Trip/Event Location: Lincoln, NHUS
Trip Leader(s): shep5
Max # People: 6
Trip Guiding / Event Fee: No, I will not be asking participants for money
Difficulty Level: Moderate to Strenuous
Join me for this 19.2-mile traverse across five 4000-footers. We will be hiking from the Haystack Road trailhead, across North Twin (4761'), South Twin (4902') and proceed along the Twinway and
We will all meet up at Lincoln Woods before carpooling up to Haystack Road. From the Rte. 93 Lincoln/North Woodstock exit (Exit 32 - junction with Rte. 112), take Rte 112 East (Kancamagus Hwy) for 5.1 miles. You will pass the Hancock Campground on your right and cross the East Branch Pemigewasset River just prior to reaching the parking area. The trailhead parking will be on your left (large lot...well-marked). Look for a grey Hyundai Elantra. If coming from Conway and points east (at the junction of 16/112), Lincoln Woods will be approximately 30 miles and will be on your right...just past the Big Rock Campground.
On Saturday morning around 8:30AM, I met up with Stephan and Tyler at the Lincoln Woods parking lot. We loaded into one car and drove over to the trailhead at the end of Haystack Road in Twin Mountain. It was a bright, beautiful day. We arrived at the trailhead at a little after 9AM and got ready...starting up the North Twin trail by 9:30AM. The first couple of miles followed the Little River and we avoided the first couple of crossings by staying on the herd path on the eastern side of the river. Shortly after the third crossing the trail steepened and continued at a persistent grade for the next couple of miles, where it moderated after breaking above treeline. Unfortunately, prior to the treeline, Stephan decided he wasn't up to it on that day and wanted to turn back (he had done this trip with another group earlier in the year). We reluntantly said our goodbyes and Tyler and I proceeded up to the summit of North Twin (4761'). Prior to the summit there were beautiful views northward to the Presidential Range as well as to South Twin. It was 12:30PM by the time we reached the ledge on North Twin and we decided to take a break and have a little lunch. There were a couple of guys cooking lunch and a couple who were finishing the NH 4000-footers on here and we enjoyed chatting with them during the break. At about 1PM we continued back to the main trail and headed down the south side of the mountain on our way over to South Twin (4902'). Just before 2PM we were re-emerging from the treeline again and were presented with spectacular views in all directions as we climbed this bare peak. This peak was somewhat crowded, so our stay was somewhat brief on the actual summit. We descended via the Twinway and made good time as we headed over to the junction with the Bondcliff Trail and where the trail re-emerges from the woods again with wonderfully open views into the Pemigewasset Wilderness. We climbed to the shoulder of Mt. Guyot and then headed down to Guyot tentsite. The spur trail down to the tentsite was a steep 0.2 mile descent down to caretaker. It was just before 4PM. Surprisingly, noone was there yet. We requested the overflow area just off the main trail and she gave it to us even though the main area hadn't filled yet. By the time we got up there another group was setting up there in the main area, but we were taking the small area just behind that. After putting up the tent, Tyler took a nap and I took a stroll and chatted with our neighbors. Around 6 we had dinner and afterwards we walked up to the West Bond spur trail and headed over to its summit (4540') for sunset...arriving at about 7:30PM. The summit was fairly crowded with around 12-15 other people up there for the "show". It was partly cloudy, but was a nice sunset, nonetheless. We hung out for about an hour and then headed back to camp for the night. On Sunday, we woke at about 6AM, had breakfast and packed up. It was a little overcast with spots of sun poking through at times. It was about 7:15 by the time we hit the trail and were on the summit of Mt. Bond (4698')...it was only roughly 0.5 mile. The views from the summit were good with some low clouds settled in the valleys. We descended off of Bond down its rocky trail on our way over to the dramatic Bondcliff (4265'). The views were constantly spectacular as we approached it and by 9:10 we were at the summit. There were already about half-a-dozen hikers on the peak, all who had camped out at Guyot. After a time on the summit, we began the long trip back...at first to Pemi Wilderness Trail, which we made by 11:30AM and then to the Lincoln Woods Trail, which we got to by 12:15PM. On the final 3 mile-leg we ran into alot of people heading out to the falls, as it had once again become sunny and hot by this time. We got to back to the car at about 1:20PM. Afterwards, Tyler and I headed into Lincoln to have a late lunch at the Three Cultures Deli and then I drove Tyler back home to Twin Mountain. This was a fantastic trip aross the Twins and Bonds and it was fun getting to know and hanging out with Tyler. And as a first-time backpacker, Tyler did incredibly well! Thank you for joining me on this special trip...it continues to be one of my all-time favorites! It was also nice getting to know Stephan, unfortunately our time was too short before he decided to call it a day...hopefully our paths will cross again on another hike!
Outdoor Fitness Level: Very Strenuous
Outdoor Fitness Level: Moderate to Strenuous
