Bombadil
Active member
<Disclaimer of a long winded and pictured-filled TR>
Having been a member of this forum for almost a year and a half, I've never gotten around to writing up a trip report. I think I figured on most hikes nothing too dramatic happened and we didn't do anything too out of the ordinary but this past weekend I finally got around to finishing up my NH48/NE67/NEHH (all season) on Bondcliff. This was my third attempt at wrapping up my peakbagging lists on Bondcliff. The first crash and burn was in November when the third crossing of Little River, a river I generally had scoffed at for often being listed as a difficult crossing, got the best of me when a friend and I planned on an overnight at Guyot. Falling on an icy rock up to my neck in water on a 20 degree morning with a full pack is not something I'll easily forget. Attempt number two was a month ago when our group of three attempted an out and back from Zealand Hut only to find the waist-deep powder killed our time, requiring 5 hours to break trail from Zeacliff to Zealand--a time for such a trivial distance that still baffles me. For attempt #3 I brought along the key ingredient that was missing in my previous attempts--the champagne.
It's been a pleasure getting to hike with Carmen this winter as we met up on a meetup hike back in January and have done some 15 or so peaks over the last 2 months. I don't know what her secret is for staying in such great shape but whatever they put in the water up there in Canada, it sure works. Along with Carmen and myself was Alton whom I met on that brutal failed attempt at finishing the Bonds last month as her group followed our tracks out to Zealand after breaking out Hale. Alton is one strong hiker and a very driven individual. Last month she somehow convinced me to head back to Owl's Head after I had just hiked it two weeks previously and under similar conditions we managed to beat my best time by a shocking 2 hours without any trail running. A 7 hr RT to Owl's Head with an 11 am start time ain't too shabby for someone who doesn't consider themselves a speed hiker. It's been a real pleasure getting to know her and hike with her. Today she'd be wrapping up her Winter48.
On with the hike! The three of us set out from Lincoln Woods a little earlier than our start for Owl's Head (~ 8 am this time around) and made great time to the turn uphill for Bondcliff. Thankfully once we started to gain elevation the snow firmed up and we put that nasty corn snow behind us. Unfortunately for me I've always had a minor bout with cold-induced asthma on really cold days and two weeks removed from a pretty nasty battle with a bug the cold air sends my lungs into a frenzy. After having a few coughing fits we made it up to Bondcliff, socked in the clouds but rain-free despite the ominous forecast. We took a few pics and bypassed the summit so we could finish here on the way back.
On the way up Bond we followed the tracks of a pair of hikers that had planned on doing a pemi loop but aborted having lost the trail below Bond. We reached their dead-end and despite having eyes scanning the sides of the trail along the way we never saw where the previous hikers had erred. We plunged ahead through the dense spruce and those little buggers got the best of us, as they always do. After two chest-deep falls into spruce traps (despite the icy crust) I switched to snowshoes. Two steps later my MSR Evo Ascents broke on the pivot point. After inspecting them and deeming that I had insufficient equipment to repair such a high-stress point I kept them on and treaded lightly. I was beginning to think for one reason or another it wasn't in the cards to finish on the Bonds just yet. Aha! But I remembered the champagne so it had to be! We pushed onwards and after a 1-2 hour delay hanging out with the spruce goblins we popped out right at the summit of Bond. We made quick work over to West Bond and reached the turn-around point.
Carmen enjoying West Bond
On the return trip we were treated to a clearing as the clouds lifted off Bondcliff, opening up magnificent views with tremendous contrast:
Clouds lifting off Bondcliff
We posed for a few pictures on the cliffs on the return but the poor lighting didn't do the experience any justice. But it was time for some champagne.
Alton's W48 finish!
Finishing together: Alton's W48 and my 48/67/NEHH.
I think we were all pleasantly surprised at how easy the champagne went down on nearly empty stomachs and after getting our fill of the moment we set off and began our charge downhill. Naturally the walk out went on forever but we made good time, making it back to the cars a little over 3 hours from Bondcliff. Thanks Alton and Carmen for great company on another great hike!
Conclusion
I think I took a somewhat curious route towards finishing these three peakbagging lists. I only completed a handfull of hikes in my first 25 years of life but about two and a half years ago I was getting pretty sick of my lack of motivation and general state of fitness. I first decided I would start hiking a little bit on the weekends. That weekend I did Tom, Field, and Willey and looked into the NH48--I decided I'd go for it. I did a little more research and within a week I realized I had done Killington, Pico, and another of the New England Hundred Highest. I was hooked, I was going to hike all of them. As I began to close on finishing about a year into it, I began to wonder as I think many goal-oriented people do--what's next??? I slowed my pace maybe out of a fear of not having something to strive for but then I set my sights on the Winter48. I knew I'd tire of New England mountains and set my sights higher. With higher mountains comes a requirement for improved skill, experience, and cold-weather hiking. By the end of Winter I set my goals higher still--the 48 x 4 seasons, justifying that hiking in spring will have me in top shape for when the good weather comes around and hiking in fall to be fit for the hard winter hikes. I'm a sucker for the mind tricks, even if I know I'm doing it to myself
. With one set of goals achieved next I aim to wrap up the 4 seasons (7 to go in Winter with a longshot finish this weekend). After that it'll be a Presi Traverse, Pemi Loop, and Mt. Rainier (and others) in July.
Lastly I just want to shout out to all the people that I've hiked with along the way. Thanks also to Papa Bear and Bob & Geri for their great websites which were fantastic resources for the bushwhacks. I've done a large number of hikes solo and enjoy the solitude but the best ones are always made better by doing them with those whose company you enjoy. So thanks to my Dad, my brother Matt, my hiking/skiing buddy Andy, Chris, Dhana, Mike Z, Mike M, Tom, Carmen and of course Alton.
A few select photos from the journey:
Bull on the Chimney Pond Trail
The demon that hangs out on North Tripyramid Slide.
Sunset from Middle Carter. Rumor has it I like late starts and get caught out often.
Chris and I on a Franconia Ridge traverse
Tom loving life
Lounging on Jefferson
Andy and I pumped for the sunset from Adams
Having been a member of this forum for almost a year and a half, I've never gotten around to writing up a trip report. I think I figured on most hikes nothing too dramatic happened and we didn't do anything too out of the ordinary but this past weekend I finally got around to finishing up my NH48/NE67/NEHH (all season) on Bondcliff. This was my third attempt at wrapping up my peakbagging lists on Bondcliff. The first crash and burn was in November when the third crossing of Little River, a river I generally had scoffed at for often being listed as a difficult crossing, got the best of me when a friend and I planned on an overnight at Guyot. Falling on an icy rock up to my neck in water on a 20 degree morning with a full pack is not something I'll easily forget. Attempt number two was a month ago when our group of three attempted an out and back from Zealand Hut only to find the waist-deep powder killed our time, requiring 5 hours to break trail from Zeacliff to Zealand--a time for such a trivial distance that still baffles me. For attempt #3 I brought along the key ingredient that was missing in my previous attempts--the champagne.
It's been a pleasure getting to hike with Carmen this winter as we met up on a meetup hike back in January and have done some 15 or so peaks over the last 2 months. I don't know what her secret is for staying in such great shape but whatever they put in the water up there in Canada, it sure works. Along with Carmen and myself was Alton whom I met on that brutal failed attempt at finishing the Bonds last month as her group followed our tracks out to Zealand after breaking out Hale. Alton is one strong hiker and a very driven individual. Last month she somehow convinced me to head back to Owl's Head after I had just hiked it two weeks previously and under similar conditions we managed to beat my best time by a shocking 2 hours without any trail running. A 7 hr RT to Owl's Head with an 11 am start time ain't too shabby for someone who doesn't consider themselves a speed hiker. It's been a real pleasure getting to know her and hike with her. Today she'd be wrapping up her Winter48.
On with the hike! The three of us set out from Lincoln Woods a little earlier than our start for Owl's Head (~ 8 am this time around) and made great time to the turn uphill for Bondcliff. Thankfully once we started to gain elevation the snow firmed up and we put that nasty corn snow behind us. Unfortunately for me I've always had a minor bout with cold-induced asthma on really cold days and two weeks removed from a pretty nasty battle with a bug the cold air sends my lungs into a frenzy. After having a few coughing fits we made it up to Bondcliff, socked in the clouds but rain-free despite the ominous forecast. We took a few pics and bypassed the summit so we could finish here on the way back.
On the way up Bond we followed the tracks of a pair of hikers that had planned on doing a pemi loop but aborted having lost the trail below Bond. We reached their dead-end and despite having eyes scanning the sides of the trail along the way we never saw where the previous hikers had erred. We plunged ahead through the dense spruce and those little buggers got the best of us, as they always do. After two chest-deep falls into spruce traps (despite the icy crust) I switched to snowshoes. Two steps later my MSR Evo Ascents broke on the pivot point. After inspecting them and deeming that I had insufficient equipment to repair such a high-stress point I kept them on and treaded lightly. I was beginning to think for one reason or another it wasn't in the cards to finish on the Bonds just yet. Aha! But I remembered the champagne so it had to be! We pushed onwards and after a 1-2 hour delay hanging out with the spruce goblins we popped out right at the summit of Bond. We made quick work over to West Bond and reached the turn-around point.
Carmen enjoying West Bond
On the return trip we were treated to a clearing as the clouds lifted off Bondcliff, opening up magnificent views with tremendous contrast:
Clouds lifting off Bondcliff
We posed for a few pictures on the cliffs on the return but the poor lighting didn't do the experience any justice. But it was time for some champagne.
Alton's W48 finish!
Finishing together: Alton's W48 and my 48/67/NEHH.
I think we were all pleasantly surprised at how easy the champagne went down on nearly empty stomachs and after getting our fill of the moment we set off and began our charge downhill. Naturally the walk out went on forever but we made good time, making it back to the cars a little over 3 hours from Bondcliff. Thanks Alton and Carmen for great company on another great hike!
Conclusion
I think I took a somewhat curious route towards finishing these three peakbagging lists. I only completed a handfull of hikes in my first 25 years of life but about two and a half years ago I was getting pretty sick of my lack of motivation and general state of fitness. I first decided I would start hiking a little bit on the weekends. That weekend I did Tom, Field, and Willey and looked into the NH48--I decided I'd go for it. I did a little more research and within a week I realized I had done Killington, Pico, and another of the New England Hundred Highest. I was hooked, I was going to hike all of them. As I began to close on finishing about a year into it, I began to wonder as I think many goal-oriented people do--what's next??? I slowed my pace maybe out of a fear of not having something to strive for but then I set my sights on the Winter48. I knew I'd tire of New England mountains and set my sights higher. With higher mountains comes a requirement for improved skill, experience, and cold-weather hiking. By the end of Winter I set my goals higher still--the 48 x 4 seasons, justifying that hiking in spring will have me in top shape for when the good weather comes around and hiking in fall to be fit for the hard winter hikes. I'm a sucker for the mind tricks, even if I know I'm doing it to myself
. With one set of goals achieved next I aim to wrap up the 4 seasons (7 to go in Winter with a longshot finish this weekend). After that it'll be a Presi Traverse, Pemi Loop, and Mt. Rainier (and others) in July. Lastly I just want to shout out to all the people that I've hiked with along the way. Thanks also to Papa Bear and Bob & Geri for their great websites which were fantastic resources for the bushwhacks. I've done a large number of hikes solo and enjoy the solitude but the best ones are always made better by doing them with those whose company you enjoy. So thanks to my Dad, my brother Matt, my hiking/skiing buddy Andy, Chris, Dhana, Mike Z, Mike M, Tom, Carmen and of course Alton.
A few select photos from the journey:
Bull on the Chimney Pond Trail
The demon that hangs out on North Tripyramid Slide.
Sunset from Middle Carter. Rumor has it I like late starts and get caught out often.
Chris and I on a Franconia Ridge traverse
Tom loving life
Lounging on Jefferson
Andy and I pumped for the sunset from Adams
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