NH_Mtn_Hiker
New member
I started down the Lincoln-Woods Trail at 6:10am, an hour and 10 minutes behind schedule. My original plan had been to bag the Bonds and a couple of unnamed 3k'ers using a non-traditional route, but with the late start I decided to save the 3K peaks for another day. Both the Lincoln-Woods and Franconia Brook trails were free of snow and ice. The water crossings were a little high, but managable, though the beaver dam on the Franconia Brook Trail is getting a little tricky.
I arrived at Hellgate Brook at 8:15. I headed upstream on the south side past the campsites until I found the logging road which I followed about halfway into the ravine when the snow started to become an issue so I crossed to the north side of the brook, which recieved more sun and thus had less snow, and continued into the ravine until the logging road petered out at which point I bushwhacked along the north-west side of the brook to about 3400'.
In October when Dugan and I climbed the side of Bondcliff we ran into some very thick scrub about halfway up. I wasn't looking to repeat that. When I climbed the slide on West Bond (across the ravine) in January I spotted an easier route up the side of Bondcliff and that was the route I was looking for today. I climbed up to the lower talus field where I stopped for a brief lunch. I was behind schedule still so I needed to get up to the Bondcliff Trail. As I moved up the northern end of the talus field I thought it was a little odd that the rocks beneath my feet were so loose. With nearly every step the rocks seemed to shift and slide as I put my weight on them. I made my way up to the scrub line at the northern end of the talus field then began the bushwhack to the upper talus field. The bushwhack that had taken Dugan and I 2 hours only took about 10 minutes as not only was it only about 150' through the trees versus about 500', but there were lots of large rocks amongst the trees making it as much a rock hop as it was a bushwhack.
The upper talus field is slightly steeper than the lower one and again the rocks here were very unstable. At first I could hear water trickling away deep beneath me, further up I could see the water and ice amongst the rocks. I realized the the melting ice by day and refreezing at night was moving the rocks around a little and providing a lubricant for them to slide on. By the time I reached the Bondcliff Trail I'd started numerous rock slides, most of them consisted of just 1 or 2 rocks tumbling down 10 or 20 feet...some of the slides were somewhat more severe. I'm glad ther was no one behind me. Note to self: Avoid steep talus fields in the spring until all the snow and ice is gone.
I reached the Bondcliff Trail at 12:15, only 15 minutes behind schedule. I normally don't worry too much about schedules or turn-around times when I hike, but I figured I needed to get to the Guyot shelter no later than 3:00 if I was going to bushwhack down through Jumping Brook Ravine to the North Fork River and reach the Thoreau Falls Trail across the river by dark. My best guess was that it would only take about 3-4 hours to bushwhack the ravine, but I didn't want to do it the first time in the dark, especially since I knew nothing about the ravine.
I hiked over to the summit of Bondcliff, admired the views, took some more pics, and then headed back towards Mt. Bond. The Bondcliff ridge had been completely bare of snow, but the south side of Bond had up to 18 inches of the packed white stuff. I stopped briefly at the top of Mt. Bond for more pics, then moved on towards the West Bond Spur. The snow on the north side of Mt. Bond was up to 3 feet deep as was the snow on the West Bond Spur. After bagging West Bond I made my way quickly to the Guyot Shelter arriving there at 2:35.
I took a few pics, strapped on my stabilicers and headed off down the mountain along the right side the the spring fed brook. The woods were fairly open here but the snow was a problem. It was 3-4 feet deep with an icy crust on top. Postholing was a major problem. By 3:00 I hadn't gone more than several hundred feet. The brook was completly covered over with snow, so I moved up on to the ridge to my right, hoping it had gotten more sun and thus would have less snow. The going was a little easier, but not much. Having moved down hill perhaps 3-4 tenths of a mile I moved back over to the brook which was clear of snow now and flowing nicely with it's spring run off. I stepped out onto the wet rocks.
My Stabilicers seemed to provide adequate traction on the wet rocks. I began rock hopping down the brook. This brook was steeper than most brooks I've rock hopped and there were numerous small waterfalls to negotiate as well as pools and blowdowns to bushwhack around. While detouring around some nasty blowdowns in the brook I discovered a logging road running along side the brook at about 3200'. The snow here was still too deep so back to the brook I went. I continued rock hopping down the brook until I reached the confluence with the main branch of the brook at about 2500'. It had taken me about 2.5 hours to go 1.5 miles. From here the ravine made a turn towards the east and was more exposed to the morning sun, and the snow was all but gone. I headed over to the logging road and though it was a little brushy it places, it was quicker than rock hopping. I covered the next 1.5 miles in about 45 minutes arriving at the North Fork River at 5:45.
I noticed a couple of tents on the north side of Jumping brook on what was once the Thoreau Falls Trail, it has now been relocated to the east side of the North Fork River. I said hello and chatted briefly with the three campers there and then headed south along the Old Thoreau Falls Trail. About 2-3 tenths of a mile south of Jumping Brook I came across a small memorial plaque for Dr. Ralph Miller and Dr. Robert Quinn who crash-landed there in February, 1959.
I continued south to the original crossing site where I rock hopped across the North Fork to the Thoreau Falls Trail, just 8.4 miles to go to Lincoln-Woods. Hiking down the trail I noticed that there were lots of blowdowns so I cleared them all, well all that I could. There are about 8-10 remaining on that southern most 2 miles of the Thoreau Falls Trail that will require a saw to remove. By the time I reached the Wilderness Trail it was dark, I put on my headlamp and continued out via the Cedar Brook and East Side Trails. During the last 30 minutes of the hike a very like rain had started to fall. I returned to Lincoln-Woods at 10:40...16.5 hours after I left. The hike was about 25.5 miles (including 7 miles of bushwhacking and brookwhacking) with an elevation gain of 4300'.
Though the hike was long and tiring, it was nice to get off the beaten path for awhile.
I was playing with the camera settings again, but the pics are here.
I arrived at Hellgate Brook at 8:15. I headed upstream on the south side past the campsites until I found the logging road which I followed about halfway into the ravine when the snow started to become an issue so I crossed to the north side of the brook, which recieved more sun and thus had less snow, and continued into the ravine until the logging road petered out at which point I bushwhacked along the north-west side of the brook to about 3400'.
In October when Dugan and I climbed the side of Bondcliff we ran into some very thick scrub about halfway up. I wasn't looking to repeat that. When I climbed the slide on West Bond (across the ravine) in January I spotted an easier route up the side of Bondcliff and that was the route I was looking for today. I climbed up to the lower talus field where I stopped for a brief lunch. I was behind schedule still so I needed to get up to the Bondcliff Trail. As I moved up the northern end of the talus field I thought it was a little odd that the rocks beneath my feet were so loose. With nearly every step the rocks seemed to shift and slide as I put my weight on them. I made my way up to the scrub line at the northern end of the talus field then began the bushwhack to the upper talus field. The bushwhack that had taken Dugan and I 2 hours only took about 10 minutes as not only was it only about 150' through the trees versus about 500', but there were lots of large rocks amongst the trees making it as much a rock hop as it was a bushwhack.
The upper talus field is slightly steeper than the lower one and again the rocks here were very unstable. At first I could hear water trickling away deep beneath me, further up I could see the water and ice amongst the rocks. I realized the the melting ice by day and refreezing at night was moving the rocks around a little and providing a lubricant for them to slide on. By the time I reached the Bondcliff Trail I'd started numerous rock slides, most of them consisted of just 1 or 2 rocks tumbling down 10 or 20 feet...some of the slides were somewhat more severe. I'm glad ther was no one behind me. Note to self: Avoid steep talus fields in the spring until all the snow and ice is gone.
I reached the Bondcliff Trail at 12:15, only 15 minutes behind schedule. I normally don't worry too much about schedules or turn-around times when I hike, but I figured I needed to get to the Guyot shelter no later than 3:00 if I was going to bushwhack down through Jumping Brook Ravine to the North Fork River and reach the Thoreau Falls Trail across the river by dark. My best guess was that it would only take about 3-4 hours to bushwhack the ravine, but I didn't want to do it the first time in the dark, especially since I knew nothing about the ravine.
I hiked over to the summit of Bondcliff, admired the views, took some more pics, and then headed back towards Mt. Bond. The Bondcliff ridge had been completely bare of snow, but the south side of Bond had up to 18 inches of the packed white stuff. I stopped briefly at the top of Mt. Bond for more pics, then moved on towards the West Bond Spur. The snow on the north side of Mt. Bond was up to 3 feet deep as was the snow on the West Bond Spur. After bagging West Bond I made my way quickly to the Guyot Shelter arriving there at 2:35.
I took a few pics, strapped on my stabilicers and headed off down the mountain along the right side the the spring fed brook. The woods were fairly open here but the snow was a problem. It was 3-4 feet deep with an icy crust on top. Postholing was a major problem. By 3:00 I hadn't gone more than several hundred feet. The brook was completly covered over with snow, so I moved up on to the ridge to my right, hoping it had gotten more sun and thus would have less snow. The going was a little easier, but not much. Having moved down hill perhaps 3-4 tenths of a mile I moved back over to the brook which was clear of snow now and flowing nicely with it's spring run off. I stepped out onto the wet rocks.
My Stabilicers seemed to provide adequate traction on the wet rocks. I began rock hopping down the brook. This brook was steeper than most brooks I've rock hopped and there were numerous small waterfalls to negotiate as well as pools and blowdowns to bushwhack around. While detouring around some nasty blowdowns in the brook I discovered a logging road running along side the brook at about 3200'. The snow here was still too deep so back to the brook I went. I continued rock hopping down the brook until I reached the confluence with the main branch of the brook at about 2500'. It had taken me about 2.5 hours to go 1.5 miles. From here the ravine made a turn towards the east and was more exposed to the morning sun, and the snow was all but gone. I headed over to the logging road and though it was a little brushy it places, it was quicker than rock hopping. I covered the next 1.5 miles in about 45 minutes arriving at the North Fork River at 5:45.
I noticed a couple of tents on the north side of Jumping brook on what was once the Thoreau Falls Trail, it has now been relocated to the east side of the North Fork River. I said hello and chatted briefly with the three campers there and then headed south along the Old Thoreau Falls Trail. About 2-3 tenths of a mile south of Jumping Brook I came across a small memorial plaque for Dr. Ralph Miller and Dr. Robert Quinn who crash-landed there in February, 1959.
I continued south to the original crossing site where I rock hopped across the North Fork to the Thoreau Falls Trail, just 8.4 miles to go to Lincoln-Woods. Hiking down the trail I noticed that there were lots of blowdowns so I cleared them all, well all that I could. There are about 8-10 remaining on that southern most 2 miles of the Thoreau Falls Trail that will require a saw to remove. By the time I reached the Wilderness Trail it was dark, I put on my headlamp and continued out via the Cedar Brook and East Side Trails. During the last 30 minutes of the hike a very like rain had started to fall. I returned to Lincoln-Woods at 10:40...16.5 hours after I left. The hike was about 25.5 miles (including 7 miles of bushwhacking and brookwhacking) with an elevation gain of 4300'.
Though the hike was long and tiring, it was nice to get off the beaten path for awhile.
I was playing with the camera settings again, but the pics are here.
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you're nuts!! 
