Day Tripping the Bond's??

I was hoping to hear from those that have done the Bond trio as a day trip. If you've done it, I'd like to hear your experience.

I did the Bonds last week (Fri. 3rd). They completed my goal of hiking all 48 4 k`s. I had some trouble with cramping in my legs (both of them), but I got through it and we made it. I was tired at the end of the day, but it was well worth it. They were some of the most beautiful views I`ve ever seen, especially from Bondcliff. It took us 11 hrs. 45 min. We did a traverse from Zealand rd. to Lincoln woods.

I did it a week ago. Took us book time (just under 12 hours )plus about 1 hour or so of breaks about 13 hours from Zealand to Lincoln Woods many folks do it faster (I have) I am not a fast hiker. I have done it both ways and far prefer the N to S as the last 5 miles of Lincoln woods trail is far preferable on "autopilot" at the end of the hike than the Zeacliff to Zealand Road plus there is slight difference in total elevation climbed. Start out with minimal water and then tank up at Zealand Hut. Skip the spur to Guyot Shelter and plan your water to the first Black Brook crossing south of Bondcliff. To avoid cramps I use Nuun electrolyte tabs in hot weather, some folks don't but I find they really help. The biggest issue is planning your breaks, its real easy to spend way to far at Zealand Hut, Zeacliff, Guyot, West Bond, Bond and Bondcliff. Many folks rationalize that they can hang out at Bondcliff extra long as its the last summit but its darn close to only half way. If you don't mind starting early and ending late take the long breaks (every one is worth it and hard to leave) but if time is a issue you have to keep an eye on the watch. Some folks do it out and back from Lincoln Woods. Its a longer distance but some folks can run the Lincoln Woods trail and much of Bondcliff trail (I cant). If you need Zealand, some folks out and back if from Zealand Road but again its slightly longer.

I’ve done it both ways as a day hike and prefer the N-S route for the reasons Peakbagger mentioned. The biggest surprise is that Zealand Mt. is not just around the corner from Zealand Hut, and requires some more climbing. Once you reach Guyot, your climbing is done with just a few ups to West Bond, Bond, and Bondcliff. The interesting part of the hike is that once you finish on Bondcliff, and after the celebration subsides, you come to the realization that you still have about 9 miles to your car. Though the hike out is easy, yet it can get long and boring. About half-way out I start thinking about food and wine, it keeps me going.

The Bonds in Two Trips

I did the Bonds in two trips (I like to stop and smell the roses as they say). I did West bond from Zealand, bagging Zealand along the way. Stopped at Zeaclifts on the way back and spent a couple of hours enjoying the view and listening to tails from thru hikers..

I did Bondcliff and Bond from Lincoln Woods. Again, I stopped many times to enjoy the view and take pictures. I bought a water purifier just for this hike. It was worth it's weight in gold as far as I'm concerned. It weighs less than a liter of water, letting me carry only three liters at a time. I filled up at the Black Brook when it parallels the trail up around 3200 ft and again at the same place on the way back. Funny thing, I also filled bottles for three hiker, from two different groups on way down. They only carried three liters for the entire hike. I can't stress enough how important it is to carrier enough water or make plans to refill at least eight to ten liters for the 22+ miles hike.

The hike from the Bonds to Lincoln Woods is a cake walk after you get down from elevation. I started 1/2 hour before sunrise and ended a couple of hours after sunset. Having a head lamp of course.

Like I said I take my time and smell the roses along the way.

Enjoy the hike. It's one of the best.

Walker

PS. When atop Bondcliff, try to find any man-made object. You can't. Yhe Whites at it's best!

"To avoid cramps I use Nuun electrolyte tabs in hot weather". Thanks for the info on the electrolyte tabs. It was the second time I had probs. with cramps. A nice, kind gent saw I was having an issue between Zealand and Guyot. He gave me a "salt" tablet to dissolve in my water, and it helped a lot. I`m going to make sure I am better prepared next time. In my daily life, I try to limit my salt intake to avoid a high blood pressure problem. Especially in the summer mos. I think I need the extra electrolytes. Where do they sell these ?

walker said:

I can't stress enough how important it is to carrier enough water or make plans to refill at least eight to ten liters for the 22+ miles hike.

Click to expand...

Wouldn't it depend on conditions? I've done 5-6L for the Bonds in summer, 2-4 in the winter. 8-10 is a LOT. If you don't mind the taste, you can make a traverse via Zealand Falls Hut - 1L to the hut, fill up there, and then at Black Brook on the way down from Bondcliff. Or, if you're going to filter Black Brook anyway, you can filter at Zealand Falls itself.

richard said:

Where do they sell these ?

Click to expand...

Most bike shops do - try Cycles Etc right here at home in Manchester - over on Second Street, near Naults Honda.

Tim

Salt tabs are better than nothing but a mix of potassium with salt is important. Doug Paul has posted a homemade recipe many times on VFTT which is basically Morton Lite Salt and enough sweetened drink mix to cover the brine taste. I like Nuun tabs as they are convenient and premeasured with some non sugar flavoring. I buy four packs from Amazon and they are cheaper than buying them at an outfitter. They also have caffeine enhanced versions.

I used to have them later in the afternoon but now mix up a bottle about mid morning for long hikes. I did find that Nuun actually counteracted the weird tasting water at Zealand Hut.

Thanks, Peakbagger. I will definitely try these .

To reiterate, 8-10L is a LOT.

For the Lincoln Woods - Bondcliff Trail route, you're following streams until the last Black Brook crossing around 3000ft elevation (Though I prefer to fill up at the second-to-last, at 2800). Then it's 6 miles roundtrip for the three peaks, with an option to detour to the source below Guyot shelter if you run low at the halfway point. "Drink ahead" at the Black Brook crossing and three or four liters should be plenty (and you can keep your bottles mostly empty the rest of the day). If I remember correctly, I did it on a very hot August day with three 0.75-liter bottles and a filter (though I think I skipped West Bond that day, in the interest of time).

For the Zealand falls approach, it's a bit over four miles from the hut to the Guyot shelter turn-off, then about five roundtrip over the three peaks. I've never done that route as a day trip, so descent to Guyot shelter and spring was always baked into the plan. I normally carry two 0.75-liter bottles, though I'll sometimes add an extra liter on a very hot day and/or a route that will keep me on a dry ridge for a while.

For clarity's sake, I have a 3L hydration bladder and so I usually just attach the drinking tube to the output nipple on the pump/filter. If I am likely to drink more than 3L on a day trip, then I usually bring less water, planning to pump, and toss in a quart bottle of Gatorade. I never put anything that might cause bacteria growth in the hydration bladder.

Tim

BISCUT said:

I was hoping to hear from those that have done the Bond trio as a day trip. If you've done it, I'd like to hear your experience.

Click to expand...

Does 20 hours count as a day trip ? From Lincoln woods and back: http://1slowhiker.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-bonds-3-18-14.html
I had also did them as an overnight from Zealand staying overnight at guyot: http://1slowhiker.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-3-bonds-nov-11-2012.html Both are in my favorite hikes list probably only second to Katadin.

richard said:

In my daily life, I try to limit my salt intake to avoid a high blood pressure problem. Especially in the summer mos. I think I need the extra electrolytes. Where do they sell these ?

Click to expand...

Commercial electrolytes are available in pre-mixed bottles, powder, and tablet form. You can also make your own (see below). (Electrolytes dissolved in water are better than separate salt tablets plus water because you get both in the proper proportions.)

peakbagger said:

Salt tabs are better than nothing but a mix of potassium with salt is important. Doug Paul has posted a homemade recipe many times on VFTT which is basically Morton Lite Salt and enough sweetened drink mix to cover the brine taste.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the plug...

Morton Lite Salt is sodium chloride (salt) plus potassium chloride--just right for an electrolyte drink.

See http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?4914-Long-distance-nutrition&p=54650&v
iewfull=1#post54650 for the recipe. (The entire thread is worth reading.)

Some other relevant threads:
http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?7093-Salt-Tablets
http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?7351-Heat-Illness-and-Hiking
http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?11541-Have-you-had-enough-to-drink
http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?6133-Drinking-too-much-water-on-the-trail
http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?16598-Mythbusters-Sports-Drinks-and-Trail-Mix
http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?38543-question-for-nutritionists-potassium-3500mg-day

I personally lose too much salt in my sweat and by the end of an active hot day don't have enough salt left to maintain adequate hydration (mild-to-medium hyponatremia). (I can still drink, but just piss it right back out.) I experimented with some commercial electrolytes and developed the above formulation. By using my electrolyte, I now can maintain good hydration throughout such days. For instance, I was out doing trail maintenance in 80F+ degree heat for 7:30 yesterday. My hydration level was perfect at the end of the day...

Doug

Have only done them as a day trips. Once an out and back from LW. Oh joy! 2 N-S traverses. 1 summer and 1 winter. The N-S traverse is probably the most popular. Don't remember the winter but the 2 summer trips I carried 5L of fluids. I've also done an out and back from LW to Bond, and once to only Bondcliff. The last on the way up, or first on the way down, crossing of Black Brook seems to be a pretty reliable water source. At least from what I've seen.

The upper crossing of black brook was dry two years ago in August we were heading N to S and one of the group was dry and I lent him my last bottle. There was plenty of water at the next crossing down.

peakbagger said:

The upper crossing of black brook was dry two years ago in August we were heading N to S and one of the group was dry and I lent him my last bottle. There was plenty of water at the next crossing down.

Click to expand...

Interesting. This was it two years ago in July. I personally have never seen it any other way. But, have only been there 3 times in seasons it's not frozen.

richard said:

"To avoid cramps I use Nuun electrolyte tabs in hot weather". Thanks for the info on the electrolyte tabs. It was the second time I had probs. with cramps. A nice, kind gent saw I was having an issue between Zealand and Guyot. He gave me a "salt" tablet to dissolve in my water, and it helped a lot. I`m going to make sure I am better prepared next time. In my daily life, I try to limit my salt intake to avoid a high blood pressure problem. Especially in the summer mos. I think I need the extra electrolytes. Where do they sell these ?

Click to expand...

I like Nuun as well, although I make my own concoction like Doug Paul.

I calculated out that a teaspoon of NoSalt (Potassium Chloride) contains pretty close to the same amount of potassium as a quart of coconut water ($4). I was dissolving a tsp in a liter of water near daily for awhile but have backed off since my sweating has backed off a bit. This is just potassium though, no sodium. Sometimes I added some flavoring like a small amount of powder mix, but often just drank slightly salty water. YMMV, but added potassium is the only supplement I have seen affect my hydration and more specifically, my recovery the following day.

Will reinforce that 8-10 liters of water in one day is a LOT: saw a good article recently on too much water: it's as dangerous as too little. Be aware that under heavy sweat-stress, you are by definition throwing off your salt & mineral levels. Drink a lot of water, yes, and include electrolytes as DougPaul says, but just add in food (salty food! like bacon & pepperoni) to help balance things out. Dilute too much and you'll be bumming.

Great hike, unbelievably beautiful. Enjoy!

Did two out of three + Zealand last week, (Bond and West Bond) . I was finishing my 4K solos which I needed Zealand and just wanted a better hike with some of the best views in the Whites. Started at 7:30 and finished at 6:20. Stayed at the hut maybe 20 -25 minutes sitting out some of the AM showers and took too long trying to get some Gray Jay's to pose for the camera on my hand at Zealand.

Less elevation gain from Zealand but if you do Bondcliff, you have to re-climb Bond which is about 700 feet and climb Zealand which isn't very high but it's about 15 miles into your trip. A car spot or key swap with friends is the best way to go.

Had cheese, trail mix, PB and crackers. Half a bottle to the hut, filled three there and got back to the hut with some left. Filled one bottle for the walk out 1/2 water and 1/2 lemonade from the hut. Was fresh enough to hike Thursday (Moats Traverse) & Friday, (Moriah).

In dry seasons, the two highest crossings of Black Brook can be dry. I've seen it that way many times. The lower two crossings are reliable.

Tim