Options for Bonds Hike

I am down to 7 on my NH48. Still left are the Bonds, Zealand and Hale. Looking for options.

I am planning to do this hike with my sons. A one-day hike is probably pushing it, unless we can arrange a car spot or key swap. We could leave off Hale and do that on another trip, but it kills me to drive 6 hours for a 5-hour hike and doesn't save us much.

One option I was considering is hiking up to Zealand hut and staying there overnight to get an early start on the summits. I'd rather not stay at the hut since I am a very light sleeper. If we stayed there Sunday night, how full would the bunk rooms be? Would we have trouble parking on Zealand Rd. at either of the trail heads if we arrive Sunday?

We could camp at Guyot, but that means hauling a lot of extra weight most of the way.

Ideas?

Not worth the time and money staying at the hut for an early start. You'll only save an hour of hiking time from the trailhead. There's always a place to park. People coming and going all the time. Guyot a better bet.

The traverse across with a car spot is the way to go. Especially if you start on Zealand Road, the hard stuff is down by Guyot and the views will draw you over to Bond, West Bond and Bond Cliff without a lot of perceived effort. Once you go down the two rocky spots on Bondcliff is bascially a road walk with a couple of water crossings. Once you cross a good size stream stop take a long break, soak you feet and change you socks, then take your time walking out. Even if it gets dark, you almost dont need a headlamp most nights to do the last stretch from Franconia brook to the parking lot. I have done the up and back to Bondliff from Lincoln woods a couple of times and its feels longer than doing the whole ridge.

Mark said:

We could camp at Guyot, but that means hauling a lot of extra weight most of the way.

Ideas?

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That is what I did with my brother in law and our sons. There is extra weight with overnight gear but staying at Guyot campsite splits the mileage up and keeps the kids interested. My experience is that kids hate the day-long slogs. We set up camp and did West Bond when the sun lit up the Bond ridge. We got up early to watch the sun rise on Guyot. The Franconia Ridge glowed in the early morning light. Highly suggested.

Perhaps they’ve been repaired by now, but there were some washouts along the Wilderness Trail last fall from Hurricane Irene, so if you walk along there in the dark, take care you don’t take a tumble.

Always a good idea to get to Guyot relatively early as it is a very popular spot given the few options in the Pemi. Sunday arrival will help. Enjoy!

How early does Guyot fill up?

Looking at the weather and calendar (running out of weekends), I am thinking of driving up early Saturday and camping at Guyot Saturday night. How early would I have to get there to get a platform?

I'd say 3pm would be pretty safe.

wardsgirl said:

I'd say 3pm would be pretty safe.

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Depends on the weekend. On busy weekends they will be full by then.

David Metsky said:

Depends on the weekend. On busy weekends they will be full by then.

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I think I saw at least 100 people coming up the Bondcliff trail as I was coming down on Saturday before noon. I didn't ask everyone, but many had large packs and, I can only assume a good number had planned on staying at the shelter.

I'd say plan on being there before noon if you want a guaranteed spot.

Hey Mark if camping Sunday night is an option you will have no problem getting a spot at Guyot

We have to drive up Saturday morning, so best case scenario puts us at Guyot around 1:00. When you say the site will be full, does that mean the caretaker will turn you away? Are there other places to camp around here? (I assume not.)

BTW, are camp fires allowed at Guyot? (I also assume not.)

The caretaker will direct you to overflow spots, up on the ridge. They are a bit less comfortable, and further from water, but people manage to survive. It's pretty hard to find any available firewood up there that hasn't already been scavenged, so camp stoves are the usual choice.

If campfires and time are a concern, why not camp off the Twinway before you get to treeline where you approach Mt. Guyot (not to be confused with Guyot Campsite) or duck down the Twinway a short distance toward South Twin? There are legal sites abound in these areas and water is never too far downhill if you listen and look at the lay of the land. If you don't feel confident relying on such advice about these geographic features from me, consider that your sons sound like they might be teens or adults that could carry enough water to have a nice meal with plenty to drink at one of these optional campsites, without having to suffer the caretaker and the rules of an AMC campsite. In other words, you could have a campfire and your own mountain campsite all to yourself.

Leave Saturday morning on the Zealand Trail, set up camp around the 7 or 8 mile mark, bagging Zealand on the way. Take water a snack and a headlamp each to go bag West Bond, Bond, Bondcliff and then head back to camp. Send one of your crew down the hill to Guyot Campsite to fill your water bottles, if necessary. Head back to camp. Have a great night. On the way out, hike Lend-A-Hand over Hale and end at the Hale Brook Trail parking lot. Send one of your party with the car keys up the road to retrieve your vehicle. Done.

Mark said:

I am down to 7 on my NH48. Still left are the Bonds, Zealand and Hale. Looking for options.

I am planning to do this hike with my sons. A one-day hike is probably pushing it, unless we can arrange a car spot or key swap. We could leave off Hale and do that on another trip, but it kills me to drive 6 hours for a 5-hour hike and doesn't save us much.
...
Ideas?

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The distance may seem like a lot, but there is a ton of flat walking on the traverse.

How old are your sons?

Does it have to be summer? hut prices are a bit lower in caretaker season where you cook your own meal using the equipment at the hut. Terrain north of the Bondcliff/Twin way is pretty open, backpacking tents should be okay, I'd opt for two men Vs trying to get a four in somewhere though.

Bonds, Zealand + Hale for a day trip is a pretty big trip, not impossible but a long day & if doing the Bonds first very tempting to skip Hale after a long day. If committed to doing them all, I'd do Hale first as once you get to Guyot, the terrain is about the same either way, no reason to turn back unless weather dictates. No big drops & climbs going this way. (the climb from Bondcliff to Bond is about 700 feet, 250 or so in reverse)

If everyone is up for a day hike & you have your ride set, I'd start Hale in the dark, maybe summitting around sunrise. (I have four of the five left for winter & the hut was my plan, when I am ready)

Hiker Shuttle

If you're looking to make it a traverse and don't have multiple cars, give Bill a call at 207-329-6433. He does hiker shuttles all over the Whites and northern AT. A very accommodating guy, and familiar with most trailheads.

Two weekends ago he met me very early in the morning at Lincoln Woods and took me and the dog up to Zealand TH, for $40. Worked out great.

Doing the Zealand/Bonds traverse in a day is quite do-able. About 20 miles, but if you're going north to south you get most of the climbing done early. Once you're down off Bondcliff it's a long, flat (and kind of boring) walk out. Personally I'd save Hale for another (short) trip by itself, due to the extra up and down.

wardsgirl said:

If campfires and time are a concern, why not camp off the Twinway before you get to treeline where you approach Mt. Guyot ...

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I like this idea. If there are viable, legal sites around here, I would be up for that. I tend to avoid crowds, so Guyot on a summer Saturday night might not be for me. I have camped plenty of times in the Adirondacks, finding the one small patch of campable land in the woods, so I am not a stranger to camping. I just haven't had to do it at all (yet) for any of my NH48.

I already penciled in the idea of leaving Hale for the end of the trip. When we get to the hut on the way out, we can choose to skip Hale (2.7 miles to car and 0 elevation gain) or bag Hale (4.9 miles and 1400 feet of climbing). Back on Zealand Rd., we draw straws to see who has to hoof 1 mile it back to retrieve the car.

Mike P. said:

How old are your sons?

Does it have to be summer? hut prices are a bit lower in caretaker season where you cook your own meal using the equipment at the hut. Terrain north of the Bondcliff/Twin way is pretty open, backpacking tents should be okay, I'd opt for two men Vs trying to get a four in somewhere though.

Bonds, Zealand + Hale for a day trip is a pretty big trip, not impossible but a long day & if doing the Bonds first very tempting to skip Hale after a long day. If committed to doing them all, I'd do Hale first as once you get to Guyot, the terrain is about the same either way, no reason to turn back unless weather dictates. No big drops & climbs going this way. (the climb from Bondcliff to Bond is about 700 feet, 250 or so in reverse)

If everyone is up for a day hike & you have your ride set, I'd start Hale in the dark, maybe summitting around sunrise. (I have four of the five left for winter & the hut was my plan, when I am ready)

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My sons are 23 and 19 and in better shape than me. We looked at doing this hike off season, but my younger son heads back to Northeastern in the fall. I'd be hesitant to pull him away for a whole weekend with his demanding engineering course load.

We could do this as a day hike. I think we are all physically capable of doing it. I just don't think pushing it so hard would be enjoyable for any of us. I'd rather take time to enjoy the summits than stick to a schedule.

Mark said:

If there are viable, legal sites around here [between South Twin and treeline going up Guyot]

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There are. However I'm not as optimistic as the poster was about water.

More questions on the Bonds loop

We are considering the similar loop from the N. Twin Trailhead, a night at Guyot and out via Hale & the Fire Wardens trail. This will be a pretty new undertaking for our family (Dad, Mom, 17 y/o, 15 y/o & smaller dog) We are pretty comfortable with hiking & back country camping, we simply have never combined the 2. I have a few quick questions. Do you think that 40° a sleeping bag will be adequate in late August? What can I expect for low temps @ the Guyot campsite? My guess is that it could dip into the low forties,but I haven't spent any nights on a ridge like guyot. I hope to travel without any cook stove; any food ideas? We typically run on trail mixes and good, high energy snack food for our longer day hikes. Do you think that we will regret not having warm food early in the morning?
I really like the way that this loop presents itself, it is a pretty good 2 day total for our family, especially the total elevation gain. But, it seems that we can dump most all of our gear @ Guyot for the trip out to Bondcliff which should really make the later part of our first day a lot easier. Also, the access to water @ Guyot is very helpful as we can go through quite a lot. We are very fortunate that we can be flexible enough to see a good weather window & go for it midweek; no worries about crowding at Guyot for us.