BIGEarl
Well-known member
June 22, 2013: The Bonds, R/T from Lincoln Woods
Trails: Wilderness Trail, Bondcliff Trail, W. Bond Spur
Summits: Bondcliff, Mount Bond, West Bond
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
Hike Plan Considerations:
I’m re-thinking the approach to various hikes, and various peak combinations. Changing things up will offer some variety on peaks I’ve already climbed, perhaps introduce new routes and trails, and in some cases eliminate the need for a second vehicle. Having done the traverse between Zealand Road and Lincoln Woods a number of times, in each direction, it was time for a change. Even though it meant starting and ending the day with nearly five miles of Wilderness Trail, I decided an out-and-back from Lincoln Woods was due.
First, I made a quick comparison of the traverse versus out-and-back from Lincoln Woods. The traverse goes between Lincoln Woods and the end of Zealand Road including The Bonds, and Zealand. The out-and-back goes from Lincoln Woods to West Bond and u-turns back to Lincoln Woods; including only The Bonds. A number of times on the traverse, Mount Hale has also been included.
According to the White Mountain Guide (printed edition), the hikes come in at:
Traverse S-N: 19.8 miles, 4550 feet, 12hr 12min (book time)
Traverse N-S: 19.8 miles, 4050 feet, 11hr 55min (book time)
Out-and-back: 22.7 miles, 4540 feet, 13hr 40min (book time)
The traverse also gets Zealand; the out-and-back does not.
Driving considerations:
The traverse requires multiple vehicles; out-and-back requires only one.
Based on start and end in Nashua, and two vehicles for the traverse:
Out-and-back: 206 miles, ~9 gallons of fuel (@ 25mpg)
Traverse: 532 miles, 22 gallons of fuel (@ 25mpg)
In this simplistic comparison, it looks like an out-and-back trades ~1.5 hours of hike time for ~13 gallons of fuel. At today’s price, 13 gallons of Diesel costs me a little over $50. The savings means different things to different people. To me, it means another trip to the mountains.
Every previous time I have hiked The Bonds has been a traverse, in one direction or the other. Many times the traverse also included Hale, which comes in at roughly a mile less of a hike than the out-and-back from Lincoln Woods.
Removing Hale and Zealand from this hike simply sets the stage for other combinations. I’m sure the combination of Hale, Zealand, and The Twins from Haystack Road will be a loop I’ll hike before this summer is done.
The Hike
I had an early wake-up coming the next day plus the weather forecast for late afternoon predicted likely rain showers. We got started early expecting the hike to be completed at roughly a “book time” pace. The timing would get us out relatively early and hopefully we would be well back toward the Bondcliff – Wilderness trails junction before the weather changed.
The first 4.7 miles was like hiking an old railroad grade, exactly like hiking an old railroad grade. The first time Sue and I hiked together was on a S-N Bonds Traverse from Lincoln Woods. I recall after that hike thinking how much better it was to start the day on The Wilderness Trail than end it there. On this particular hike we’ll get it on both ends. A mile or two of Wilderness Trail isn’t bad but with five miles of the thing in one hike, twice, somewhere along the way it can start to get pretty old, twice.
We started out with a solid pace and made it to the junction with Bondcliff Trail well ahead of book time, made the turn, and started the climb. Based on memory of the trail, we were expecting quite a bit of mud on the lower part leading to the second significant crossing. In fact, the trail is very dry and free of mud. There are a couple small areas that are very easy to get past with clean boots. We cleared both crossings and started picking up elevation at a greater rate.
The trail from the second crossing to the summit of Bondcliff is in terrific shape. I don’t recall any blowdowns at all. We worked our way to the summit at a steady pace with a few stops along the way for me to keep the heart rate where it needed to be. Eventually, the trail got very rocky, the trees were much smaller, and we came to the small section of ledge that led to the scrub at the treeline. That ledge is more like a steep set of stairs than anything else and we barely slowed on our way through. Soon we were above the scrub and enjoying our first 360 degree views for the day.
We continued up the final short climb to the summit and decided to get our usual summit pictures then and not gamble on the weather conditions later in the hike. We had cloudy conditions but everything was still dry. Sue and I took turns with the camera. One hit the cliff for the required pose while the other worked the cameras, and then we swapped places. After the pictures and quick refreshment we were on our way to Mount Bond.
Everything was still dry but we had dark clouds everywhere. The mid-range views were pretty nice but the distance views were limited by haze. It’s a relatively short walk from Bondcliff to Mount Bond. Along the way we met several others. My hearing is very bad and without hearing aids that can tolerate high amounts of moisture I miss a lot of things that are said around me. At one point, roughly half-way to the summit of Mount Bond, we met two guys descending. They stepped off the trail to let us pass. After we passed and we all continued on our way, Sue told me that one of the guys said hi to me by name and must have known me. I hope if you’re reading this you’ll accept my apology for not responding; I didn’t hear you - sorry.
A few minutes later we were on Mount Bond getting our summit pictures there. We were still enjoying dry conditions. Before starting out early in the morning, both Sue and I checked the weather forecasts. The prediction was for likely rain showers from 2:00pm on. After taking care of the summit formalities on Mount Bond we got back on the trail for West Bond, 1.1 trail-miles away; .6 miles on Bondcliff Trail and .5 miles on West Bond Spur. At various places along the hike I checked my hike notes and found we were hiking on-plan all the way. We stayed with the same pace and were soon on final approach to West Bond. A short distance below the summit Sue and I stepped off the trail to allow a large group to pass. We previously saw them on Mount Bond, leaving as we were arriving. We made our way to the summit, got the summit pictures along with a few view pictures, and checked the time. It was 2:01pm, and raining. That’s a pretty accurate weather forecast for the day.
We decided to get started on our exit hike. Much of the hike across Bond and Bondcliff was on a rocky tread way and once everything got wet the footing might become unpredictable. We had a good shower leaving West Bond but it stopped before we reached Bond and everything was dry on the trail over Bond to Bondcliff. We were able to move at a comfortable pace without any concerns about footing. Soon we were clearing Bondcliff for the second time and starting our descent. From Bondcliff to the truck was roughly 9.1 miles of downhill or relatively level trail. We expected an easy cruise back to Lincoln Woods.
The first half of our exit hike was on Bondcliff Trail. The trail was still dry with great footing, we made a brief stop to get some water on the way but generally had an easy stroll to the junction with Wilderness Trail. Roughly thirty minutes before reaching Wilderness Trail the expected afternoon rain started. It wasn’t a heavy rain but it was a steady rain; actually, it felt good. By the time we cleared the trail junction both of us had pack covers in place but no rain gear. As I said, the rain felt good.
We hit the railroad grade, made the turn, and settled into a 4.7 mile walk in the rain. I think we both liked it a lot. A short distance before reaching the Lincoln Woods suspension bridge the rain stopped. We walked into the parking area right on plan.
There was a short break in the action while we loaded our things into the truck, made a quick change into dry clothes, and prepared to leave. A couple minutes before pulling out of the parking space the rain returned. The break in the action while we packed and changed was very nice.
Soon we were on the highway south.
A side objective of the day was to test a light pair of hiking boots and footbed combination to see how my feet responded on a mid-distance hike. I’m happy to report the test went well. Previously, I would have started having problems with foot pain after ~12 – 14 miles. We completed the ~23 miles without having a single stop for foot pain. It’s been a while since that has happened. I’m happy. Now I’m ready to look at some longer routes. Hopefully there will be a few crazy hikes during the next few months.
Thanks Sue.
Pictures will follow.
Trails: Wilderness Trail, Bondcliff Trail, W. Bond Spur
Summits: Bondcliff, Mount Bond, West Bond
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue) and me
Hike Plan Considerations:
I’m re-thinking the approach to various hikes, and various peak combinations. Changing things up will offer some variety on peaks I’ve already climbed, perhaps introduce new routes and trails, and in some cases eliminate the need for a second vehicle. Having done the traverse between Zealand Road and Lincoln Woods a number of times, in each direction, it was time for a change. Even though it meant starting and ending the day with nearly five miles of Wilderness Trail, I decided an out-and-back from Lincoln Woods was due.
First, I made a quick comparison of the traverse versus out-and-back from Lincoln Woods. The traverse goes between Lincoln Woods and the end of Zealand Road including The Bonds, and Zealand. The out-and-back goes from Lincoln Woods to West Bond and u-turns back to Lincoln Woods; including only The Bonds. A number of times on the traverse, Mount Hale has also been included.
According to the White Mountain Guide (printed edition), the hikes come in at:
Traverse S-N: 19.8 miles, 4550 feet, 12hr 12min (book time)
Traverse N-S: 19.8 miles, 4050 feet, 11hr 55min (book time)
Out-and-back: 22.7 miles, 4540 feet, 13hr 40min (book time)
The traverse also gets Zealand; the out-and-back does not.
Driving considerations:
The traverse requires multiple vehicles; out-and-back requires only one.
Based on start and end in Nashua, and two vehicles for the traverse:
Out-and-back: 206 miles, ~9 gallons of fuel (@ 25mpg)
Traverse: 532 miles, 22 gallons of fuel (@ 25mpg)
In this simplistic comparison, it looks like an out-and-back trades ~1.5 hours of hike time for ~13 gallons of fuel. At today’s price, 13 gallons of Diesel costs me a little over $50. The savings means different things to different people. To me, it means another trip to the mountains.
Every previous time I have hiked The Bonds has been a traverse, in one direction or the other. Many times the traverse also included Hale, which comes in at roughly a mile less of a hike than the out-and-back from Lincoln Woods.
Removing Hale and Zealand from this hike simply sets the stage for other combinations. I’m sure the combination of Hale, Zealand, and The Twins from Haystack Road will be a loop I’ll hike before this summer is done.
The Hike
I had an early wake-up coming the next day plus the weather forecast for late afternoon predicted likely rain showers. We got started early expecting the hike to be completed at roughly a “book time” pace. The timing would get us out relatively early and hopefully we would be well back toward the Bondcliff – Wilderness trails junction before the weather changed.
The first 4.7 miles was like hiking an old railroad grade, exactly like hiking an old railroad grade. The first time Sue and I hiked together was on a S-N Bonds Traverse from Lincoln Woods. I recall after that hike thinking how much better it was to start the day on The Wilderness Trail than end it there. On this particular hike we’ll get it on both ends. A mile or two of Wilderness Trail isn’t bad but with five miles of the thing in one hike, twice, somewhere along the way it can start to get pretty old, twice.
We started out with a solid pace and made it to the junction with Bondcliff Trail well ahead of book time, made the turn, and started the climb. Based on memory of the trail, we were expecting quite a bit of mud on the lower part leading to the second significant crossing. In fact, the trail is very dry and free of mud. There are a couple small areas that are very easy to get past with clean boots. We cleared both crossings and started picking up elevation at a greater rate.
The trail from the second crossing to the summit of Bondcliff is in terrific shape. I don’t recall any blowdowns at all. We worked our way to the summit at a steady pace with a few stops along the way for me to keep the heart rate where it needed to be. Eventually, the trail got very rocky, the trees were much smaller, and we came to the small section of ledge that led to the scrub at the treeline. That ledge is more like a steep set of stairs than anything else and we barely slowed on our way through. Soon we were above the scrub and enjoying our first 360 degree views for the day.
We continued up the final short climb to the summit and decided to get our usual summit pictures then and not gamble on the weather conditions later in the hike. We had cloudy conditions but everything was still dry. Sue and I took turns with the camera. One hit the cliff for the required pose while the other worked the cameras, and then we swapped places. After the pictures and quick refreshment we were on our way to Mount Bond.
Everything was still dry but we had dark clouds everywhere. The mid-range views were pretty nice but the distance views were limited by haze. It’s a relatively short walk from Bondcliff to Mount Bond. Along the way we met several others. My hearing is very bad and without hearing aids that can tolerate high amounts of moisture I miss a lot of things that are said around me. At one point, roughly half-way to the summit of Mount Bond, we met two guys descending. They stepped off the trail to let us pass. After we passed and we all continued on our way, Sue told me that one of the guys said hi to me by name and must have known me. I hope if you’re reading this you’ll accept my apology for not responding; I didn’t hear you - sorry.
A few minutes later we were on Mount Bond getting our summit pictures there. We were still enjoying dry conditions. Before starting out early in the morning, both Sue and I checked the weather forecasts. The prediction was for likely rain showers from 2:00pm on. After taking care of the summit formalities on Mount Bond we got back on the trail for West Bond, 1.1 trail-miles away; .6 miles on Bondcliff Trail and .5 miles on West Bond Spur. At various places along the hike I checked my hike notes and found we were hiking on-plan all the way. We stayed with the same pace and were soon on final approach to West Bond. A short distance below the summit Sue and I stepped off the trail to allow a large group to pass. We previously saw them on Mount Bond, leaving as we were arriving. We made our way to the summit, got the summit pictures along with a few view pictures, and checked the time. It was 2:01pm, and raining. That’s a pretty accurate weather forecast for the day.
We decided to get started on our exit hike. Much of the hike across Bond and Bondcliff was on a rocky tread way and once everything got wet the footing might become unpredictable. We had a good shower leaving West Bond but it stopped before we reached Bond and everything was dry on the trail over Bond to Bondcliff. We were able to move at a comfortable pace without any concerns about footing. Soon we were clearing Bondcliff for the second time and starting our descent. From Bondcliff to the truck was roughly 9.1 miles of downhill or relatively level trail. We expected an easy cruise back to Lincoln Woods.
The first half of our exit hike was on Bondcliff Trail. The trail was still dry with great footing, we made a brief stop to get some water on the way but generally had an easy stroll to the junction with Wilderness Trail. Roughly thirty minutes before reaching Wilderness Trail the expected afternoon rain started. It wasn’t a heavy rain but it was a steady rain; actually, it felt good. By the time we cleared the trail junction both of us had pack covers in place but no rain gear. As I said, the rain felt good.
We hit the railroad grade, made the turn, and settled into a 4.7 mile walk in the rain. I think we both liked it a lot. A short distance before reaching the Lincoln Woods suspension bridge the rain stopped. We walked into the parking area right on plan.
There was a short break in the action while we loaded our things into the truck, made a quick change into dry clothes, and prepared to leave. A couple minutes before pulling out of the parking space the rain returned. The break in the action while we packed and changed was very nice.
Soon we were on the highway south.
A side objective of the day was to test a light pair of hiking boots and footbed combination to see how my feet responded on a mid-distance hike. I’m happy to report the test went well. Previously, I would have started having problems with foot pain after ~12 – 14 miles. We completed the ~23 miles without having a single stop for foot pain. It’s been a while since that has happened. I’m happy. Now I’m ready to look at some longer routes. Hopefully there will be a few crazy hikes during the next few months.
Thanks Sue.
Pictures will follow.
