lrlhistory
New member
This was my first real introduction into the Whites, and what a spectacular hike. I have hiked extensively in the ADK 46 all seasons, but had only done a few smaller hikes in the Whites. I drove 4 hours and made it to the Zealand Rd. trailhead by my target start of 8am. I moved very quickly to the Zealand Hut, as I was out to catch up with my two aunts and their friend who had started about 1.5 hours before me. The weather was sunny and getting warmer and the woods were beautiful. The falls around the hut were nice and I stopped for a few pictures as well as water at the Hut.
I moved quickly up to the overlook which gave me my first fantastic views. I encountered small amounts of ice and snow around 3300' (?) but nothing that required traction. After passing several pairs of hikers I caught my party just before we summited Zealand. We moved on towards Guyot. As we made our way down the rocky open area to the intersection of the Bondcliff trail the real introduction to the Whites began and I snapped many great pictures, enjoyed a snack. Here we dumped some gear, and encountered the first Memorial weekend crowds heading in many directions.
Next was on to Bond. A cool wind provided some nice relief from the heat. We continued on to Bondcliff which was my favorite of the trip. Played on the rocks, took some more pictures and then headed for West Bond spur as the weather began to grow a bit darker. As we headed to West Bond the rain began to fall and we put on rain gear. Had a quick summit and congratulated a pair of 48 finishers and took their pictures. I took off first and charged ahead as I needed to make a quick side trip to Guyot campgrounds for another water fill up. By the time I hustled back up from the campsite the rain had stopped and I caught up with my crew back on Guyot. Again, traces of snow on the way to Bond, but nothing substantial.
The deepest snow spine was on the ridge walk towards S.Twin, but was still minor and stable. By the time we got over to South Twin we decided that it was late enough and the weather was looking dark enough to save N.Twin for another day. We made the steep descent down the rocks to the Galehead Hut. Luckily they had a cancellation which allowed me to stay at the hut along with my hiking partners who had RSVPs already. I had brought my hammock to camp if needed. Was glad to be in a bunk when I awoke the next morning to heavy rain.
We took off after breakfast without packs and tagged Galehead with a few misty views back at the Hut below. We grabbed our gear as the rain turned to mild drizzle and headed for Garfield. A slow but steady pace and lots of great conversation eventually led us overs some relatively substantial ice flows up to the final .2 mile trail to Garfield where we again dumped our packs and headed up. Here we encountered our first real winds, nothing dangerous but probably sustained 30mph +. After scrambling up the last few wet rocks, I was startled to find five or six people huddled in the foundation on top having lunch hunkered down.
We made the long trek out to our spotted cars. On the way out we encountered lots of families of hikers out for a wet Memorial day hike. The stream crossings at the bottom were rock-hops but nothing too difficult. This final stretch out was a nice moderate trail in good shape, but as usual this last 4.8 felt more like 6 or 7 miles. What an amazing weekend in the mountains, and 7 peaks towards my new goal of the 48! Definitely looking forward to getting back to NH, but admittedly a bit sore after something like 25 miles and 7K in two days.
I moved quickly up to the overlook which gave me my first fantastic views. I encountered small amounts of ice and snow around 3300' (?) but nothing that required traction. After passing several pairs of hikers I caught my party just before we summited Zealand. We moved on towards Guyot. As we made our way down the rocky open area to the intersection of the Bondcliff trail the real introduction to the Whites began and I snapped many great pictures, enjoyed a snack. Here we dumped some gear, and encountered the first Memorial weekend crowds heading in many directions.
Next was on to Bond. A cool wind provided some nice relief from the heat. We continued on to Bondcliff which was my favorite of the trip. Played on the rocks, took some more pictures and then headed for West Bond spur as the weather began to grow a bit darker. As we headed to West Bond the rain began to fall and we put on rain gear. Had a quick summit and congratulated a pair of 48 finishers and took their pictures. I took off first and charged ahead as I needed to make a quick side trip to Guyot campgrounds for another water fill up. By the time I hustled back up from the campsite the rain had stopped and I caught up with my crew back on Guyot. Again, traces of snow on the way to Bond, but nothing substantial.
The deepest snow spine was on the ridge walk towards S.Twin, but was still minor and stable. By the time we got over to South Twin we decided that it was late enough and the weather was looking dark enough to save N.Twin for another day. We made the steep descent down the rocks to the Galehead Hut. Luckily they had a cancellation which allowed me to stay at the hut along with my hiking partners who had RSVPs already. I had brought my hammock to camp if needed. Was glad to be in a bunk when I awoke the next morning to heavy rain.
We took off after breakfast without packs and tagged Galehead with a few misty views back at the Hut below. We grabbed our gear as the rain turned to mild drizzle and headed for Garfield. A slow but steady pace and lots of great conversation eventually led us overs some relatively substantial ice flows up to the final .2 mile trail to Garfield where we again dumped our packs and headed up. Here we encountered our first real winds, nothing dangerous but probably sustained 30mph +. After scrambling up the last few wet rocks, I was startled to find five or six people huddled in the foundation on top having lunch hunkered down.
We made the long trek out to our spotted cars. On the way out we encountered lots of families of hikers out for a wet Memorial day hike. The stream crossings at the bottom were rock-hops but nothing too difficult. This final stretch out was a nice moderate trail in good shape, but as usual this last 4.8 felt more like 6 or 7 miles. What an amazing weekend in the mountains, and 7 peaks towards my new goal of the 48! Definitely looking forward to getting back to NH, but admittedly a bit sore after something like 25 miles and 7K in two days.
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