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North Twin, South Twin, Mt Bond, West Bond
August 4-5, 1999

Route: N Twin Trail, N Twin Spur, Twinway,
Bondcliff Trail, Guyot Campsite Spur,
W Bond Spur, Garfield Ridge Trail,
Gale River Trail
Map: twinsmap.jpg (400042 bytes)
 
Elevation:
N Twin – 4761 ft
S Twin – 4902 ft
Mt Guyot – 4580 ft
Guyot Campsite – 4110 ft
  W Bond – 4540 ft
Mt Bond – 4698 ft
Galehead Hut – 3780 ft
Vertical Climb: 6001 ft
Distance: 19.4 miles
Who Went: Paul, Muffin

Day 1

I got up good and early at 4:00 AM so Muffin and I could get an early start to the trip. Toi and Holly were going to be at "day" camp for an overnight so it was a good time for us to go backpacking. We left home around 4:30 and got to the North Twin Trailhead at 7:15. It was a cloudy day and around 60 degrees, a little cooler than I had hoped, but comfortable anyway.

When I had finished getting our gear in order and locking up the car, we headed out on the trail at 7:30. It’s a long way to the top of North Twin (about 4.5 miles), but the trail is relatively flat for a long ways, following the course of the Little River, crossing and recrossing it several times. We heard the sound of the water down below and off to the right for a long time before we even got to see it. Muffin didn’t like crossing the river over the rocks, so I helped her over some of the tougher spots.

After crossing the river for the last time, the trail began to get a bit steeper, but it still wasn’t particularly difficult. It was quiet, the air was filled with the fragrant aroma of spruce, and the weather was nice. We had to the trail all to ourselves, and the time to enjoy it.

When we had been climbing steadily for some time, we reached a ledge that I thought was pretty close to the summit of North Twin (although I found out later that we weren’t as close as I thought). This ledge had the first real views on the hike, so we stopped and I took a couple of pictures. Muffin seemed to enjoy being on the ledge too.  

Not far up the trail, we stopped briefly at Gibb's Falls. I had expected more of a show, but the thin trickle of water was a bit disappointing, so I just took a quick photo and continued on. Muffin was having a great time running up and down the trail as we walked along. 

The North Twin Trailhead. Muffin always seems to look away the moment I take the picture.

trailhead.jpg (66268 bytes)

Muffin crossing the Little River. This was one of the easier crossings, so Muffin made it across without any help.

crossing little river.jpg (54918 bytes)

Muffin on the North Twin Trail. The weather was sunny and comfortable, and the air was filled with the fragrant aroma of spruce.

north twin trail.jpg (55076 bytes)

View Northeast from a ledge on the North Twin Trail. Mt Hale is at the far end of the ridge in the foreground, and Mt Washington is the tallest peak in the distance.

view northeast from north twin trail.jpg (30544 bytes)

Muffin on a ledge on the North Twin Trail. She seemed very happy to be out on the trail.

Muffin on North Twin.jpg (45845 bytes)

Map

  Twins-Bonds page: 

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