| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Zealand Mountain, Mt. Guyot, Mt. Bond, West Bond, NH |
|
 | Trails: |
Zealand Road, Zealand Trail, Twinway, Zealand Spur, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur |
|
 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, March 13, 2021 |
|
 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Lotsa parking at the Zealand lot now that snowmobile season is nearing its end. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Postholes |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes, Light Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The 2 unbridged crossings are breaking up a bit but should stay firm with colder temps. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
All blowdowns are easily negotiated. Watch very carefully coming off of Guyot for the "Krumholz Korridor". Now that it's broken out it should be easier to find but drifting may change that. Oh, EVERY tree had snow on it today and it all fell on me. You WILL get pummeled by stiff, gnarly branches on the Twinway and Bondcliff trails and a lot of these don't move an inch so this isn't your typical 'car wash'. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
|
|
 | Bugs: |
|
|
 | Lost and Found: |
|
|
|
|
|
 | Comments: |
This is looking like a SUPER week to get your final winter hikes in! Trails should remain firm throughout the week but please, use (or bring) snowshoes on any of the more remote hikes. Now that all the hard work has been done (by me, a group of 6 doing the traverse and 6-8 more who just did Zealand) the Zealand/Bonds/Bondcliff traverse should be fabulous! There may still be drifting but the snowshoe trough has been re-established and grip is superior. As part of my solo Winter 48 I refrained from spotting a car for any hikes so I did this 24+ mile hike as a round-trip today. Even though Tom & Julie went out earlier this morning, their tracks were covered with new snow by the time I hit the trail at 6:30 this morning. All told there was about 3" of new snow down low and 6" above treeline.
I broke Zealand to the hut, had company with Ted from the hut to Mt Zealand which is where he turned around. Also caught up to Tom/Julie just before the Zealand Spur. After that I was on my own! I broke the Twinway from Zealand spur to Bondcliff jct, the Bondcliff trail up to Mt Bond as well as the West Bond spur. Drifts were up to 2' deep and the 60 mph winds on Guyot dropped the wind chill to at least 30 below. The views from Bond may be the best of all the 4000-footers, including Carragain but that's just an opinion. Today was no sprint, especially breaking the trail but the entire round trip took EXACTLY 12 hours to the minute! It took me forever to get from the hut to the car but at that point, I didn't care because I couldn't coax my legs to go any faster.
This completes the Solo Single Season Winter 48 at age 60 and I'm actually glad today was a hard day out! I could have waited until tomorrow or later in the week after it was well-broken out but it felt like I really earned this one. I might have finished up 2 weeks ago but had to wait for my toe to heal and happily, there were no issues at all today. But I'm taking at least 2 weeks off and most of it will be spent drinking my GOOD Scotch. Thanks to the fellow hikers who had Aleve and salt tablets, it made a big difference on the return trip. |
|
 | Name: |
Bob H |
|
 | E-Mail: |
hynoskyb@aol.com |
|
| Date Submitted: |
2021-03-13 |
|
 | Link: |
 https:// |
|
|
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. |
|
