| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
North Twin Mountain, South Twin Mountain, West Bond, Mt. Bond, Bondcliff, Mt. Guyot, Zealand Mountain, Mt. Hale, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Little River Road, herd path, Haystack Road, North Twin Trail, North Twin Spur, Twinway, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur, Zealand Spur, Lend-A-Hand Trail, Firewarden's Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, May 3, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at Seven Dwarfs, $10 on the windshield. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Mud - Significant, Snow - Spring Snow, Snow/Ice - Postholes, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Generally easy rock hops today. North Twin Tr (3rd crossing) was easily walked across with max depth of 2-3" of water over rocks. Zealand crossings just above the hut were no big deal. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Various blowdowns on all the trails except Bondcliff Tr. Some of the more notable ones are lower down between the 2nd and 3rd water crossings on North Twin Tr, on Lend-A-Hand, and on Firewarden's. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
Lower els starting to get webby. Saw some buzzing things too. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Left my sunglasses on Bondcliff and didn't realize it til I was back on Bond summit. Oh well, I'm not gutted. If you find them and like them, keep em, with my compliments. |
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 | Comments: |
tl;dr - I carried spikes and snowshoes and used both, along with barebooting sections. Seems like the party of "firm center snowpack" is starting to come to an end, as snow in numerous spots was easily collapsing under foot even with snowshoes on.
A misty day for this hike with no views whatsoever, but on the plus side it would appear I had the place all to myself. Ascending North Twin Tr, patchy snow starts around 2500' but I didn't put any traction on til about 3100' when continuous snowpack starts. Spikes from there 'til South Twin. At South Twin, I went 50' down Twinway (towards Guyot) and then put on snowshoes as the snow on trail is loose, choppy, and still 3-5" of unpacked spring snow from last week. This section of Twinway between S Twin and Guyot has seem some recent use with both boots and at least one set of snowshoes. At Guyot I parked my snowshoes at the Bondcliff/Twinway junction then proceeded to bareboot the entire out/back to the Bonds. On the way out it was easy enough with supportive snow, except on the West Bond spur where I did posthole several times in the col blowdown clearing just before the summit climb. The alpine sections between Bond and Bondcliff are mostly snow and ice free. On the way back, snow was softening, with midday temps in the low 50's.
Once back on Twinway heading towards Zealand, I put the snowshoes back on and kept them until the ladder towards the low end of Zealand Ridge. Actually I descended the ladder with the snowshoes on but then immediately took them off as there's a sketchy ice flow another 30' below the ladder. Spikes stayed on til after Zeacliff, then snowshoes again til I took them off closer to the water crossings, which were easy hops by the way.
After refilling/filtering water at a higher water crossing on the Twinway, I ascended Hale via Lend-A-Hand Tr. Here conditions were very soft and I switched back and forth between spikes and snowshoes on the ascent, barebooting some of the open sections that were mostly clear of snow and ice, albeit muddy and with pooled water. This probably ended up being the toughest part of the day.
At the Hale summit I rejoiced at having no more climbs for the day, put my snowshoes back on and descended Firewarden's. The trail is mostly firm packed, although partway down there are several lengthy ice sections and I put spikes on again. Finally around 3100' the snow rather quickly peters out to dry ground. Easy cruising back to the North Twin Tr junction. |
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 | Name: |
Eric H |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-05-03 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.strava.com/activities/7084489869 |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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