BIGEarl
Well-known member
February 6, 2010: Twins and Galehead
Trails: North Twin Trail, North Twin Spur, Frost Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Gale River Trail, Winter approach and exit (Little River Road, Beaver Brook Wayside Area)
Summits: North Twin, South Twin, Galehead
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), Happyhiker (Karen), Davebear, Scoutmaster (Gary), Loanshark (Skip), MikeM, KRobi, Ed’n Lauky, Paradox (John), and me
Friday night I got a call from Davebear letting me know he was interested in joining the hike and carpool. Great! Sue and I were already planning to meet at the Exit 6 Park & Ride for our usual early start and Dave said he would be there. We all met as planned, loaded everything into the truck, and hit the highway north. Just after passing through the Bedford Tolls a warning message appeared on the dashboard – “Battery Not Charging”. This was new. I listened for any odd sounds and didn’t hear anything – with my poor hearing that’s not unusual for me. The other gauges all appeared good and I continued to drive toward Manchester. I decided it might be wise to look under the hood and made a move for the shoulder. Immediately, I realized there was no power steering. A ¾ ton 4WD heavy duty pickup with a diesel engine is a real handful without power steering. At that point I was pretty sure the drive belt was gone. When I found there were no power brakes either it was a definite. A ¾ ton 4WD heavy duty pickup with a diesel engine is a real handful without power brakes. We stopped but I left the engine running and lifted the hood – no drive belt. We decided to return to the start, swap vehicles, and have a slightly later than planned start.
A little later than planned we met Scoutmaster at the Bow Park & Ride and continued north to the hike. Dave made good time and we managed to reach the Beaver Brook Wayside Area on-time. Quite a few people were there and some had already left for Little River Road and their hike. We finished our pre-hike preparation; introductions all around, consolidated gear, and took off for Little River Road. Since there were no “No Parking” signs posted, we hiked from the end of the road instead of Seven Dwarfs.
The first big change I noticed was the new bridge – nice! In a relatively short time we completed the ~1 mile hike in to the actual trailhead. There, we re-grouped and set off on the North Twin Trail. The early conditions were pretty good but not great – cold (-12 degrees), calm wind, and a light overcast. We made our way along the North Twin Trail headed for the third crossing of Little River. The intention was to skip the first two crossings and many before us followed the same approach – the trail is very well tracked out. Along the way we met Jerry Horne, Wildpeaks, and Basil. We managed to leapfrog each other a few times in the course of the hike. The Twins and Galehead as a winter hike is a full day for most folks. In his mid-70’s and going strong, Jerry Horne was out there setting an example for us all. This guy is really amazing.
We cleared the third crossing and the work started. From here to the summit of North Twin was 2.4 miles and 2400 feet in elevation. We started the climb with everybody generally working at their own comfortable pace. In the course of the climb we became a little spread out but that’s not unusual for such a large group. Along the way we passed over, under, and around a number of blowdowns. All were easy to get past. By the time we reached the summit we had two groups with Jerry’s trio in between. I was in the front group and decided to hang around for the others to arrive. The early morning overcast was now gone and we had beautiful sunny conditions but there was a light breeze to make cold a little colder. Since it was still cold and we had some wind I layered up to stay comfortable. Eventually, Jerry came through, and a short time later Ed’n Lauky appeared, and then Happyhiker, Scoutmaster, and Dave Bear. To stay warm, the front group already was on their way to South Twin. We got a few summit pictures, briefly enjoyed the views, and headed for our next target.
Along the way to South Twin we enjoyed views to the summit area and noticed others that were there. I assume it was the front part of our group. The scenery along the North Twin Spur is terrific. There are distance views at multiple places and the trail has sheltered sections that are loaded with snow and ice on the trees. One after another – beautiful winter scenes. Soon we were approaching the South Twin Summit. At this point in our hike the majority of the hard work was done. The day started with ~15 miles and 3900 feet in elevation to work through. When we reached South Twin we had completed 7.1 miles and 3600 feet; in terms of combined distance and elevation we were well past the half-way point and right on plan. We headed down to the Galehead Hut for a lunch break and then our quick up and down of Galehead Mountain. At the hut we found Jerry sitting on the front porch enjoying the sunny conditions. Earlier, the wind was coming from the north and conditions on the hut porch were comfortable. The wind direction changed and was now more from the west. Consequently, our lunch break was a short one.
We set off on the Frost Trail for the summit of Galehead. Along the way we met the front part of our group on their descent. They were approximately half-way back down to the hut when we met them – I’m guessing we were probably half-way up to the summit. Sue was in the front group. She decided to stay warm, u-turned, and climbed back to the summit with us. Along the way we made a quick stop on the viewpoint for some pictures and then to the summit for the checkmarks. With #3 of 3 out of the way all that was left was a downhill trek to Beaver Brook. We all generally re-grouped at the hut and set off on the Garfield Ridge Trail for our exit hike. Soon we reached the junction with the Gale River Trail, made the turn, and headed down. The crossings of the Gale River were a breeze. A short distance before reaching the summer trailhead we pulled out the headlights. From the start it seemed clear the final hour would be done with headlights.
On the hike out we missed the turn to the connector trail that goes directly to Beaver Brook and actually hiked all of the way to Route 3. A couple minutes after reaching the highway, Paradox pulled up and brought DaveBear and Happyhiker back to their vehicles. A few more minutes and KRobi pulled up to give us a warm place to wait for Davebear’s return. And a short time later Davebear arrived with his vehicle and we quickly packed and hit the highway south.
This was another terrific day in the mountains. The trails are all in great shape, there are a few blowdowns along the way but none were difficult to get past, and there was no ice that required crampons or a bypass. The group was a real treat and a pleasure to hike with. It was nice to meet Ed’n Lauky, MikeM, KRobi, and Paradox. Thanks to everybody for a fun day out. And thanks to Sue – you’re getting close!
Pictures will follow.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
Trails: North Twin Trail, North Twin Spur, Frost Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Gale River Trail, Winter approach and exit (Little River Road, Beaver Brook Wayside Area)
Summits: North Twin, South Twin, Galehead
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), Happyhiker (Karen), Davebear, Scoutmaster (Gary), Loanshark (Skip), MikeM, KRobi, Ed’n Lauky, Paradox (John), and me
Friday night I got a call from Davebear letting me know he was interested in joining the hike and carpool. Great! Sue and I were already planning to meet at the Exit 6 Park & Ride for our usual early start and Dave said he would be there. We all met as planned, loaded everything into the truck, and hit the highway north. Just after passing through the Bedford Tolls a warning message appeared on the dashboard – “Battery Not Charging”. This was new. I listened for any odd sounds and didn’t hear anything – with my poor hearing that’s not unusual for me. The other gauges all appeared good and I continued to drive toward Manchester. I decided it might be wise to look under the hood and made a move for the shoulder. Immediately, I realized there was no power steering. A ¾ ton 4WD heavy duty pickup with a diesel engine is a real handful without power steering. At that point I was pretty sure the drive belt was gone. When I found there were no power brakes either it was a definite. A ¾ ton 4WD heavy duty pickup with a diesel engine is a real handful without power brakes. We stopped but I left the engine running and lifted the hood – no drive belt. We decided to return to the start, swap vehicles, and have a slightly later than planned start.
A little later than planned we met Scoutmaster at the Bow Park & Ride and continued north to the hike. Dave made good time and we managed to reach the Beaver Brook Wayside Area on-time. Quite a few people were there and some had already left for Little River Road and their hike. We finished our pre-hike preparation; introductions all around, consolidated gear, and took off for Little River Road. Since there were no “No Parking” signs posted, we hiked from the end of the road instead of Seven Dwarfs.
The first big change I noticed was the new bridge – nice! In a relatively short time we completed the ~1 mile hike in to the actual trailhead. There, we re-grouped and set off on the North Twin Trail. The early conditions were pretty good but not great – cold (-12 degrees), calm wind, and a light overcast. We made our way along the North Twin Trail headed for the third crossing of Little River. The intention was to skip the first two crossings and many before us followed the same approach – the trail is very well tracked out. Along the way we met Jerry Horne, Wildpeaks, and Basil. We managed to leapfrog each other a few times in the course of the hike. The Twins and Galehead as a winter hike is a full day for most folks. In his mid-70’s and going strong, Jerry Horne was out there setting an example for us all. This guy is really amazing.
We cleared the third crossing and the work started. From here to the summit of North Twin was 2.4 miles and 2400 feet in elevation. We started the climb with everybody generally working at their own comfortable pace. In the course of the climb we became a little spread out but that’s not unusual for such a large group. Along the way we passed over, under, and around a number of blowdowns. All were easy to get past. By the time we reached the summit we had two groups with Jerry’s trio in between. I was in the front group and decided to hang around for the others to arrive. The early morning overcast was now gone and we had beautiful sunny conditions but there was a light breeze to make cold a little colder. Since it was still cold and we had some wind I layered up to stay comfortable. Eventually, Jerry came through, and a short time later Ed’n Lauky appeared, and then Happyhiker, Scoutmaster, and Dave Bear. To stay warm, the front group already was on their way to South Twin. We got a few summit pictures, briefly enjoyed the views, and headed for our next target.
Along the way to South Twin we enjoyed views to the summit area and noticed others that were there. I assume it was the front part of our group. The scenery along the North Twin Spur is terrific. There are distance views at multiple places and the trail has sheltered sections that are loaded with snow and ice on the trees. One after another – beautiful winter scenes. Soon we were approaching the South Twin Summit. At this point in our hike the majority of the hard work was done. The day started with ~15 miles and 3900 feet in elevation to work through. When we reached South Twin we had completed 7.1 miles and 3600 feet; in terms of combined distance and elevation we were well past the half-way point and right on plan. We headed down to the Galehead Hut for a lunch break and then our quick up and down of Galehead Mountain. At the hut we found Jerry sitting on the front porch enjoying the sunny conditions. Earlier, the wind was coming from the north and conditions on the hut porch were comfortable. The wind direction changed and was now more from the west. Consequently, our lunch break was a short one.
We set off on the Frost Trail for the summit of Galehead. Along the way we met the front part of our group on their descent. They were approximately half-way back down to the hut when we met them – I’m guessing we were probably half-way up to the summit. Sue was in the front group. She decided to stay warm, u-turned, and climbed back to the summit with us. Along the way we made a quick stop on the viewpoint for some pictures and then to the summit for the checkmarks. With #3 of 3 out of the way all that was left was a downhill trek to Beaver Brook. We all generally re-grouped at the hut and set off on the Garfield Ridge Trail for our exit hike. Soon we reached the junction with the Gale River Trail, made the turn, and headed down. The crossings of the Gale River were a breeze. A short distance before reaching the summer trailhead we pulled out the headlights. From the start it seemed clear the final hour would be done with headlights.
On the hike out we missed the turn to the connector trail that goes directly to Beaver Brook and actually hiked all of the way to Route 3. A couple minutes after reaching the highway, Paradox pulled up and brought DaveBear and Happyhiker back to their vehicles. A few more minutes and KRobi pulled up to give us a warm place to wait for Davebear’s return. And a short time later Davebear arrived with his vehicle and we quickly packed and hit the highway south.
This was another terrific day in the mountains. The trails are all in great shape, there are a few blowdowns along the way but none were difficult to get past, and there was no ice that required crampons or a bypass. The group was a real treat and a pleasure to hike with. It was nice to meet Ed’n Lauky, MikeM, KRobi, and Paradox. Thanks to everybody for a fun day out. And thanks to Sue – you’re getting close!
Pictures will follow.
I’ve posted some pictures from the day.
BIGEarl's Pictures
Straight to the slideshow
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