Hiking in the White Mountains: AMC 48

Showing posts with label AMC 48. Show all posts

2010 Year in Hiking Review!

2010 was a great year for hiking for me. I started winter hiking and was able to knock off 24 of the 48 - 4,000 footers in New Hampshire. I adopted the Sphinx Trail and was able to clear back the trail above treeline hopefully making it more enjoyable for hikers. I also was able to do most of the hikes I was looking forward to such as a Pemi Loop, full Presidential Traverse, a Franconia Notch Loop, hiking the abandoned Adams Slide Trail, Devil's Path (Catskills) and hike trails I've never been on like the Six Husbands, King Ravine, Great Gully, Davis Path, Madison Gulf, etc etc. I did however come up short of hiking 1,000 miles in the mountains this year, although it's kind of difficult having to drive from RI and gas prices are ridiculously high so I may never be able to achieve this but that's ok.

For 2011 I have set some goals which are the following
1. Finish the Winter 48 - 4,000 footers
2. Hike the Adirondack 46'ers
3. 24 hour hut to hut Traverse
4. Mahoosuc Notch Traverse
- Along with the usual Pemi Loop and full Presi Traverse and maybe a few other killer day hikes!

2010 Stats:
- 728.1 miles hiked
- 120 - 4,000 Official 4,000 foot summits hiked
- 244,950 elevation gained

January
Tom, Field, Willey: 9.8 miles (3,500 elevation gain)
North Tripyramid, Middle Tripyramid: 9.6 miles (3,450 elevation gain)
Tecumseh: 5 miles (2,400 elevation gain)
Washington, Monroe: 8.4 miles (4,100 elevation gain)
8 Peaks, 32.8 miles (13,450 elevation gain)

February
Bondcliff, Bond, West Bond: 22.8 miles (4,700 elevation gain)
S. Carter, M. Carter, Cater Dome, Wildcat "A", Wildcat "D": 15.8 miles (6,200 elevation gain)
8 Peaks, 38.6 miles (10,900 elevation gain)

March
E. Osceola, Osceola: 7.5 miles (3,300 elevation gain)
Madison, Adams, Jefferson: 15.5 miles (6,500 elevation gain)
5 Peaks, 23 miles (9,800 elevation gain)

April
Lincoln, Lafayette: 9.0 miles (4,200 elevation gain)
Pierce, Eisenhower, Monroe, Washington: 13.0 miles (5,650 elevation gain)
6 peaks, 22 miles (9,850 elevation gain)

May
Zealand, Hale: 21.5 miles (4,300 elevation gain)
Washington: 11.3 miles (5,100 elevation gain)
Galehead, South Twin, North Twin: 14.4 miles (4,400 elevation gain)
Devil's Path "East" (Catskills): 26.2 miles (9,100 elevation gain)
Pemi Loop: 32.5 miles (9,500 elevation gain)
Jefferson, Adams, Madison: 16 miles (6,050 elevation gain)
18 Peaks, 121.9 miles (38,450 elevation gain)

June
Jefferson, Washington, Monroe: 13.8 miles (5,200 elevation gain)
Eisenhower, Pierce, Jackson: 18.7 miles (4,650 elevation gain)
Full Presidential Traverse (North to South): 23 miles (9,100 elevation gain)
Flume, Liberty, Lincoln, Lafayette, Cannon, N. Kinsman, S. Kinsman: 28.1 miles (9,900 elevation gain)
21 peaks, 83.6 miles (28,850 elevation gain)

July
Devil's Path "West" (Catskills): 23.8 miles (6,150 elevation gain)
Adams: 11.8 miles (5,000 elevation gain)
Washington: 14.8 miles (7,000 elevation gain)
2 Peaks, 50.4 miles (18,150 elevation gain)

August
Adams, Jefferson: 13.0 miles (6,000 elevation gain)
Washington, Monroe: 15.0 miles (5,850 elevation gain)
Bondcliff, Bond, West Bond: 22.9 miles (4,750 elevation gain)
North Twin, South Twin, Zealand, Hale: 18.0 miles (5,300 elevation gain)
North Tripyramid, Middle Tripyramid: 11.1 miles (3,000 elevation gain)
Washington: 14.0 miles (6,150 elevation gain)
Adams: 13.1 miles (4,600 elevation gain)
Lincoln, Lafayette: 8.9 miles (3,900 elevation gain)
17 Peaks, 116 miles (39,550 elevation gain)

September
Hale, Zealand, South Twin, North Twin: 18.0 miles (5,300 elevation gain)
Wildcat "D", Wildcat "A", Carter Dome, S. Carter, M. Carter: 20.0 miles (6,500 elevation gain)
Hancock, S. Hancock: 9.8 miles (2,650 elevation gain)
Jefferson: 7.0 miles (3,400 elevation gain)
Passaconaway: 10.0 miles (3,800 elevation gain)
Isolation, Washington, Monroe: 30.7 miles (8,000 elevation gain)
16 Peaks, 95.5 miles (29,650 elevation gain)

October
Adams: 9.4 miles (4,500 elevation gain)
Washington, Monroe: 11.1 miles (5,000 elevation gain)
Chocorua: 9.0 miles (2,800 elevation gain)
3 Peaks, 29.5 miles (12,300 elevation gain)

November
Zealand, West Bond, Bond, Bondcliff: 20.2 miles (5,100 elevation gain)
Eisenhower, Pierce, Jackson: 12.5 miles (3,750 elevation gain)
Madison, Adams, Jefferson: 15.3 miles (5,800 elevation gain)
Cabot: 10.7 miles (4,000 elevation gain)
Appalachian Trail (Shenandoah): 20.0 miles (4,300 elevation gain)
11 Peaks, 78.7 miles (22,950 elevation gain)

December
Liberty, Flume, Waumbek: 16.4 miles (6,700 elevation gain)
Hale, Zealand: 19.7 miles (4,350 elevation gain)
5 Peaks, 36.1 miles (11,050 elevation gain)

Pemi Loop (Clockwise)

Date of Hike: 5/29/10

Lincoln Woods Trail: 1.4 miles
Osseo Trail: 4.1 miles
Franconia Ridge: 5.0 miles
Garfield Ridge Trail: 6.6 miles
Twinway: 2.8 miles
Boncliff Trail: .4 miles
West Bond Spur: 1.0 miles
Bondcliff Trail: 6.5 miles
LW/Wilderness Trail: 4.7 miles
Total Miles: 32.5 miles (9,500 elevation gain)

Trip Report:
- Backpacker magazine rates the Pemi Loop America's second hardest dayhike, with extreme miles, rough/rugged footing, knee hammering rocks, couple of sections of Alpine Zone, and (if doing it clockwise) a final 4.7 miles on the most boring/mind numbing flat section of trail known on earth...So with that being said it was time to finally hike this awesome endurance hike with a stop at West Bond along the way!
- Left RI at 2am, on trail at 5am, Galehead Hut at 12:30pm, Bondcliff Summit at 4pm, hallucinations of a little old man and his dog in a canoe that would paddle me down the Pemi River back to my car at 6:23pm, finished at 7:30 pm
- Temps were above 60 all day, partly cloudy skies with hazy but great views, light wind, terrific trail conditions!
- From the onset I hiked at a pretty good pace, there were more step ladders on the Osseo trail than I had remembered and they were very well placed. Views to Owl's Head and the Bonds in the early morning from the Osseo Trail outlook were exceptional.
- Views from Flume and Liberty were great and as always coming up above treeline before Little Haystack never gets old.
- Hit my first wall hiking up to Lincoln and that's when I saw the first of many people of the day, a trail runner zooming along with only a bottle of water in hand.
- At the summit of Lafayette is the end of the Franconia Ridge Trail and so begins the "Dreaded" Garfield Ridge Trail. It's like a mini rollercoaster ride if you walked the tracks in hiking boots, after the first mile it's 5.6 miles in the woods of elevation gains and losses of every kind imaginable with maybe one or two views...I counted 20 ups and downs and of course the only time the whole day the weather was subpar was on the Garfield Ridge.
- The Garfield Ridge ends at the Galehead Hut 17 miles into the hike, wear I stopped, relaxed, and refueled. I debated hiking up to Galehead's summit but I was just there two weeks ago and hiking 10 minutes to see a pile of rocks with no views was not going to happen.
- Next up was the Twinway and it's steep ascent up to South Twin, along the way I ran into Big Earl who was doing a Twins, Galehead, and Garfield traverse, nice running into you Earl!
- Views from South Twin were phenomenal as always and the hike over to Bondcliff Trail went pretty fast even with the annoying patches of snow hanging around in spots.
- One of my favorite spots in the Pemi is the section above treeline up to Mount Guyot, views are unbelievable on a good day!
- On the Bondcliff Trail at the Guyot Campsite Trail Junction sign, I took a pic of my favorite trail sign that says 0.7 miles to Bond which I like to photoshop extra letters and a zero in there (Click here to see what I mean)
- At this point of the hike I could feel the my legs wearing down but the views from West Bond, Bond, and the hike down to Bondcliff is so awesome that any pain just goes away.
- However, the hike down from Bondcliff to the LW/W Trail is brutal, every step is killer on your knees and then is followed by 4.7 miles on the flat LW/W Trail which after 28 miles becomes an ultimate gut-check.
- Luckily on this last stretch I didn't lose my marbles or get distracted by my favorite old rusted pieces of railroad parts/trash except for when I thought "Hey if I had a boogie-board I could boogie-down the pemi river and back to my car in about 15 minutes"
- Back at the car I stretched my legs for 15 minutes all the while thrilled about what a great hike I had just completed...a perfect day in the Pemigewesset Wilderness...it was Epic!

Pictures: Click Here for all Pictures

Mount Liberty Summit

Franconia Ridge Trail with Mount Liberty and Flume Summits

Bondcliff Trail Mount Guyot

Bondcliff, Bond, and west Bond Summits

Killing Kittens on Galehead, South Twin & North Twin Mountain

Date of Hike: 5/18/10

Gale River/Garfield Ridge Trail: 4.6 miles
Frost Trail: 1.0 miles
Twinway: .8 miles
North Twin Spur: 2.6 miles
Twinway: .8 miles
Gale River/Garfield Ridge Trail: 4.6 miles
Total Miles: 14.4 miles (elevation gain 4,400 feet)

Trip Report
- With warmer temperatures and rotting unpredictable snow comes the joyful pleasure of what is called "postholing" which is what happens when you're pleasently walking along on top of several feet of snow and all of a sudden your right foot punches through the snow and you leg dissapears up to your waist and you fall awkwardly as your other leg is still on top of the snow. So you get yourself up brush the wet snow off curse alot (if that's your thing) then you walk another ten steps and your other leg shoots through the snow and you fall into a tree...after about a dozen times you sort of get used to it and you just hope you don't posthole your knee into a rock...However it's not all bad because I've been told that for every time you posthole you kill a kitten so at least you have that going for you (I kid I kid!)
- Monday's forecast was another perfect day to hike with temps in the 50's at higher elevations and clear skies making for some great views from Galehead Hut, South Twin, and North Twin Summit with winds out of the north at 20 MPH
- The hike up to Galehead Hut went quickly as the only annoying snow was on the .6 miles on the dreaded Garfield Ridge Trail. Once at the hut I relaxed for a bit in the sun looking into the Pemi Wilderness before I made the quick hike up the Frost Trail to Galehead's summit. The hut is open for self service until it officially opens in a few weeks so no one was in there, the caretaker was out for the day so I had it all to myself!
- The Frost Trail was a bit of a pain with some narrow and slanted "monorail" snow (see pic below) making for slow going in a few spots. Monorail snow is a pretty bizarre formation of snow that lingers around in the middle of the trail as a result of being packed down from hikers over the winter months...unfortunately this type of monorail doesn't take you to the Magic Kingdom!
- The hike up the Twinway to South Twin is one of my favorite hikes in all the White Mountains, it gains 1,150 feet in just .8 mile and I usually make it a challenge to see how fast I can hike up it. My personal best is 25 minutes but today it beat me up pretty good because of all the unstable snow and it took 35 minutes.
- South Twin Summit has some of the best views in all of the White Mountains and I took a break and had lunch before I headed over to North Twin.
- The hike over and back to North Twin was pretty fast, the trail is faint to follow with pine needles blanketing the snow on the trail which is still several feet deep.
- Back at South Twin I took another break to enjoy the views and then I quickly descended the Twinway back to the hut postholing several times along the way. Back at Galehead hut there was still no one around it was so very quiet as I relaxed and changed into my 3rd pair of dry socks and relaxed on the front steps of the hut in the sun for awhile and then made the 4.6 mile hike back to the car.
- Perfect day for a hike other than the lingering snow. On trail at 8:30 am finished at 3:40 pm, postholed about two dozen times...ohhh those poor kittens!

Pics: Click here for all pics

Monorail Snow on Frost Trail

South Twin Summit

Galehead Hut and the Pemigewasset Wilderness

Return of the "Knee Hammering" Rocks (Mount Washington)

Date of Hike: 5/16/10

Tuckerman Ravine Trail: 2.5 miles
Lion Head Trail: 1.6 miles
Tuckerman Ravine Trail: 1.0 miles
Lawn Cutoff: .4 miles
Davis Path: .6 miles
Boot Spur: .7 miles
Boot Spur Link: .6 miles
Tuckerman Ravine Trail: 3.9
Total Miles: 11.3 miles (elevation gain 5,100 feet)

Trip Report:
- For the past 5 months I have been hiking in full winter gear or with the gear strapped or stuffed in my pack and although I have enjoyed almost every minute of hiking during the winter I have about had it carrying extra weight seeing that it is now the middle of May. I almost decided to go hike the Catskills this weekend but I figured this would probably be the last time I'd have to bring the gear along eventhough I'd probably use it for only 5 tenths of a mile....I was wrong I only needed it for about 2 tenths of a mile! So I sucked it up and with great weather forecast for Sunday I set my sights on checking out the skiers and boarders in Tuckerman Ravine and of course a quick hike up to Mount Washington's summit.
- Left RI at 4:15am, on trail at 8am, summited 11am, finished at 3:30pm. Temps at trailhead to Hermit Lakes Shelter 50-60 degrees, temps on summit 30 degrees, 50-70 MPH winds, wind chill 10-20 degrees...clouds gave way to a clear bright sunny sky with 100 + visibility!
- The route that I had planned to hike was Tuckerman Ravine trail to Lion Head trail (up and down), and head over to the bottom of Tuckerman Ravine and watch the skiers from Lunch Rocks.
- I stopped in at Hermit Lake Shelter to ask the caretaker about trail conditions and just to double check the weather report. After refueling and changing gear I went back to the Lion Head Trail junction and started on my way towards treeline.
- Above treeline winds were constantly whipping out of the west/north west right into my face and I had to break out gloves/hat/winter wind breaker
- Lion Head Trail is mostly snow free now and the knee hammering rocks have returned after months of being hidden beneath the snow. There were a couple of steep sections of spring snow just past the Alpine Garden junction where I used my crampons for about 5 minutes eventhough they were not needed and didn't help much.
- The trail hooks back up with the Tuckerman Ravine trail .4 miles below the summit and the trail becomes a series of boulders which you get to enjoy until just below the summit where the trail ends at the lower parking lot where you are greeted by about 50 of the most annoying wooden steps known to man!
- Wind speeds at the summit were fast and furious making it fun to try and attempt to stand upright on the observation deck
- The inside of the summit building is now open for hikers but nothing else is up and going inside, but it's nice and warm and was a perfect chance to eat lunch and warm up.
- On descent when I arrived at the Tuckerman/Lion Head junction and decided "screw it I'm going over to the Boot Spur and down the boot Spur Link!"
- The hike over the Lawn cutoff, Davis Path, and Boot Spur was very windy but the views and almost no one on the trail made it a great hike.
- The Boot Spur Link on the other hand was not so much fun below treeline where the snow still lingers a few feet deep and the trail is extremely steep. I started off kicking in step after step for .1 mile...to no avail, then I decided to butt slide for .1 mile...way to fast and not safe, so with my A$$ and hands numb I had to put on my snowshoes for about .1 mile until it leveled out where I took off the snowshoes and immediately postholed both legs into the snow up to my waist!
- The Boot Spur Link conveniently comes out right at Hermit Lakes Shelter where I then hiked .7 miles up to Lunch Rocks at the bottom of the Tuckerman Ravine Headwall to relax for a while and watch all the skiers slowly make there way up parts of the ravine then ski back down. There were about three dozen people watching from lunch rocks and about two dozen skiers scattered all over the ravine where there were no crevasses.
- The hike back to Pinkham Notch was pretty fast and very boring as the Tuckerman Ravine trail from Hermit Lakes to PNVC is not difficult but after a long day your knees get beat up on the rocky trail-bed which is not so enjoyable!
- back at the car I went to the pack room to stretch and relax before I headed to stay in Gorham for the night to prepare for Monday's hike of Galehead and the Twin Mountains...all in all another awesome day of hiking above treeline!

Pictures: Click here to view all pictures

Hermit Lake Shelter

Tuckerman Ravine Headwall

Wildcat and Cater Mountains from Boot Spur Trail

Tuckerman Ravine

Floor of the ravine and 'Lunch Rocks'

Crawford Path and the Cog Railway (Mount Pierce, Eisenhower, Monroe, Washington)

Date of Hike: 4/24/10

Crawford Path: 3.1 miles
Webster Cliff Trail: .2 miles
Crawford Path: 1.2 miles
Mount Eisenhower Loop: .8 miles
Crawford Path: 1.4 miles
Mount Monroe Loop: .7 miles
Crawford Path: 1.6 miles
Cog Railway Tracks: 3.0 miles
Base Station Road: 1.0 miles
Total Miles: 13 miles (elevation gain 5,650)

Trip Report:
- With a promising forcast for Saturday I decided it would be a pretty cool idea to hike the Crawford Path all the way up to Mount Washington as well as Mount Pierce, Eisenhower, and Monroe along the way.
- Since a majority of this hike was going to be above treeline I wanted to make sure I got on the trail early to give myself plenty of time in case I had any problem locating trails or if anything went wrong I'd have plenty of time to bailout before dark. However this meant another early ride up from RI
- Left RI at 3:15am, on trail at 6:30am, finished at 1:30pm. Temps in 30's above treeline with 20-40 MPH wind out of the west. Sunny skies, 100 miles visibiliy!
- On drive up to Crawford Notch I was lucky enough to see two moose, one in Franconia Notch and another about a mile after I took a right onto Route 302
- Trail was in decent shape for first .5 miles and then I was surprised to see there was still alot of snow below treeline, luckily it was packed solid and made for a quick and easy hike until the tracks I had been following wandered around a few different ways just below Mount Pierce Summit
- Winter conditions are making one final stand on the higher summits and after last weeks snowfall no one had broken out the trail between Pierce and Eisenhower, the trail was tricky to follow a couple of times in spots in the scrub where the cairns where burried in the snow. If the visibility was low and the weather was iffy I would have turned around and got off the moutain ASAP but because the weather was perfect I was able to carefully stumble back on the trail not falling into any spruce traps
- I didn't stay long on the summit of Mount Eisenhower because the wind was whipping, the views looking back to the south to Pierce and up towards Washington where kick ass as always! (Click here for video Clip)
- On the Way to Mount Monroe I made a side stop at the tiny Mount Franklin summit which had terrific views into the Oaks Gulf/Dry River Wilderness
- After Going up and over a windy Monroe and down to Lakes of the Clouds I got out of the wind and relaxed/reheated in the sun and put on all my winter gear (snow pants, crampons, mittens, etc.) for the 1.5 mile slog up to Washington. Luckily the winds started dying down as I got higher and higher which made for a pleasent climb
- Just below the summit I finally ran into the first two people of the day who had come up Ammonoosuc Ravine trail and where headed down the Jewell Trail
- I made it to Mount Washinton summit at 11:30, there were quite a few people, mostly all skiers, only a handfull of hikers and one dog who was running around having fun
- I decided to descend along the side of the Cog Railway tracks, I had always wanted to do this to see what it was like. It was the quickest way down I have ever hiked and was pretty easy going, the only steep part is a section above and next to "Jacobs Ladder"
- About two dozen skiers and handfull of snow boarders coming up to go ski into the Great Gulf and all around where the snow was still deep and not chewed up
- Back at the Marshfield Station I started to walk the Base Station Road to Mount Clinton Road back to my car which is 5 miles but about twenty minutes into my walk a couple of AMC crew guys were nice enough to let me jump in the back of their truck and drive me the Highland Center at Crawford Notch across the street from my car!

Pictures: Click here for all Pics

Mount Eisenhower, Monroe, & Washington Summit

Mount Eisenhower Summit

Mount Monroe

Southern Presidential Range

Lakes of the Clouds Hut & Mount Monroe

Great Gulf Wilderness

Cog Railway down to Brenton Woods

Jacobs Ladder

Hope Springs Eternal (Mount Little Haystack, Lincoln, Lafayette)

Date of Hike: 4/3/10

Falling Waters Trail: 3.4 miles
Franconia Ridge Trail: 1.6 miles
Greenleaf Trail: 1.1 miles
Old Bridle Path: 2.9 miles
Total Miles: 9.0 (4,200 elevation gain)

Trip Report:
- I was going to take the week off from hiking but seeing the incredible forcast for Saturday I couldn't pass up a chance to get up to the mountains for a quick hike of one of the most popular loop hikes around...the classic Franconia Ridge Loop
- What a difference a week makes! Last Saturday I hiked in total winter conditions, frigid weather, ice, deep snow, steep slopes, wind etc...this week 60 degrees, slush for snow, powerful sun, no wind, postholing!
- Left RI at 4:40am, on trail just after 7:30am, finished around 1:30pm. Temperature at trailhead were 42 degrees and rising fast, warmed up to about 60-65 degrees on the ridge! Clear skies made for 75 plus miles visibility
- Trail consisted of mud, rocks, monorail snow, postholing snow, chopped up slush snow, rotting snow, slippery snow, and ice snow, every kind of snow except for powder snow!. I brought all my winter traction and ice axe but other than wearing my microspikes up to Little Haystack the other gear never left my pack.
- All the water crossings on Falling Waters trail were running high and slick, every crossing was half rock-hopable half you're going to get your boots wet but not to difficult
- At the second crossing I made it across mostly unscathed and was thrilled, I wanted to take a picture and my camera wasn't strapped to my pack, I had left it about .2 miles down trail at the prevuois crossing...needless to say as I re-crossed the brook my right foot went in up to my knee! My toes got pretty cold but with the warm temps I knew by the time I got into the sunshine on the ridge and a change of socks I'd be fine
- Popping up out of treeline and stepping onto the Franconia Ridge Trail never gets old, the views are some of the best and no matter how many times I've hiked this section of the trail I always find myself stopping over and over again to take in the views!
- The walk across the ridge was great as usual, most of the trail was mud and bare rocks, except for a few sections between Lincoln and Lafayette that had slippery snow with one or two pretty gnarley dropoffs
- I saw about a dozen people on the ridge, all kinds of hikers out and about and as I desceded the Greenleaf trail I ran into two guys, one with ski's one with a snowboard. They were headed to a small, steep, insane vertical looking shute between Lafayette and Lincoln
- The hike from Greenleaf hut to the car was slower than usual because the trail is beat to crap, plus I fell and smashed my upper back into a boulder.
- Ran into three more skiers who had aborted their hike up the mountain, they tried telling me the were going to ski "Tuckermans" as in Tuckerman Ravine on Mount Washington, wrong guy to try to pull that one over on dudes! I should have responded with "Yeah and I just took a piss off Lunch Rocks!!"
- All in all a great day on a great hike that never gets old!

Pictures: Click here for all pictures

Mount Lincoln

Mount Liberty and Flume from Mount Lincoln Summit

South Twin Mountain with Mount Washington

Looming in the background

Franconia Ridge

Eagle Lake and Mount Lafayette

48 - 4,000 Footers in 2009

On September 6th I completed my first round of the AMC 48 White Mountain Four-Thousand footers. I next thought about trying to hike all of them in the upcoming fall season, but I had a few weekends with other plans that would keep me from accomplishing that goal, plus living 3 plus hours away, and hiking mostly on weekends made me realize this would have to wait until fall 2010. However looking at my list I noticed I had bagged 23 new summits this year alone since May to complete the list, also I had done my usual Presidential Traverse which knocked off an additional 7 and a few other hikes I had done also knocked off a few more. So in-between revisiting my favorite trails and exploring new trails in the Presidential and Pemigewasset Wildernesses I decided to just do the remaining mountains to complete the 48 in one year. It's not my second time completing the list but I thought it would be interesting to do it.

Breakdown of 48 - 4,000 footers in 2009

Date of Hikes : May 25th through December 6th

May 25 - Tecumseh (5.1 miles)
June 7 - North & Middle Tripyramid (11.1. miles)
June 13 - Bondcliff, Bond, West Bond, Zealand, South Twin, North Twin, Galehead (21.8 miles)
June 14 - Garfield, Lafayette, Lincoln, Liberty, Flume (17.2 miles)
July 3 - Mount Hanckock & South Hancock (9.8 miles)
July 18 - South Carter & Middle Carter (11.8 miles)
July19 - North Kinsman, South Kinsman, Cannon Mountain (14.0 miles)
August 8 - Jackson, Pierce, Eisenhower, Monroe, Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Madison (23.0 miles)
August 16 - Isolation (20.7 miles, hiked up Great Gulf to Mount Washington, then down Davis Path to Isolation)
August 28 - Owl's Head (29.8 miles, hiked Owl's Head, then up to South Twin, Bond and Bondcliff)
September 6 - Waumbek, Moriah, Carrigain (26.2 miles)
October 6 - East Osceola & Osceola (15 miles, also hiked East Pond Trail to make a loop)
October 17 - Mount Hale (25.7, Started from the Kanc, also hiked Mount Zealand)
November 21 - Mount Field, Willey, Tom (17.1 miles, Including Ethan Pond trail through Zealand Notch)
November 22 - Cater Dome, Wildcat A Peak, Wildcat D Peak (14.7 miles, hiked Mount Height and walked on Route 16 back to car)
November 29 - Mount Moosilauke (7.5 miles)
December 5 - Mount Whiteface & Passaconaway (11.5 miles)
December 6 - Mount Cabot (10 miles)

Total Miles (292, elevation gain around 90,000)
Averages (16.2 miles per hike, 5,000 elevation gain per hike)

Favorite Pics

Mount Tecemseh (on far left) Osceola's

West Bond from Bondcliff Summit

Mount Monroe and the Cog from Mount Clay Loop

South Twin Summit

Owl's Head and the Franconia Ridge

Star Lake and Mount Madison

Lakes of the Clouds and Mount Washington

Lakes of the Clouds and Mount Monroe

Tuckerman and Huntington Ravine from Mount Height

Mount Jefferson Summit Cairn

Mount Jefferson, Adams, and Madison from Washington

West Bond (4,540 feet)

West Bond from Bondcliff

West Bond sits deep in the Pemigewasset Wilderness and one of the most remote peaks in the White Mountains.. Views from the narrow bare summit are magnificent and well worth the miles logged to reach it. West Bond can be reached from Lincoln Woods off the Kanc (Route 112) via Lincoln Woods/Wilderness Trail, Bondcliff, and the West Bond Spur Trails. Another way to reach the summit is from Zealand Road via the Zealand, Twinway, Bondcliff, and West Bond Spur Trails. The Guyot Campsite is within a mile of the summit of West Bond off the Bondcliff trail.

Trails I've Hiked

-Lincoln Woods/Wilderness / Bondcliff / West Bond Spur Trail: 11.3 miles, elevation gain of 4,100 feet: The LW/Wilderness trail is an old logging road that runs deep into the Pemigewasset Wilderness, it is flat and has old railroad ties on the trail. It is not the most exciting trail but is easy on the feet to the Bondcliff Trail. The Bondcliff Trail has moderate grades with ok to rough footing. There is one steeper section halfway up to Bondcliff and then a short steep pitch with a very minor scramble just before reaching the exposed ridgeline. Once above this section views become incredible as the grades become easy over Bondcliff before dropping down into a small col and heading up to Mount Bond. The Bondcliff Trail descends to the West Bond Spur Trail just above the Guyot/Bond col. The West Bond Spur Trail descends moderately and the ascends moderately with good footing to the open summit of West Bond. The 1.2 miles between Bondcliff and Bond are above treeline and exposed to the weather so caution should be used in high winds and deteriorating conditions.

-Zealand / Twinway / Bondcliff / West Bond Spur Trail: 7.2 miles, elevation gain of 3,250 feet. The Zealand Trail has mostly easy grades with good footing as it leaves the end of Zealand Road off Route 302. The Twinway (A.T.) has moderate to steep grades with ok to rough footing. The first section of the Twinway is steep as it ascends past the Zealand Falls Hut, grades moderate with some short steep sections as it makes its way to Zealand Mountain. From the Zealand Mountain Spur Trail junction the Twinway drops down into a col between Zealand and Mount Guyot and then ascends over rough rocky boulders until popping out above treeline at the northeast summit of Guyot before dropping down to the Bondcliff Trail junction with stunning views to to Owl's Head and across to the Franconia Ridge. The Bondcliff Trail has moderate grades with rocky footing as it ascends to Mount Guyots open summit which has tremendous views in all directions. From here the Bondcliff trail drops down into a wooded col and ascends to the West Bond Spur Trail just past the Guyot Campsite spur path. The West Bond Spur Trail descends moderately and the ascends moderately with good footing to the open summit of West Bond.

Trip Reports:

November 13th, 2016: Across Lincoln Woods & Franconia Brook Trail, Hellgate Ravine Guitar Slide Bushwhack, across West Bond Spur, down Bondcliff Trail, across Abandoned Wilderness Trail, Wilderness Trail, East Side Trail

September 29th, 2016: Lincoln Woods, Bondcliff Trail, Twinway, West Bond Spur Trail Out n' back

January 23rd, 2016: Lincoln Woods, Bondcliff Trail, Twinway, West Bond Spur Trail Out n' back

October 11th, 2015: Across Lincoln Woods and Franconia Brook Trails, bushwhack up Hellgate Ravine, up and down West Bond Spur and Bondcliff Trail, out via Lincoln woods Trail

September 12th, 2015: Up North Twin Trail, North Twin Spur, across the Twinway, Up and down Bondcliff Trail, Lincoln Woods / Wilderness Trail (No Report)

April 12th, 2015: Lincoln Woods, Bondcliff Trail, Twinway, West Bond Spur Trail Out n' back

January 24th, 2015: Up Zealand Road, Zealand Trail, Twinway, Bondcliff Trail, up and down West Bond Spur, up and down Bondcliff Trail, out Lincoln Woods Trail

June 1st, 2014: Lincoln Woods, Franconia Brook, Bushwhack

February 1st, 2014: Lincoln Woods / Wilderness Trail, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur Trail Out n' back

September 21st, 2013: Up Zealand and the Twinway, Zealand Spur, Bondcliff Trail, up and down West Bond Spur, up and down Bondcliff Trail, across the Lincoln Woods Trail

August 31st, 2013: Lincoln Woods / Wilderness Trail, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur Trail Out n' back

August 24th, 2013: Across Lincoln Woods and Franconia Brook Trails, Up Twin Brook Trail and Twinway, up and down Bondcliff Trail, out via Lincoln woods Trail

July 6th, 2013: Pemi Loop (Clockwise)

May 30th, 2013: Lincoln Woods / Wilderness Trail, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur Trail Out n' back

April 28th, 2013: Lincoln Woods / Wilderness Trail, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur Trail Out n' back

November 23rd, 2012: Lincoln Woods / Wilderness Trail, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur Trail Out n' back

May 12th, 2012: Pemi Loop (Clockwise)

March 31st, 2012: Lincoln Woods / Wilderness Trail, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur Trail Out n' back

December 3rd, 2011: Lincoln Woods / Wilderness Trail, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur Trail Out n' back

July 2nd, 2011: Pemi Loop (Clockwise)

April 9th, 2011: Across Lincoln Woods/Wilderness Trail, up and down Bondcliff Trail with West Bond via West Bond Spur Trail

November 6th, 2010: Zealand, Twinway, Bondcliff, West Bond Spur Trail (Out & Back)

August 1st, 2010: Across Lincoln Woods/Wilderness Trail, up and down Bondcliff Trail, and West Bond via West Bond Spur Trail

May 29th, 2010: Pemi Loop (Clockwise)

February 6th, 2010: Across Lincoln Woods/Wilderness Trail, up and down Bondcliff Trail, West Bond via West Bond Spur Trail

June 13th, 2009: Two Day Pemigeweasset Traverse (Counter Clockwise)

Middle Carter (4,610 feet)

Middle Carter from the Carter-Moriah Trail north of South Carter

Middle Cater is located on the Appalachian Trail and has limited views to the east and north from it's mostly wooded summit. The hike to and from the summit is probably only interesting to peak-baggers looking to knock off one of the 48 - 4,000 footers. There are a couple of good views of the Presidential Range and surroundings areas between South and Middle and North and Middle Carter. The two ways to reach the summit of Middle Cater are both off NH16 from the Nineteen-Mile Brook Trailhead via Nineteen-Mile Brook, Cater Dome, and Carter-Moriah Trails, or the Imp Trailhead, via The Imp, North Carter, and Carter-Moriah Trails.