| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Zealand Mountain, Mt. Guyot, West Bond, Mt. Bond, Bondcliff, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Zealand Trail, Twinway, Zealand Spur, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur, Lincoln Woods Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, September 26, 2020 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Lincoln Woods was overflowing onto the road at 4:30AM. Still a few spots at Zealand circa 5AM. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Either a bridge or an easy stepover |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Trails were in great shape. One minor stepover on Twinway before the Zealand summit spur. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw plenty down low on my way out Lincoln Woods. |
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 | Bugs: |
Couple flies on top of Bondcliff. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Beautiful day for a Bonds Traverse! Got started via headlamp nice and early Saturday morning.
Easy walk to the hut, then it was a steep uphill to the Zealand summit spur (with a quick side trip to the Zeacliff lookout.
It was a pretty quick drop into the col before the gradual ascent up Guyot and above treeline. Great views from Guyot then an easy descent to the tentsite and back up to the West Bond spur junction. The spur was an easy trail, but it surprised me how much elevation it lost at the start, I almost questioned whether I was on the correct path, but it quickly reversed direction and reached the summit after a small scramble. Views were magnificent.
The ascent to Mt Bond was relatively easy, nothing overly steep. Incredible to look ahead and see Bondcliff trail heading up from the col with the cliffs to the right.
The descent from Mt Bond was steep and rocky, I'm thankful I wasn't ascending from this direction. After the descent it was a beautiful, gradual climb up to the summit of Bondcliff with views in every direction.
Descending Bondcliff was much easier than Mt Bond- great footing and not as steep save for one section climbing down a rock formation which thankfully had plenty of foot / hand holds.
Then the death march: mile after mile on the old railroad bed. Nothing to gauge how far you've gone, no change in scenery. Finally reach the junction with Lincoln woods and it's more of the same for nearly 3 miles to the car.
Plenty of friendly hikers out and about, although there weren't an excess on the Bonds (mostly overnighters). Once out to lincoln woods trail, it was a typical weekend crowd. The magnitude of the traverse must keep out most of the riff raff.
Beautiful yet exhausting day, but I'm glad to have checked it off my list. 26/48 now, breaking the halfway mark in style!
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 | Name: |
Woodman Worldwide |
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 | E-Mail: |
woodmanworldwide5@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2020-09-28 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC9yIwCzNzI |
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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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