BIGEarl
Well-known member
October 23, 2009: Garfield Ridge Traverse – Plus a little
Trails: North Twin Trail, North Twin Spur, Twinway, Frost Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail (End2End), Greenleaf Trail, Old Bridle Path
Summits: North Twin, South Twin, Galehead, Garfield, Lafayette
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), and me
The original plan included Lincoln and an exit via Falling Waters Trail. Sometimes plans change.
With bad weather conditions before and after, the weather forecast for the day was terrific. We had already delayed this hike due to poor visibility. The route has great views from start to finish and we wanted to be able to enjoy them. All of the usual weather forecasting sites were singing the same tune and we had a high confidence level in enjoying a good weather day.
It’s a long hike and an early start was required. We both drove north and stopped on the way past the Falling Waters/OBP trailhead to leave one of our vehicles. Then, we headed to the end of Haystack Road and the trailhead lot for the North Twin Trail to get the party started. The days are getting much shorter which only means more headlight use. In this case we used headlights for approximately the first three miles of the hike. This included the crossing of Little River, which was interesting with higher than usual water conditions. We made it through with dry feet.
As usual, the hike to North Twin was a long warm-up for me. From the crossing of Little River to the summit is 2.4 miles and 2400 feet in elevation – that rate always gets my attention. We took our time and managed to hit the summit slightly later than planned. We went through a short period of confusion while attempting to follow the herd path bypass of the first two Little River crossings which cost us some time. At the North Twin summit we had mostly clear sky, the sun was coming up and bringing the temperature with it, and there were beautiful undercast conditions in the distance views. Since we were a little later than planned and knew the views on South Twin were great we got our summit shots and set off for the next target.
I don’t often ask for favors but I’m asking now. There are a lot of women in our hiking community. The North Twin Spur had been a very small place until mtdave went through and opened it up. The next time any of you see Dave, please give him a big kiss on the cheek for me. The North Twin Spur is now a real pleasure to hike because of his hard work.
We made our way to South Twin (with added layers due to the cold conditions and Microspikes for the ice – winter is coming). There we had great distance views to enjoy. We hung around there for a while, got our pictures, and started the descent to the AMC Galehead Hut and Galehead Mountain. We had a short day with a long hike and needed to keep moving. On our descent we met the first other hikers on the trail – a couple guys headed for South Twin. After a brief visit we were hiking for Galehead. We reached the hut and kept going, we could stop for a snack on the way back through. Compared to the other summits on our plan, Galehead is little more than a big speed bump. We made our way to the summit, stopping at the viewpoint along the way, got the summit shots and u-turned back to the hut. On the way down we passed three other hikers headed for the summit. We reached the hut, the wind was calm, the sun was baking the front porch, and suddenly I was hungry. It would have been easy to take a nap in the sun on the porch benches but we still had a lot of hike to complete.
We finished our break and started our end2end hike of the Garfield Ridge Trail. Still on MicroSpikes we found the hiking conditions to be pretty good. There was enough ice on the trail to make the added traction a good idea. Overall, the Garfield Ridge Trail is clear with only a light dusting of snow in areas that don’t receive direct sun exposure. Otherwise the trail is clear, except for the ice on sections of ledge and rocks. After approximately half way to Mount Garfield we decided to remove the MicroSpikes. In roughly twenty minutes we were putting them back on. There is enough ice to opt for the added safety of a little extra traction.
We passed the junction with the Franconia Brook Trail and started the climb. Last time we passed through this area there was a significant water flow coming down the steep section of the trail below the Garfield Ridge Campsite. Conditions have improved. There is still some water but much less than before. We made a quick stop at the campsite for some water – I made a quart of Gatorade, and we headed for the summit. There was a light breeze at the summit and the temps were still cool. After getting our pictures we climbed inside of the old foundation to get out of the wind and have some refreshments. Again, we’re in a sunny spot where a nap would be easy. The amount of hike remaining to reach Lafayette was on display from the summit of Garfield and we needed to keep moving. Off we went.
Sue and I agree, even though there is an elevation loss of 1200 feet and a gain of over 2000 feet, the section of trail between Garfield and Lafayette is the best part of the Garfield Ridge Trail. We made our way down from the summit of Garfield and settled into this great trail. The hiking conditions are terrific with clear trail and very little mud along the way. Occasionally we came to open areas that showed the remaining distance to Lafayette. By now the sky was overcast with very high clouds. So far, the weather guys had treated us well for the day. We knew a storm was expected to arrive late, after midnight, and were not overly concerned. We started into the climb of Lafayette. It’s late in the day, late in a long hike, late in available energy, and things are slowing down. We stopped as needed but kept focused on the climb to Lafayette. We knew our arrival would be in darkness. With roughly 1000 feet in elevation to go we pulled out the headlights and would actually turn them on a couple hundred feet below the treeline.
As we started to approach the treeline the breeze we were enjoying all day turned into a strong wind. The thick growth was keeping us sheltered from it but clearly we had an interesting climb to the summit waiting for us. It seems the storm that was expected to arrive after midnight was a few hours early. We reached the scrub below the Garfield Ridge – Skookumchuck trails junction and realized more protection was needed. Sue was first to pull out her rain jacket (great for wind protection), and I followed. The wind was interesting, early it was strong from the southwest but it changed to easterly and then from the south. I don’t have any way of knowing for sure but the wind felt like it was in the forty to fifty miles per hour range, and very gusty. I’ve experienced winds at this level before and this wind seemed familiar. We hit the treeline and quickly realized some extra light would be helpful. One of my headlights throws a really nice long beam that helps in finding cairns so I made the change.
On the climb past the Skookumchuck trail junction we were getting hit hard with the gusty conditions. A number of times I nearly went down. Along the way the trail passes around large boulders where we stopped for shelter and for me to catch my breath. Slowly we made our way to the summit of North Lafayette. At this point the wind was blasting from the southwest, the cloud layer was dropping fast and we frequently had clouds blowing past in front of our lights, precipitation had started, and the beautiful day was gone. One way or another, the summit of Lafayette was needed since that was a key to our exit. We continued on to the summit. There we got a couple summit shots (of course), and decided the smart move was an early exit. The initial plan included Lincoln but hiking Franconia Ridge under these conditions seemed like a bad idea. We took the Greenleaf Trail off the summit. For roughly half of the distance down to the Greenleaf Hut the clouds seemed to be chasing us. We were always just beyond their grasp with occasional slugs of cloud visible blowing across in our headlight beam. Eventually, we hit the first section of scrub on our descent and enjoyed a break from the high wind. We passed through another short exposed section and then dropped into the thick scrub around Eagle Lakes. We reached the hut, changed to the Old Bridle Path and started our exit.
I have hiked the Old Bridle Path quite a few times and have always enjoyed it a great deal. Not this time! We’re at the end of a long hike, pretty tired, sore feet, knees have been beaten up on the descent from Lafayette, precipitation is falling, and Agony Ridge is living up to its name. What can you do? We hiked. Roughly a third of the way down the trail we retired the MicroSpikes for the remainder of the hike. Once we cleared the Agonies life improved. The trail eased up on us and all we needed to do was finish the hike. At the final viewpoint on the trail, for some reason I turned to look back toward the summit of Lafayette. There, we could see headlights. Others had arrived to the summit of Lafayette.
We turned and made the final run to the trailhead and our getaway car. That was easy!
Another memorable hike completed and now in the books. Thanks Sue for another terrific day in the mountains and for sharing your vacation with me. It’s been a fun time.
Rest up for next week; I’ll try for something interesting.
Pictures will follow.
Trails: North Twin Trail, North Twin Spur, Twinway, Frost Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail (End2End), Greenleaf Trail, Old Bridle Path
Summits: North Twin, South Twin, Galehead, Garfield, Lafayette
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), and me
The original plan included Lincoln and an exit via Falling Waters Trail. Sometimes plans change.
With bad weather conditions before and after, the weather forecast for the day was terrific. We had already delayed this hike due to poor visibility. The route has great views from start to finish and we wanted to be able to enjoy them. All of the usual weather forecasting sites were singing the same tune and we had a high confidence level in enjoying a good weather day.
It’s a long hike and an early start was required. We both drove north and stopped on the way past the Falling Waters/OBP trailhead to leave one of our vehicles. Then, we headed to the end of Haystack Road and the trailhead lot for the North Twin Trail to get the party started. The days are getting much shorter which only means more headlight use. In this case we used headlights for approximately the first three miles of the hike. This included the crossing of Little River, which was interesting with higher than usual water conditions. We made it through with dry feet.
As usual, the hike to North Twin was a long warm-up for me. From the crossing of Little River to the summit is 2.4 miles and 2400 feet in elevation – that rate always gets my attention. We took our time and managed to hit the summit slightly later than planned. We went through a short period of confusion while attempting to follow the herd path bypass of the first two Little River crossings which cost us some time. At the North Twin summit we had mostly clear sky, the sun was coming up and bringing the temperature with it, and there were beautiful undercast conditions in the distance views. Since we were a little later than planned and knew the views on South Twin were great we got our summit shots and set off for the next target.
I don’t often ask for favors but I’m asking now. There are a lot of women in our hiking community. The North Twin Spur had been a very small place until mtdave went through and opened it up. The next time any of you see Dave, please give him a big kiss on the cheek for me. The North Twin Spur is now a real pleasure to hike because of his hard work.
We made our way to South Twin (with added layers due to the cold conditions and Microspikes for the ice – winter is coming). There we had great distance views to enjoy. We hung around there for a while, got our pictures, and started the descent to the AMC Galehead Hut and Galehead Mountain. We had a short day with a long hike and needed to keep moving. On our descent we met the first other hikers on the trail – a couple guys headed for South Twin. After a brief visit we were hiking for Galehead. We reached the hut and kept going, we could stop for a snack on the way back through. Compared to the other summits on our plan, Galehead is little more than a big speed bump. We made our way to the summit, stopping at the viewpoint along the way, got the summit shots and u-turned back to the hut. On the way down we passed three other hikers headed for the summit. We reached the hut, the wind was calm, the sun was baking the front porch, and suddenly I was hungry. It would have been easy to take a nap in the sun on the porch benches but we still had a lot of hike to complete.
We finished our break and started our end2end hike of the Garfield Ridge Trail. Still on MicroSpikes we found the hiking conditions to be pretty good. There was enough ice on the trail to make the added traction a good idea. Overall, the Garfield Ridge Trail is clear with only a light dusting of snow in areas that don’t receive direct sun exposure. Otherwise the trail is clear, except for the ice on sections of ledge and rocks. After approximately half way to Mount Garfield we decided to remove the MicroSpikes. In roughly twenty minutes we were putting them back on. There is enough ice to opt for the added safety of a little extra traction.
We passed the junction with the Franconia Brook Trail and started the climb. Last time we passed through this area there was a significant water flow coming down the steep section of the trail below the Garfield Ridge Campsite. Conditions have improved. There is still some water but much less than before. We made a quick stop at the campsite for some water – I made a quart of Gatorade, and we headed for the summit. There was a light breeze at the summit and the temps were still cool. After getting our pictures we climbed inside of the old foundation to get out of the wind and have some refreshments. Again, we’re in a sunny spot where a nap would be easy. The amount of hike remaining to reach Lafayette was on display from the summit of Garfield and we needed to keep moving. Off we went.
Sue and I agree, even though there is an elevation loss of 1200 feet and a gain of over 2000 feet, the section of trail between Garfield and Lafayette is the best part of the Garfield Ridge Trail. We made our way down from the summit of Garfield and settled into this great trail. The hiking conditions are terrific with clear trail and very little mud along the way. Occasionally we came to open areas that showed the remaining distance to Lafayette. By now the sky was overcast with very high clouds. So far, the weather guys had treated us well for the day. We knew a storm was expected to arrive late, after midnight, and were not overly concerned. We started into the climb of Lafayette. It’s late in the day, late in a long hike, late in available energy, and things are slowing down. We stopped as needed but kept focused on the climb to Lafayette. We knew our arrival would be in darkness. With roughly 1000 feet in elevation to go we pulled out the headlights and would actually turn them on a couple hundred feet below the treeline.
As we started to approach the treeline the breeze we were enjoying all day turned into a strong wind. The thick growth was keeping us sheltered from it but clearly we had an interesting climb to the summit waiting for us. It seems the storm that was expected to arrive after midnight was a few hours early. We reached the scrub below the Garfield Ridge – Skookumchuck trails junction and realized more protection was needed. Sue was first to pull out her rain jacket (great for wind protection), and I followed. The wind was interesting, early it was strong from the southwest but it changed to easterly and then from the south. I don’t have any way of knowing for sure but the wind felt like it was in the forty to fifty miles per hour range, and very gusty. I’ve experienced winds at this level before and this wind seemed familiar. We hit the treeline and quickly realized some extra light would be helpful. One of my headlights throws a really nice long beam that helps in finding cairns so I made the change.
On the climb past the Skookumchuck trail junction we were getting hit hard with the gusty conditions. A number of times I nearly went down. Along the way the trail passes around large boulders where we stopped for shelter and for me to catch my breath. Slowly we made our way to the summit of North Lafayette. At this point the wind was blasting from the southwest, the cloud layer was dropping fast and we frequently had clouds blowing past in front of our lights, precipitation had started, and the beautiful day was gone. One way or another, the summit of Lafayette was needed since that was a key to our exit. We continued on to the summit. There we got a couple summit shots (of course), and decided the smart move was an early exit. The initial plan included Lincoln but hiking Franconia Ridge under these conditions seemed like a bad idea. We took the Greenleaf Trail off the summit. For roughly half of the distance down to the Greenleaf Hut the clouds seemed to be chasing us. We were always just beyond their grasp with occasional slugs of cloud visible blowing across in our headlight beam. Eventually, we hit the first section of scrub on our descent and enjoyed a break from the high wind. We passed through another short exposed section and then dropped into the thick scrub around Eagle Lakes. We reached the hut, changed to the Old Bridle Path and started our exit.
I have hiked the Old Bridle Path quite a few times and have always enjoyed it a great deal. Not this time! We’re at the end of a long hike, pretty tired, sore feet, knees have been beaten up on the descent from Lafayette, precipitation is falling, and Agony Ridge is living up to its name. What can you do? We hiked. Roughly a third of the way down the trail we retired the MicroSpikes for the remainder of the hike. Once we cleared the Agonies life improved. The trail eased up on us and all we needed to do was finish the hike. At the final viewpoint on the trail, for some reason I turned to look back toward the summit of Lafayette. There, we could see headlights. Others had arrived to the summit of Lafayette.
We turned and made the final run to the trailhead and our getaway car. That was easy!
Another memorable hike completed and now in the books. Thanks Sue for another terrific day in the mountains and for sharing your vacation with me. It’s been a fun time.
Rest up for next week; I’ll try for something interesting.
Pictures will follow.
