Parking

I will be heading up to NH this July 4th weekend. My friend was in charge of camping reservations and could only find availability at Country Bumpkins where they only allow 1 car per site. Unfortunately we will be arriving on dif days so I don't know where I could park. I asked the campgrounds & she didn't have any suggestions.

Do you think I could just leave my car at a nearby trailhead parking area? I don't mind paying the parking fee even though I won't be hiking that particular trail.

Also we'll be doing Zealand-Bond traverse. I would like to be around the Bond area around sunset. Just wondering what the trail down is like since it would be in the dark. Is it all rocks? If so are they slippery?

Thanks

If you pay for parking pass, you can leave it overnight even if you aren't hiking. I would suggest a more popular parking spot for security reasons. I don't know where Country Bumpkins is so cant suggest anywherre

The hike down from Bond to Bondcliff is 99% rock hopping. The hike down from Bondcliff to Lincoln woods starts out rocky and eventually turns into far less rocky after the first stream crossing. By the third stream cr4ossing its good footing. Once you hit the old Lincoln Woods trail that parallels the river it is and old railroad bed, you can normally miss the railroad ties by staying far to the right. It is long walk out from Bondcliff to Lincoln Woods so make sure you have good headlamp batteries. You are also in a Wilderness area so blazes are slim to non existent. Bondcliff trail has been relocated in few areas so keep an eye out that you are actually on the new trail rather than the old one.

If you are in the whites for the weekend it worth buying a multiday pass instead of the $3 per day.

peakbagger said:

The hike down from Bond to Bondcliff is 99% rock hopping. The hike down from Bondcliff to Lincoln woods starts out rocky and eventually turns into far less rocky after the first stream crossing. By the third stream cr4ossing its good footing. Once you hit the old Lincoln Woods trail that parallels the river it is and old railroad bed, you can normally miss the railroad ties by staying far to the right. It is long walk out from Bondcliff to Lincoln Woods so make sure you have good headlamp batteries. You are also in a Wilderness area so blazes are slim to non existent. Bondcliff trail has been relocated in few areas so keep an eye out that you are actually on the new trail rather than the old one.

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The section of the Bondcliff Trail where it leaves Black Brook and cuts across to the railroad grades can be a little confusing in places even during the day. There are sections of open woods with rocky terrain that all looks the same. You'll want to take care in that section if it is dark, especially after walking so many miles where you might be tired. That last 4.6 miles is seriously boring and endless.

Ok thanks guess I'll pass on the sun setting

Sherry said:

Ok thanks guess I'll pass on the sun setting

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The mountains will probably be mobbed this weekend and so will Guyot shelter and tentsites but under less crowded circumstances a night out to watch that sunset could be a highlight of the hike.

I've taken in Sunsets from all 3 Bonds at different times, and they are fantastic if you can catch it right.

One of the only reason to put up with the "zoo" at Guyot shelter is the option to view sunset and sunrise from West Bond or Bond

As much as I'd love to catch a sun set or rise from the Bonds, I am not a backpacker so maybe another time with someone more experienced on this trail.

People usually find it much easier to deal with rough trails when heading up rather than down. If you don't mind a little disruption to your sleep cycle, you could go for a Bondcliff sunrise (and the hour or two following), which can be devastatingly beautiful on a largely clear, hazy summer morning. Book time to Bondcliff is approximately 6 hours. Adjust this time based on your knowledge of your own speed -- most people find that book time is overly conservative for this route given that 5 of the 9 miles are essentially flat. Sunrise is a few minutes after 5am.

Navigation is fairly straightforward, save for one tricky spot: if you're not paying close attention, you'll think that the trail goes across a stream, where in fact the trail turns left 90 degrees, going up a slight rise, right before the stream. This has cost my groups some time crossing the stream, looking for what happened to the trail, backtracking across the stream, and discovering the turn.

A plus of this strategy: NOooooo problem finding a parking space at Lincoln Woods at that hour . . .

Alex

Another "for the record" comment. Cars parking at WMNF do get broken into. Put everything out of sight, and park your car where it is well noticed - middle of the lot, near the road, etc.

Wherre does one get a parking pass nowdays?

Link from WMNF

I usually order online from https://www.myscenicdrives.com/store/item/forest-passes/white-mountain, but I have gotten them at the Campton USFS (exit 27) office and also at the Waterville Valley Visitor Center (exit 28). I mail-ordered them once from the WMNF directly but even though I said "I have one that expires this month, please punch it for next month", they punched it for LAST month so I got <12 months out of it... MyScenicDrives has twice punched it for 12+ months, so I go with them.

Tim

Campton USFS is off exit 27. The Waterville Valley visitor center off exit 28 is temporarily closed. You can get day parking passes in Lincoln exit 32 at the visitor center.

Montana said:

Campton USFS is off exit 27. The Waterville Valley visitor center off exit 28 is temporarily closed. You can get day parking passes in Lincoln exit 32 at the visitor center.

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Thx - I edited my post to say exit 27...

Tim