Shoes to Views
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The Bonds were a long time coming for us. We wanted to overnight, and the first trip was rained/snowed/called off at Zealand Oct 2008. Then we decided to save them to possibly finish our “48”. Then we decided to finish on Wildcat so we could share that experience with a friend or more. By early October our “to do” list was down to the Twins, Bonds, and Wildcat. We planned to go in over the Twins and overnight at Guyot for the Bonds, but we needed two dry days and no family or work obligations. We want to finish the 48 later this month for reasons I’ll get to later, so the pressure was starting to build. November 2 we decided to hike the Twins and open up a few other options for doing the Bonds. It would be our longest hike to date, but we could do them as a day trip.
So the weather watch began. The 7th and 8th looked pretty good from the first forecast, but there was some possibility of rain, and wind chill near zero. Finally we decided the forecast was good enough and we were a go for the overnight.
We left Zealand around 7:30 and the day looked very promising. We passed the hut and began to climb into a little snow. Footing was good until past the Twinway junction. A little later, Sharon’s microspikes came out. I decided to leave them in the pack. We passed Zealand and decided not to go in. There was snow on the trail and trees all the way, and the puddles were frozen and slick. With care I was able to avoid them, but Sharon was able to motor along on the microspikes. As we crested Mount Guyot we expected the wind to pick up but there was none. It was a great hike along Bondcliff trail, and the views were a preview of what was to come. We arrived at the campground at one and decided to drop our gear except for fanny packs and head for Bond and Bondcliff. We’d get West Bond on the way back or in the morning.
Friends had told us the views were spectacular and they were right. The sky was clear in all directions and the views were magnificent. We didn’t stay too long because we weren’t too keen on returning to camp and setting up by headlight. We were treated to a fine sunset as we descended from Bond. We decided on a morning trip to West Bond.
We shared the shelter with a couple of college students and one of four people who’d arranged their hike through meetup.com. The rest of the meetup group stayed on platforms.
The night started in the mid to high twenties and warmed. The snow had melted off the trees and the entry to the shelter in the night, but was still on the rocks, so almost everyone was wearing some kind of traction.
We again left our gear and went to West Bond. The wind was definitely more significant Sunday morning. We stayed a while and enjoyed the views, but headed back. The climb back up to Mt Guyot was most interesting. The wind seemed to be coming from just the wrong angle so my pack was twisting me one way then the other. The trees were a relief.
We decided to go up and touch Zealand again on the way back, but otherwise the return was uneventful. We both kept the Microspikes on most of the way. We also stopped at Zealand hut for some tea and lunch. It was pretty quiet. Talked to a few day hikers below the hut, but we were ready to go and soak in the hot tub, so we moved along. The hot tub was a welcome treat.
Our next hike will be Wildcat A, number 48. Hope for good weather on Saturday the 21st. We’ve been hiking the 48 for 15 months now, but we’re calling it the “35 years - 48 mountains” hike because of our anniversary at the end of the month.
So the weather watch began. The 7th and 8th looked pretty good from the first forecast, but there was some possibility of rain, and wind chill near zero. Finally we decided the forecast was good enough and we were a go for the overnight.
We left Zealand around 7:30 and the day looked very promising. We passed the hut and began to climb into a little snow. Footing was good until past the Twinway junction. A little later, Sharon’s microspikes came out. I decided to leave them in the pack. We passed Zealand and decided not to go in. There was snow on the trail and trees all the way, and the puddles were frozen and slick. With care I was able to avoid them, but Sharon was able to motor along on the microspikes. As we crested Mount Guyot we expected the wind to pick up but there was none. It was a great hike along Bondcliff trail, and the views were a preview of what was to come. We arrived at the campground at one and decided to drop our gear except for fanny packs and head for Bond and Bondcliff. We’d get West Bond on the way back or in the morning.
Friends had told us the views were spectacular and they were right. The sky was clear in all directions and the views were magnificent. We didn’t stay too long because we weren’t too keen on returning to camp and setting up by headlight. We were treated to a fine sunset as we descended from Bond. We decided on a morning trip to West Bond.
We shared the shelter with a couple of college students and one of four people who’d arranged their hike through meetup.com. The rest of the meetup group stayed on platforms.
The night started in the mid to high twenties and warmed. The snow had melted off the trees and the entry to the shelter in the night, but was still on the rocks, so almost everyone was wearing some kind of traction.
We again left our gear and went to West Bond. The wind was definitely more significant Sunday morning. We stayed a while and enjoyed the views, but headed back. The climb back up to Mt Guyot was most interesting. The wind seemed to be coming from just the wrong angle so my pack was twisting me one way then the other. The trees were a relief.
We decided to go up and touch Zealand again on the way back, but otherwise the return was uneventful. We both kept the Microspikes on most of the way. We also stopped at Zealand hut for some tea and lunch. It was pretty quiet. Talked to a few day hikers below the hut, but we were ready to go and soak in the hot tub, so we moved along. The hot tub was a welcome treat.
Our next hike will be Wildcat A, number 48. Hope for good weather on Saturday the 21st. We’ve been hiking the 48 for 15 months now, but we’re calling it the “35 years - 48 mountains” hike because of our anniversary at the end of the month.
