| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Bondcliff, Mt. Bond, West Bond, Mt. Guyot, South Twin Mountain, North Twin Mountain, Galehead Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Lincoln Woods Trail, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur, Twinway, North Twin Spur, Frost Trail, Twin Brook Trail, Franconia Brook Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, May 30, 2015 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Lincoln Woods is a USFS fee lot. No idea if it filled up Saturday as we had a very early start. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant, Snow/Ice - Small Patches |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All 4 crossings on the Bondcliff Trail to Bondcliff were running, but easy rock-hops. The first 2 main crossings below the 13 Falls Tentsite were a bit tricky to cross, stepping on submerged rocks was necessary. The 4 crossings between the lower Lincoln Brook Trail and the Wilderness Boundary on the lower end of Franconia Brook Trail were also tricky, mostly due to having to play balance beam on wet logs on several of them. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Many blowdowns on the ascent to Bondcliff, most 4-6" variety, most easy step-overs. No issues on the Twinway or North Twin Spur. Twin Brook Trail was a bit brushy in the upper mile but not bad. Franconia Brook Trail had many extremely muddy stretches below the tentsite, some with established but un-official-looking bypasses due to bottomless mud. Some pockets of standing water, likely from the overnight rains. Below the second crossing (leaving the tentsite) it started raining, and the trail was a terrible mess, pretty much a stream the whole way. The few water bars there were (or at least that I saw) in this stretch seemed to be running fine, but they weren't enough to handle the moderately heavy rain. One stretch of the trail (I believe it was shortly North of the lower Lincoln Brook junction but don't recall) sort of crossed a pond outlet, but the trail was largely washed out on a narrow peninsula that it used to do that. Late Sunday morning the Lincoln Woods Trail had tons of standing water almost full trail width between all the railroad ties. Still the 6-8" blowdown (stepover) across Lincoln Woods just out past the Osseo Trail junction (so ~1.5 miles from the lot). |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Ran into Kibo doing a Bonds Traverse, and a few others around South Twin. Nothing extraordinary for experienced trail dogs, though little water once on the ridge so bring extra for them. |
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 | Bugs: |
The skeeters were obnoxious on the lower Bondcliff Trail Saturday morning, but went away as we climbed. No issues |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
This was supposed to be a 2-day Pemi Loop including West Bond, North Twin, and Galehead, using the Galehead Hut on its last day of self-service. We got an early start (5am) to beat the forecast mid-afternoon rains and t-storms, but the day actually got nicer and nicer as it went on (it did finally rain and storm somewhere around 11pm). We made good time all the way around the half-loop, seeing very few people until the Twins (where we had the best views of the day and largely-sunny skies!). Spent a nice night in the hut. A couple folks trying the same hike as us but in the reverse direction came in late Saturday night, they did not enjoy the good 'ol Garfield Ridge trail, haha. With a dreary-looking morning and a forecast for near-constant rain, we made the easy and anticipated choice to bail out through the Franconia Brook Valley this morning. It started raining near the second crossing after the tentsite, and stayed moderately heavy all the way to the parking lot. A surprising number of folks heading in with backpacking gear on the Lincoln Woods Trail. Thanks Denise and Julia for a fun time, we will return to finish what we started! |
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 | Name: |
madmattd |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2015-05-31 |
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 | Link: |
 https://mattshikes.blogspot.com |
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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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