| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
North Twin Mountain, South Twin Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
North Twin Trail, North Twin Spur, Twinway |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, June 20, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Fire Road 304 (Haystack road) is still closed. I spoke with a USFS guy on the way in, and while he wouldn't commit to anything, he did offer that he thinks the gate will be open sometime next week. The big issue is the road needs to be raked and graded, and the crew handling this is under-staffed. On the plus side, a grader and a York rake are staged, ready for use. It's unlikely that the gate will be open this weekend, but nonetheless, hoofing it to the trailhead is easy and very straightforward.
Mind that there are some "park on other side" signs at the gate. Don't be "that guy." |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant, Leaves - Significant/Slippery |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Between when I hiked up and when I hiked back down, the Little River had become quite a bit bigger -- from photos I took, I estimate it rose about 4 inches due to a day's rain. Rocks I'd walked across on the way up were outright submerged under a raging torrent on the way back. Be careful, and watch the weather. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Several blow-downs that could use the attention of a saw, but nothing deal breaking. Otherwise, the trails were in good shape. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
Mosquitos back at the car were homicidal. But it was late in the day, and almost certainly their feeding time. And here's this human, ringing the dinner bell... |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
It was an audacious plan. Hike up the Twins, and then stop in at Galehead hut before heading back, and hopefully be home by dinnertime. And everything would have been fine, except the rains were epic. By mile three, I was slightly more water-logged than your average drowned rat. But a day in the mountains is better than a day at the office, right? And so everything was going fine until the bit on the Twinway heading to the hut...
I've never equated "music to my ears" with the sound of thunder when standing near the summit of a mountain. Especially when there were flashes of lightning as accompaniment. Fortunately, the hut was a "short" ten minute jaunt away.
All told, it was a New England Classic, complete with a lack of a view due to impenetrable fog. The icing on my cake was spotting a pink lady slipper, which I'd not seen apart from inside the pages of a book. So that was nice. Wow, those things are lyrically beautiful.
Photos, and a more detailed report, are on my blog, as always. Enjoy! |
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 | Name: |
Protean Wanderer |
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 | E-Mail: |
hiker@proteanwanderer.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-06-21 |
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 | Link: |
 https://www.proteanwanderer.com/2019/06/21/trip-report-galehead-hut-by-way-of-north-twin-and-south-twin-mountains/ |
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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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