| 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: |
Friday, June 24, 2022 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Spotted vehicle at Lincoln woods at around 5:45am or so. Parking spots available early on a Friday morning. Not so much on our return at 5:30pm later that day.
Arrived at Zealand Trailhead parking area just before 6:30am. Upon return at 6:30pm, lot was full. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Not a problem, although I tripped right after fording one small streamlet and nearly did a faceplant. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Numerous blow-downs, but, hey, it's the wildness, so deal with it. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw a few pooches. The best was mixed breed 2 year old pup owned by a nice couple from Groton, MA who we met upon West Bond. Very friendly and sweet. I had left my pack with a turkey sandwich in it near the West Bond Spur trail/Bondcliff trail junction, he went a head and sniffed out my pack, but he was just wondering if I could give him some. :-) |
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 | Bugs: |
A few flying frien-emies at the Zealand junction, upon Bondcliff summit and definitely a bunch down in the Pemi on lower part of Bondcliff trail, mostly on old RR bed route. Nothing that moving fast or dousing oneself with DEET, DDT, or other remedies can't cure. They were annoying though. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Nothing seen to leave at lost and found.
But a couple 40' steel RR rails. Probably not packable. :-)
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 | Comments: |
Overcast day with low-hanging clouds and fog, until clouds started to slowly clear while on West Bond and then Bond. Finally, upon approaching Bondcliff, the clouds gave way. Partial sunshine by the time we were on lower part of Bondcliff trail. So grateful that it didn't rain or thunder while we were up on the open ridges, but the 20% percentages were fairly low, unlike the night before where numerous campers were subjected to showers and rain.
Of course, Mt Zealand's views were breath-taking as always ;-) That said, some blowdowns have opened up in the background, so it is now possible to see out a little bit from its tree-lined summit. Doesn't feel quite as castrophobic as it had. Noticed that the largish cairn at the Twinway/Zealand spur trail was demolished since my last visit some 7-8 years ago.
Ran into at least 3 AT through hikers: Lab Rat, Juice Box and Smiling Jim (section hiker). Ran into Elissa (sp?) a Texan from the Boston area who was on her 2nd day of a Pemi traverse. She looked strong and was having a better 2nd day on her Pemi adventure.
This gives my hiking buddy his 46th peak of 48 NH 4000 footers. Cabot and Hale remain.
For my own part, I hadn't been on the Bonds in 34 years. My last 5 day marathon peak bagging hike that included the Bonds and numerous other peaks occurred in late August 1988 was just before leaving for Atlanta and grad school.
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 | Name: |
Mike Dailey and friend |
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 | E-Mail: |
fourseasonhiker@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2022-06-25 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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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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