Copy/Repost Hike

Six GO members took on a long and difficult hike over three 4000-footers to the north of the Pemi Wilderness. For 11.6 miles, and for just over eleven hours, we traversed over Galehead, South Twin, and Zealand; with an overnight stay at Zealand Falls Hut. We met a number of people during the trek including a surprise guest! We had spectacular weather, sunny and cool temperatures, and the views were some of the best I’ve ever seen from these peaks!

We left two cars at the Zealand Trailhead and drove to the Gale River trailhead to begin our hike. With the time it took for spotting cars we had a late start of 8:30 in the morning.  

The last water crossing over the North Branch of the Gale River was a bit challenging – nothing major, but because of the stepping stones having a hidden glace of ice, some creative effort was involved. That said, Rob slipped and fell into the water with his shirt and pants getting wet. Thankfully he had a spare shirt due to the planned Zealand Hut overnight so he switched into something dry.  We continued up the trail to the spot that overlooks the river where there would be views up to the Twins. There was blue sky above the ridge - I could tell it was going to be a beautiful day in the mountains. We reached the Garfield Ridge Trail (about 4 miles) in just a few minutes over 3 hours - a nice warm-up.

We reached the Galehead Hut to be greeted with excellent views of South Twin and Twin Valley! We chatted a bit with a south bounder thru hiker, took a quick snack break, dropped our packs, and scooted up the Galehead summit.

The .8 mile 1,100 ft. ascent of South Twin was the crux of today’s climb with intense, steady and sometimes-steep climbing. As we ascended we met our surprise guest, Steve from GO! It was great to see you Steve! We began to encounter ice flows in some sections that required us to skirt the trail and climb up in the woods. As we inched nearer to the summit, we were awe-struck by the views behind us of the Franconia Ridge and Galehead.

As we reached the rocky summit of South Twin, we could see mountains forever! We had lunch here taking in those sights. The Presidentials were eye-catching to say the least. There was not much wind and sunny. From there, it was onward to Zealand Mountain and then the Zealand Hut for the overnight. At this point, we were quite sure we would have to hike in the dark to get there, it was now a matter of how much hiking in the dark we would have to do. To minimize hiking the dark, we really could not change how fast we were going so from this point on we had very few stops.

As we passed over Guyot, we slowed down a few steps, did some 360s, and took it all in - this was the spot to be on a day with visibility like today!

After tagging Zealand Mountain, we began to run out of gas a bit, but the going there on Twinway was pretty easy with interesting patches of granite on the trail and granite outcroppings. Further on Twinway, though, the going was a bit slippery and icy and things slowed down considerably as we picked our way over ice, slick rocks, and trippy tree roots. At the junction for the Zeacliff outlook, it was getting dark so we put on our headlamps. A few minutes later we were hiking in the dark. We reached Zealand Hut around 7:30 and were happy to have arrived! The hut was hopping with  people playing games and finishing up dinner. We dumped our packs and ed our bunks before heading to the common area to cook our meals. We then drank some wine and recalled the events of the day before calling it a night. We had no problem falling asleep that night.

The next morning, before leaving the Hut, we checked out the scenic ledges on Whitewall Brook. A few minutes after we left, we took the side path to a viewpoint of Zealand Falls. The scenery was incredible on our hike down the Zealand Trail to the trailhead! It began with Zealand Pond and then walking over a couple of boardwalks across beaver ponds and marches. The trail was lined with white birches and beeches; and there was a section of towering red pines. We celebrated our accomplishment by having breakfast together at Munroe’s in Twin Mountain.

Other than starting the hike early so we did not have to hike to Zealand Hut in the dark, this hike couldn't have gone more perfect with a great bunch of guys! This one was a favorite!

~ Mike Boisvert
[Photos taken by Jon Normand]

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