Member Trip report

Christmas at Zealand Hut

12/25/2018

Trip Report/Photos from Robert.L

Featured Photo

Did I ever mention I love the Huts?  If not, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the huts.  I posted a trip idea for Christmas 2018 and not that I wanted to predict the outcome – but I anticipated little interest as I know this is a big holiday for family.  Over the past years I have adopted a more secular approach to life and Christmas, like many holidays, occupy a time and space on the calendar that I now reserve for things I enjoy doing.  The holiday spirit is alive and well – just in a non-traditional fashion.

As luck would have it I found a kindred spirit in one of our newer GO members, Andy.  He wanted to join me for two nights at the hut for a pristine backcountry experience.  The weather forecast was awesome, appropriately cold and mostly sunny skies.  The trip came close to not being though; the recent rains had closed access to Zealand hut for two nights.  Too much water and it left me wondering just how much snow might be left.  My trek up to Kinsman gave me hope as did the re-opening of Zealand.

Andy and I met at the Zealand Road parking lot for 9:30am December 25th.  I was spending time with my folks but wished them a merry Christmas as I headed for the mountains.  The hike in was casual as Andy and I chatted and began to get to know one another.  We stopped for lunch in full sun – and feeling the heat of the sun – it was truly a magical day.  They sky was picture perfect blue – couldn’t have asked for better.

Despite all I read – Zealand road was all snow – a solid packed granular that gave good traction for snow shoes or micro-spikes.  The trail was equally packed with a few exceptions where water bars exposed the earth.  Temps had dipped and so the refreezing was upon us – but still some waters were running beneath.  Ice bridges were not to be trusted which made the few water crossings tricky but more than manageable with a little bushwhacking.

On the way in we passed a family trekking out – two sisters, their husbands and children celebrated Christmas Eve at Zealand – heartwarming!  It was nice to see families engaged in the great outdoors.

We arrived at the hut mid-afternoon.  Shortly after our arrival we met John from Manhattan who was staying at the hut.  He came up north for some hiking but was taken by surprise with recent rains.  He went on to explain he had high hopes for some solid hiking but was not succeeding.  He warned us of a difficult water crossing above the hut (he had fallen through).  Once he recovered from his first encounter with water, he decided to hike Mt. Tom but on that trek he post-holed into a muddy bog.  It was on his return from the A-Z trail that we first met him.  He seemed demoralized by the whole experience.  Wet boots, muddy boots and puff coat – indeed he was having a difficult time of it.  Andy and I decided to check out the water crossing since our plan was to go that very way the next morning.  John came with us and he was a total trooper.  He showed us what to avoid, where he broke through the ice in deep water and Andy, the caretaker, showed us the precarious leap he took to get across earlier in the day.  Gulp.  I did not want wet boots.  Andy said the waters were receding daily so we hung our hopes on the notion the flow would continue its decline and more freezing would occur.  Back at the hut the woodstove was fired up, dinner ensued and a quality night of getting to know each other ensued.  By 9:30pm we were sacked out.

Wednesday morning, sighhhh, I slept in – GASP!  I had a soft goal of reaching BondCiff and had wanted to hit the trail early.  Andy did not want to wake me and anyone who has tried to wake me in the past knows the challenge that it is, lol.  Regardless, I was up by 7am to witness the sunrise over the valley and by 8:30am we were on the trail.  We skittled up to the 2nd water crossing and bore witness to decreased flow and more freezing.  The ice bridges were still squarely in the “no trust zone” so we followed the caretakers prints from the day before, gulped, and gently leaped onto  a frozen ridge (with flowing water beneath it) then onto a rock and onto dry earth – success!  I went first, followed by Andy and up we went.

Andy and I were the only two people on the trail this day.  The first 1.2 miles up to the view of Whitewall was beautifully carved and easy to follow.  It was pure delight.  Beyond the view the trail had been hiked but was snow covered from the overnight dustings and less distinct.  That said – it was a breeze to follow.  In a few spots it seemed a little mysterious but the twinway is such a beautiful path and well carved through dense evergreen that you had but one direction to go.  The pictures look worse than it was but we just immersed ourselves in the experience. 

It was obvious we would not reach Bondcliff for a return to the hut before darkness but Mt. Guyot was well within reach and would reveal the entirety of the Franconia Ridge, the Bonds and the Twins.  I’d hiked the Pemi Loop over the summer so it would be nice to see it in winter – a goal of sorts I’ve been working towards. 

We arrived around 12:15pm to magnificent views.  The skies had clouded over a bit but regardless – it was truly amazing.  We were the only two blokes on the trail, at the very heart of the Pemigiwasset Wilderness – just amazing – a truly immersive backcountry experience in extraordinary solitude.   We stayed until 12:30pm – the agreed upon turnaround time. 

We scooted down into the col beneath Zealand where we had lunch.  After lunch we climbed back up to Zealand, tagged the summit, and proceeded northward back to Zealand Hut.  It was cold and so we did not linger.  We hiked a healthy pace and by 3:40pm we were back at the hut.  Caretaker Andy promptly fired up the woodstove and soon thereafter we would be joined by 3 men from Massachusetts who had their sights set on Bondcliff for the next day.  I’m sure they made it.  Like John who shared his experience with us, we shared ours – dry boots were needed and we rooted for their success as John had rooted for ours – true hiker spirit alive and well.  We bantered into the evening and they asked for my contact info so they could send me their summit photo.  As of this writing – no photo yet –but I do hope they made it.

I hope upcoming weekend weather allows for another crack – I plan on returning to give it a go later this winter.  With a little more daylight and an early start I should be good tagging Bondcliff providing the trails gets continuously packed and it seems like it might.  The twinway is not super popular in winter, but it does get hiked.

My many thanks to Andy for joining me on this trek.  It was awesome getting to know Andy.   He has a deep passion for the trail, his energy unstoppable, his authenticity genuine and his kindness heartwarming.   He brought along veggies from his summer gardening and those brussel sprouts were scrumptious.  It is a real pleasure to share in these immersive experiences with a like minded hiker bud that gets the thump of the trail and the joy it brings.  Thank you mate – may we have more backcountry experiences in the near future.  You rock man!

To many happy trails gents – enjoy the pics and Happy New Year!!

Scorpione Posted Dec 28, 2018 at 4:53 AM

Thank You for the report and pictures. My love for N. Z. Hut sprang out of post-hike misery. Hope to be back there and bask on a rock somewhere near the Falls, clothing optional, feet submerged in warm, Leo water. Happy New Year to All. Luciano

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