a happy thru-hiker.. no different today. After about 15 minutes, I packed up and quickly bagged Galehead. Then drank some hut lemonade before heading up the Twinway.
The steep climb up S. Twin seems to get easier and easier each time I get there. After all... this WAS my 4th time there this year now.. and my 3rd time heading UP. Upon reaching the summit of S. Twin, I paused to take in the views. By far one of the most underrated summits... the vast expanse of wilderness around you is hard to fathom. After a quick Breather and a short argument about which peaks to head for 1st.. I decided to get N. Twin out of the way.
Just below the summit of N. Twin I ran into the N. Twin Spur trail adopter hard at work creating a much needed water bar. THANKS! I reached the summit of N. Twin, gave a quick look around at the view point and then headed back for S. Twin. On the summit of S. Twin I again took a prolonged rest this time to watch something I had NEVER seen before.. a Peregrine Falcon. He was being chased by a noisy Raven... quick a spectacle to watch. Man did the raven seem slow.
I then decided to head for Guyot. I LOVE the Twinway between S. Twin and Guyot. The forest seems of infinite yet.. PERFECT. You could almost assume that every tree was placed in its location for a reason and that it grew straight for an even greater reason. just a cool place. Upon reaching the Bondcliff Trail junction.. I decided to head to West Bond first. So up the ridge I went headed for the bonds.. a favorite place as well.
There were TONS of people leaving and heading to Guyot. It had been quite some time before I had seen a trail so busy. When I reached W. bond a man by the name of barry was watching the ravens through binoculars. He asked how I was doing and I replied.. I was great till now. I became upset as the West Bond summit cairn had been knocked over by the psycho "Ranger Dick." Man am I pissed!!
Barry and I shared stories of hiking the 48 and he was a fun guy. But soon enough we parted ways and I headed back for Guyot. At Guyot I ran into Cody, the Guyot Shelter caretaker. We discussed some issues about wilderness ethics as well as flags on the 48 as I'll be renting a place at his "chateau." Nice guy but being that it was now 1:06.. time was slipping away fast.
I then hurried down the twinway towards Zealand, bagged the summit and then turned back for Guyot again. On the way down Zealand I slipped on a rock and SMASHED my ankle into the side of a rock. I have a small cut and it hurts like HELL tonight!
Upon returning to Guyot I knew what was to come. The long gradual 2 mile hike to South Twin.. again.. which would prove to be the barrier for the day. I was starving having eaten all the clif bars, no more gatorade and I could feel ym water going Low. Emotionally, it had been a long week.. and a VERY long day with lots of miles alone. It was time to really move and try to get to South Twin before I broke down.
Amazingly enough.. not sure how I did it.. I made it back to S. Twin in a half hour, I was exhausted but feeling in good spirits. I chatted with some folks staying at Galehead who had wandered up to explore.. and then gave them the tour by naming all the peaks you could see. I LOVE helping folks identify what they are looking it. They get so amazed at how many 4Ks are visible.. especially on a day like today.
I then headed back to the hut for some more lemonade, a refill on the Camelbak and then headed for home. I made it back to the car for 6:03. I had an OK time up there today. I had TONS to think about and though it did me some good, it also did me some bad. But I'm ok.. I put on a lot of miles (23.6) and after 10 1/2 hours... I was now up to 32 for the 2nd round of the year. I am VERY excited.. because I have the peaks whom are strung together left.. could be interesting for sure.
until next time..
Happy Trails
SJ
Trails(s) Hiked: Gale River, Twinway, N. Twin Spur, Bondcliff, West Bond Spur, Zealand Spur
Total Distance: 23.6 mi.
Difficulty: Exhausting
Conditions: Some Mud on Twinway between S. Twin and Guyot..otherwise.. PERFECT!
Special Required Equipment: Food and Drink
After waking up at the campsite my friend Firefly showed me, I quickly packed everything up to get on with my day. As I took the short drive North towards Franconia Notch, I was thinking of what peaks I wanted to do today and in what order to do them. My route was still up in the air. all I knew was that I am working on the 48 for the 2nd time for 2005.. and I needed to bag Zealand, West Bond, N. Twin and Galehead.
In the middle of arguing with myself, I missed Exit 32.. and at the same moment.. missed breakfast. I continued on. When I got to the Gale River trailhead I remembered.. that I forgot the slices of pizza left over from the night before. so now.. no breakfast and no lunch. I had 3 cliff bars, no more gatorade mix and now I was angry at myself.
But I threw the slackpack on and headed up the trail leaving the parking area at 7:26 AM. It was a cool morning in the whites. Cold in the places the sun hadn;t quite made it to yet and warm where it had. It was enjoyable all the same as I scurried along. After hitting the Garfield Ridge trail, the hikers who had spent the night at galehead hut were just now coming down the trail heading for their cars. I figure about 15 or so passed me by.
8:40 AM: I reached Galehead hut and refilled my water. I drank 3L during the 4.6 to here. WOW! I was thirsty. I then ate half a clif bar and struck of conversation with some Thru-hikers. It's been 2 weeks since I have seen a happy thru-hiker.. no different today. After about 15 minutes, I packed up and quickly bagged Galehead. Then drank some hut lemonade before heading up the Twinway.
The steep climb up S. Twin seems to get easier and easier each time I get there. After all... this WAS my 4th time there this year now.. and my 3rd time heading UP. Upon reaching the summit of S. Twin, I paused to take in the views. By far one of the most underrated summits... the vast expanse of wilderness around you is hard to fathom. After a quick Breather and a short argument about which peaks to head for 1st.. I decided to get N. Twin out of the way.
Just below the summit of N. Twin I ran into the N. Twin Spur trail adopter hard at work creating a much needed water bar. THANKS! I reached the summit of N. Twin, gave a quick look around at the view point and then headed back for S. Twin. On the summit of S. Twin I again took a prolonged rest this time to watch something I had NEVER seen before.. a Peregrine Falcon. He was being chased by a noisy Raven... quick a spectacle to watch. Man did the raven seem slow.
I then decided to head for Guyot. I LOVE the Twinway between S. Twin and Guyot. The forest seems of infinite yet.. PERFECT. You could almost assume that every tree was placed in its location for a reason and that it grew straight for an even greater reason. just a cool place. Upon reaching the Bondcliff Trail junction.. I decided to head to West Bond first. So up the ridge I went headed for the bonds.. a favorite place as well.
There were TONS of people leaving and heading to Guyot. It had been quite some time before I had seen a trail so busy. When I reached W. bond a man by the name of barry was watching the ravens through binoculars. He asked how I was doing and I replied.. I was great till now. I became upset as the West Bond summit cairn had been knocked over by the psycho "Ranger Dick." Man am I pissed!!
Barry and I shared stories of hiking the 48 and he was a fun guy. But soon enough we parted ways and I headed back for Guyot. At Guyot I ran into Cody, the Guyot Shelter caretaker. We discussed some issues about wilderness ethics as well as flags on the 48 as I'll be renting a place at his "chateau." Nice guy but being that it was now 1:06.. time was slipping away fast.
I then hurried down the twinway towards Zealand, bagged the summit and then turned back for Guyot again. On the way down Zealand I slipped on a rock and SMASHED my ankle into the side of a rock. I have a small cut and it hurts like HELL tonight!
Upon returning to Guyot I knew what was to come. The long gradual 2 mile hike to South Twin.. again.. which would prove to be the barrier for the day. I was starving having eaten all the clif bars, no more gatorade and I could feel ym water going Low. Emotionally, it had been a long week.. and a VERY long day with lots of miles alone. It was time to really move and try to get to South Twin before I broke down.
Amazingly enough.. not sure how I did it.. I made it back to S. Twin in a half hour, I was exhausted but feeling in good spirits. I chatted with some folks staying at Galehead who had wandered up to explore.. and then gave them the tour by naming all the peaks you could see. I LOVE helping folks identify what they are looking it. They get so amazed at how many 4Ks are visible.. especially on a day like today.
I then headed back to the hut for some more lemonade, a refill on the Camelbak and then headed for home. I made it back to the car for 6:03. I had an OK time up there today. I had TONS to think about and though it did me some good, it also did me some bad. But I'm ok.. I put on a lot of miles (23.6) and after 10 1/2 hours... I was now up to 32 for the 2nd round of the year. I am VERY excited.. because I have the peaks whom are strung together left.. could be interesting for sure.
until next time..
Happy Trails
SJ