NH_Mtn_Hiker
New member
Route:
Lincoln-Woods Trail to Franconia Brook Trail to Redrock Ravine bushwhack to Redrock Ravine "wide" slide to Twinway over South Twin to Galehead hut and Frost Trail to Twin Brook Trail to 13 Falls Campsite and Franconia Brook Trail to Lincoln-Woods Trail to parking area.
Specs.
approx. 23.1 miles, 4500' elevation gain.
At 7:55am Hamtero and I left the Lincoln-Woods parking area, crossed the suspension bridge and headed up the Lincoln-Woods Trail. We hadn't yet decided where we were going only that we were going there by way of wide slide at the northeast corner of Redrock Ravine. We arrived at the start of our bushwhack just north of Redrock Brook on the Franconia Brook Trail at 10:30.
Two days earlier on Thursday afternoon I had hiked the 8.1 miles in to 13 Falls tentsite. On the way out, about 1/2 mile south of the Twin Brook crossing, I veered left onto an old railroad grade which I followed along the south ridge of South Twin Mtn. When I was confident the railroad grade was heading into Redrock Ravine I turned southwest and bushwhacked down to the Franconia Brook Trail reaching it just north of Redrock Brook. It was from this point that Hamtero and I would start our bushwhack into the ravine.
After donning our snowshoes it took us about 20 minutes to follow my tracks up to the old railroad grade which we continued along with relative ease into the steep sided ravine, along the way noticing the old logging roads traversing the slope on the opposite side of the brook. After the railroad grade petered out we crossed the brook and climbed the bank looking for one of the logging roads to continue our journey on. After a bit of easy bushwhacking we found one and continued into the ravine.
About halfway to the northeast cirque we crossed the Redrock Expressway. This bushwhack was just getting easier and easier. This was probably another old railroad grade. It was wide, flat, and had gentle turns. It was also almost completely blowdown free. We made good time as we hiked eastward and eventually left the expressway and headed over to the brook. The Redrock Brook was water-free and had 2-4 feet of snow in it. The banks of the brook were fairly steep and afforded us no views of where we were headed, but we knew from our maps we wanted to make a left turn at a confluence at about 3100 feet.
When we stopped to check our altimeters, we were just shy of 3100', sure enough, just around the corner the brook forked. We made a left turn and proceeded on the final leg of our hike into the northeast cirque. As we hiked up the snowy brook bed we had intermittent views of the cirque and the slides ahead. After running out of brook bed we continued northeasterly through denser forest, the bushwhack was still far from difficult though. Just after 12:30 we reached an area of dense snow laden evergreens. We pushed our way through and suddenly found ourselves surrounded by slides, talus fields, and cliffs. Taking in these fantstic views suddenly made us hungry, we spied a large flat rock in a nearby talus field and headed towards it for a well deserved lunch. These were the views from our temporary dining room: North, East, South to West. Sunny skies would have made the views better, but at least the clouds were above all the summits.
It was nearly 1:30 by the time we had lunch, made our way over to the wide slide, and put our crampons on. The climb up the slide was easy compared to other slides we'd done, and uneventful, which is always nice. The slide was mixed rock and ice with some snowy areas near the rocks. Upon reaching the top of the slide we discovered we were only about 50' from the Twinway. Hamtero decided we should return to Lincoln-Woods by way of South Twin and the Twin Brook Trail, so off we went.
The Twinway had been broken out by a pair of barebooters in the past week or so, so the trail was easy to follow and we arrived at the summit of South Twin at around 4:00pm. Just as we got there we disturbed a large group of ravens who noisily took to the air. We took in some views from the summit for awhile then headed on towards Galehead hut where we stopped for a snack before heading down the Twin Brook Trail.
We followed a pair of Stabil-Icer tracks down the Twin Brook Trail to 13 Falls. The Twin Brook Trail was hard on the feet and ankles due to the fact that it follows the side of a ridge most of the way down so we were walking along a slope. There were also a few more blowdowns on this trail than the others we'd hiked that day. We reached the 13 falls tentsite at about 5:45pm. Darkness hit us just after crossing the Hellgate Brook and we finished the hike at about 9:00 under headlamps.
South Twin was nice, but the highlight of the hike was easily Redrock Ravine. I'll be going back there again...and again.
Another great hike with a great hiking partner...even if he does drink Red Bull.
Pics are here.
Lincoln-Woods Trail to Franconia Brook Trail to Redrock Ravine bushwhack to Redrock Ravine "wide" slide to Twinway over South Twin to Galehead hut and Frost Trail to Twin Brook Trail to 13 Falls Campsite and Franconia Brook Trail to Lincoln-Woods Trail to parking area.
Specs.
approx. 23.1 miles, 4500' elevation gain.
At 7:55am Hamtero and I left the Lincoln-Woods parking area, crossed the suspension bridge and headed up the Lincoln-Woods Trail. We hadn't yet decided where we were going only that we were going there by way of wide slide at the northeast corner of Redrock Ravine. We arrived at the start of our bushwhack just north of Redrock Brook on the Franconia Brook Trail at 10:30.
Two days earlier on Thursday afternoon I had hiked the 8.1 miles in to 13 Falls tentsite. On the way out, about 1/2 mile south of the Twin Brook crossing, I veered left onto an old railroad grade which I followed along the south ridge of South Twin Mtn. When I was confident the railroad grade was heading into Redrock Ravine I turned southwest and bushwhacked down to the Franconia Brook Trail reaching it just north of Redrock Brook. It was from this point that Hamtero and I would start our bushwhack into the ravine.
After donning our snowshoes it took us about 20 minutes to follow my tracks up to the old railroad grade which we continued along with relative ease into the steep sided ravine, along the way noticing the old logging roads traversing the slope on the opposite side of the brook. After the railroad grade petered out we crossed the brook and climbed the bank looking for one of the logging roads to continue our journey on. After a bit of easy bushwhacking we found one and continued into the ravine.
About halfway to the northeast cirque we crossed the Redrock Expressway. This bushwhack was just getting easier and easier. This was probably another old railroad grade. It was wide, flat, and had gentle turns. It was also almost completely blowdown free. We made good time as we hiked eastward and eventually left the expressway and headed over to the brook. The Redrock Brook was water-free and had 2-4 feet of snow in it. The banks of the brook were fairly steep and afforded us no views of where we were headed, but we knew from our maps we wanted to make a left turn at a confluence at about 3100 feet.
When we stopped to check our altimeters, we were just shy of 3100', sure enough, just around the corner the brook forked. We made a left turn and proceeded on the final leg of our hike into the northeast cirque. As we hiked up the snowy brook bed we had intermittent views of the cirque and the slides ahead. After running out of brook bed we continued northeasterly through denser forest, the bushwhack was still far from difficult though. Just after 12:30 we reached an area of dense snow laden evergreens. We pushed our way through and suddenly found ourselves surrounded by slides, talus fields, and cliffs. Taking in these fantstic views suddenly made us hungry, we spied a large flat rock in a nearby talus field and headed towards it for a well deserved lunch. These were the views from our temporary dining room: North, East, South to West. Sunny skies would have made the views better, but at least the clouds were above all the summits.
It was nearly 1:30 by the time we had lunch, made our way over to the wide slide, and put our crampons on. The climb up the slide was easy compared to other slides we'd done, and uneventful, which is always nice. The slide was mixed rock and ice with some snowy areas near the rocks. Upon reaching the top of the slide we discovered we were only about 50' from the Twinway. Hamtero decided we should return to Lincoln-Woods by way of South Twin and the Twin Brook Trail, so off we went.
The Twinway had been broken out by a pair of barebooters in the past week or so, so the trail was easy to follow and we arrived at the summit of South Twin at around 4:00pm. Just as we got there we disturbed a large group of ravens who noisily took to the air. We took in some views from the summit for awhile then headed on towards Galehead hut where we stopped for a snack before heading down the Twin Brook Trail.
We followed a pair of Stabil-Icer tracks down the Twin Brook Trail to 13 Falls. The Twin Brook Trail was hard on the feet and ankles due to the fact that it follows the side of a ridge most of the way down so we were walking along a slope. There were also a few more blowdowns on this trail than the others we'd hiked that day. We reached the 13 falls tentsite at about 5:45pm. Darkness hit us just after crossing the Hellgate Brook and we finished the hike at about 9:00 under headlamps.
South Twin was nice, but the highlight of the hike was easily Redrock Ravine. I'll be going back there again...and again.
Another great hike with a great hiking partner...even if he does drink Red Bull.
Pics are here.
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