Twins & Galehead

[ytmountains]

H All ... quick question
I'm getting conflicting estimates and guesstamets about the length of this trip using the bushwack to the north Twin TH.
Do any of you knowledgeable trampers out there know the exact mileage. I'm getting a bit under 15 Miles by my account.

Thanks, it is good to be back after a year plus caring for injuries.

John

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

On my site I claim that the Galehead-Twins loop, with cars at both summer trailheads, is 12 miles. I don't know the distance from the Seven Dwarves to the summer trailhead, but strongly suspect it is less than three miles. Will be doing North Twin on Saturday and will record the track on my GPSr, so by Sunday I should have a number for you.

 

[ytmountains]

Perfect

Thanks Mohamed that is very nice of you and is much appreciated. I figured the bushwack to the TH was 1 mile and then out to the spotted car close to 2 or 2 1/2

 

[Mike P.]

Where is you car spotted for the return? Sounds like you planning on coming Gale River trail & then the road walk back to Route 3.

Best spot for a car spot is at the Beaver Brook XS area a mile or so up the road. I've done it Galehead & ST from there. Going in there you take the far right ski trail which circles around a bit & comes to the back of the clearing near the jct of Gale River Road where the road turns right to the trailhead & the other road goes straight. (to the water supply property I think) This saves about a mile of road walking.

 

[1HappyHiker]

Best spot for a car spot is at the Beaver Brook XS area a mile or so up the road. I've done it Galehead & ST from there. Going in there you take the far right ski trail which circles around a bit & comes to the back of the clearing near the jct of Gale River Road

Agree with Mike P. The X-C trail is the best way to access the Gale River trailhead in the winter.

Don’t know how familiar you are with the area, but the map at the link below might be of some help. I hand-inserted the location of the Beaver Brook rest area, and hand-drew the X-C ski trail. So those 2 particular map features might not be completely accurate, but it should give you a pretty good idea.
Map

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

Just made my first Google map, which shows more or less what 1HappyHiker's map shows, but uses the GPS tracklog of the XC ski trail and the start of the Gale River Trail, plus waypoints for the main features. Check it out here!

I hope to post a more useful map, showing access to the N Twin trailhead, after tomorrow's hike.

 

[RoySwkr]

I don't know the distance from the Seven Dwarves to the summer trailhead, but strongly suspect it is less than three miles.

If you look in one of your old WMG, you will find that the distance from the old trailhead to the new is something like .9 miles, SD will be slightly farther.

Where is you car spotted for the return? Sounds like you planning on coming Gale River trail & then the road walk back to Route 3.

Best spot for a car spot is at the Beaver Brook XS area a mile or so up the road.

The WMG gives the road walk distance as 1.6 miles I think, hence your 15 miles is just slightly high.

Disadvantages of Beaver Brk vs 5 Corners
* Have to find connector on way out possibly in dark, might be tough if you didn't come in that way
* Need to wear snowshoes to avoid postholing ski tracks
* Need to pay parking fee

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

If you look in one of your old WMG, you will find that the distance from the old trailhead to the new is something like .9 miles, SD will be slightly farther.

I am in Thornton and for some strange reason my old WMGs are in Brookline. So I am not sure where the old trailhead is, nor where the old trail went.

My friends taught me a route to the N Twin trailhead that takes a snowmobile trail more or less south to Haystack Rd, which is used for final access. Today, on my way back, I found set of ski tracks that left Haystack Rd immediately north of the bridge that is just north of the trailhead. I was obviously curious and followed the tracks. They used an old logging road (quite wide) that was between Haystack Rd and the river, which it reached at the bridge near Little River Rd.

When I got home and plotted the track in MapSource I saw that it followed what appeared to be a trail. Since MapSource topos are derived from USGS maps the trail information is obviously old, which can be a feature in a case such as this.

I have plotted my data in Google maps, and temporarily labeled the new, to me, route "Original N Twin trail". Is that correct?

The route I am familiar with (using the snowmobile trail) is about 1.2 miles from the turnaround (where we parked) to the trailhead. The new (to me) route is 0.9 miles. The walk along Haystack Rd. (where there is no designated parking) from RT. 3 is, according to the WMG, 2.5 miles.

 

[1HappyHiker]

1932 USGS Map

I have plotted my data in Google maps, and temporarily labeled the new, to me, route "Original N Twin trail". Is that correct?

Mohammed, below is a link to the 1932 USGS map.
1932 USGS Map (Click on the map to expand it to original size.)

Looks like your track might more or less correspond to the “original” N Twin Trail. But make the comparison and judge for yourself.

I used to take the snowmobile route, but like you, I sort of stumbled upon the “original” North Twin Trail a few years ago. So, now it’s the route I’ve used for the past 2 winters.

 

[RoySwkr]

They used an old logging road (quite wide) that was between Haystack Rd and the river, which it reached at the bridge near Little River Rd.

Actually the old RR grade that the trail continues on

I've used both routes also, depends on leader and breaking difficulty as the trail is slightly shorter