Hiked: 09.18-21.20, 30.3 miles
In September 2020, me along with my brother (Caleb) and Nathaniel, hiked Bondcliff, Bond, W. Bond, Guyot, Zealand, S. Twin, N. Twin, and Galehead. Six of these mountains are a part of the #nh48 (48 high peaks/4000 footers of NH).
To make this traverse possible, we had to take two cars: one for the end and one for the starting point, beginning with Bondcliff trailhead (parking at Lincoln Woods) and ending at the Twins trailhead on Haystack Rd.
Before getting into the hike, backpacking requires a number of gear to be successful, safe, and prepared. Also be familiar with the leave no trace and hike safe principles.
- Bear can/bear bag to fit ALL food
- Lightweight tent
- Warm, compact sleeping bag and camping pad (preference)
- Warm layers: socks, thermal pants, jacket
- Rain jacket
- Water bottle(s), camelback, at least 2 L
- Compass, physical map, first aid kit
- Toilet paper/wipes, hand sanitizer, and Ziplock bags
- Hiking boots
- Camp shoes: sandals, slides, or slippers
- Snacks: granola, nuts, etc.
- Matches, lighters, fire starter
- Small stove, dishes, pots/pans
- 40 L+ backpack, small bag/fanny pack
- Waterproof bag liner/large trash bag
- Headlamp/flashlight, extra batteries
- Toothbrush, toothpaste
Important things to note: when hiking in the White Mountains ALL food needs to be stored in a bear can/bear bag for the safety of yourselves and other hikers. Be sure to cook all food at least 100 ft from the trail and your campsite, as well as keeping the bear can/bear bag in the area you cook in.
Follow this link for further guides on packing and how to pack for backpacking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBDido6uX9k&t=2s
Day 1 – Franconia Falls Trail Off-trail Campsite (2.9 mi)
Beginning on Friday night (09.18.20) around 6pm, we began hiking on the Lincoln Woods Trail off the Kancamagus Highway. This trail was previously railroad track, making it flat, wide, and easy to navigate. After about 3 miles, we set up camp off the trail near the Franconia Falls Trailhead.
We trekked into the woods for roughly 150 ft to find a spot to cook, and began making our burritos: onion, pepper, ground beef, corn tortillas, and yellow rice.
Day 2 – Bondcliff, Bond, W. Bond, Guyot, Zealand (13.7 mi)
Saturday (09.19.20), we got an early start waking up around 7am. After packing up camp, we boiled water to brew some AeroPress coffee and make maple brown sugar oatmeal.
We began hiking again along the Lincoln Woods Trail to Bondcliff Trail. The trail stayed fairly flat for about 1.7 mi, but after the bend (when the trail splits from following the river) it became a steady incline, until arriving at Bondcliff (mile 8.6). From Bondcliff there is an amazing view of the ridge, with the iconic Bondcliff with Bond in the back. While at the summit, it there was a chilling wind, so be sure to have layers if attempting from fall-spring. Bond was roughly a mile from Bondcliff taking around 20-30 minutes to hike. Continuing to W. Bond, we dropped our packs at the trail split, bringing our small bags with water/snacks.
From there, it was roughly 0.4 miles to the Guyot Campsite, which fills up fairly quickly. We setup on one of the wooden platforms. Drinking water is available here, so we filled up our waters and went back on the trail with our smaller packs to Zealand via Guyot. While Zealand has little to no view, Guyot is a beautiful spot overlooking the rest of the White Mountains. Our day ended with a gluten-free mac and cheese dinner.
Day 3 – Guyot Campground, S. Twin, N. Twin, Galehead (13.8 mi)
We decided to wake up early to sunrise Guyot and packed up camp in the dark, which was an awesome decision, as this was one of my sunrises. At the summit, we boiled some more water for coffee and oatmeal while watching the sun rise.
Afterwards, we continued to S. Twin roughly 3.5 miles from Guyot. Hiking along the ridge is fairly easy compared to hiking from the base, allowing us to hike more miles. From S. Twin we hiked down to Galehead (a major flaw in my plan). Hiking Galehead from S. Twin meant we had to hike back up S. Twin afterwards. A better variation would have been to park at the Galehead Trailhead, hike N. Twin from S. and back, finishing with Galehead.
Anyway, after the long hike back up S. Twin, we hiked to N. Twin (roughly 1 mile away). From N. Twin, we took the rocky North Twin Trail to the parking, where we completed our traverse and drove to our first car.
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