GRID FINISH! May - June 2021 Hikes (5/1/2020-6/2/2020)

 Here are the hikes from May to June 2021.  On June 2nd we finished the Grid!  It was so amazing to finally complete this huge goal. We did the Carters and the Wildcats, Owl's Head, the Tripyramids, Whiteface, and Passaconaway, Monroe, Washington, and Jefferson, North Twin, Zealand and the Bonds, Isolation, Carrigain, Lincoln and Lafayette, Isolation, Owl's Head in May and June. Thank you to everyone who helped us on this long journey!

Galehead, South Twin, North Twin (5-7-2019)

Union of Concerned Scientists is an organization that fights to protect the environment and promotes clean energy.  To donate to UCS, click here.

Last Sunday, Mom, Alex, and I did a wonderful hike of Galehead, South Twin, and North Twin. We had to wear snowshoes most of the way, and I postholed often even while wearing them.  Here is the link to the YouTube Video!

Garfield. February 19, 2019

Road walk, Garfield Trail,  11 miles round trip with around 3150 feet of elevation gain.

My sister, Alex, also has a blog, www.alexinthewhitemountains.com.  She and I take turns posting trip reports, so make sure to check out her blog as well.

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This week I am a stretched for time with my schoolwork, so I am just going to write a summary paragraph of the hike and then include the pictures.

Mom, Alex, and I started after sunrise at the start of the road leading to the Garfield Trail trailhead.  After walking a mile, we started up the trail.  We were wearing snowshoes, as the snow was still soft.   All of us wore snowshoes for the entire hike.  We got to the halfway point, then to the switchbacks, and then to the intersection.  There, we layered up, then continued to the exposed summit.  On our way, we accidentally took a wrong turn and went up the wrong side of the summit cone.  We had to wade through deep snow and get through some tricky bits, but we eventually made it to the summit and the old hotel structure.  Alex, Mom, and I got a snack and then headed down. 

Photo by Trish Herr

Cabot. September 22, 2018

York Pond Trail, Bunnell Notch Trail, Kilkenny Ridge Trail, 2,400 feet of elevation gain, 9.6 miles

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Mom and I had Alex start 15 minutes ahead of us, so that she could do the mountain solo.  After the 15 minutes, we started along the flat trail in chilly weather. It was the first day of fall, and it certainly felt like it.

After a short stretch of trail, we reached the intersection with Bunnell Notch Trail...

The path was flat for a long time, with a few little streams and lots of fallen leaves. 

After a while, the path started to go up.  It was very beautiful however, which made us not notice the incline as much.

Before Mom and I knew it, we were at the intersection with Kilkenny Ridge Trail; we continued on this path towards Mt. Cabot.

A little bit of fall foliage!

We made our way to the other intersections...

Eventually, we started up the summit cone of Cabot and then made it to Cabot Cabin.

Mom and I went up to the summit; on the way there we met Alex, who was on her way down.  We told her to go wait in the cabin for us so that we could all have a snack together.

Yay!  Mom and I made it to the summit!

Summit selfie!

Looking back at the intersection right before the top of the mountain...

Mom went down to the spring near the cabin so that she could get that trail for redlining.  Alex and I waited at the hut for her.  When she got back, we spent some time hanging out and replenishing before Alex started down.  This selfie is from when Alex and I were waiting for Mom in Cabot Cabin.

After waiting around 10 minutes for Alex to get a head start going down, Mom and I put on our backpacks and started after her.  Here is a picture of a moth that I saw on a rock on the way down.

We made our way to Bunnell Notch Trail and then started down the steepest part of the hike.

After we had descended a lot, the trail flattened out. Sunlight was bouncing everywhere, and it was really beautiful.

The sun was making colorful streaks on my screen, so I decided to take advantage of the lighting to take a couple selfies...

We headed down further...

After the trail flattened out completely, it didn't take long for us to make it to York Pond Trail.

Before we knew it, Mom and I were back at the car.  We said hi to Alex and admired the amount of cars in the parking lot before driving away.  It had been a beautiful fall hike, the first one of the season, and we were all happy about our experiences.

Garfield, Galehead, and the Twins. Supporting Alex's solo Pemi Loop. Sept 9, 2018

Mt. Garfield Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, The Twinway, North Twin Spur, North Twin Trail, Lincoln Woods Trail, about 22 1/2 miles, 5500 feet of elevation gain

To read Alex's blog post about her experiences doing the Pemi Loop, click here.

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This hike wasn't so much about hiking Garfield, Galehead, and the Twins as it was about supporting Alex while she was hiking the Pemi Loop solo.  Our plan was to, after dropping Alex off at the Lincoln Woods Trail so she could start the Loop, have John Myers hike with Mom and I up to Garfield via Mt. Garfield Trail.  He would then wait for Alex there; when she reached him he would give her liquids and snacks and then send her on her way.  After this, John would head down Mt. Garfield to his car.  While he was waiting for her, Mom and I were to walk over to Galehead Hut and up to South Twin, where we would wait for Alex.  When she finished the strenuous climb up South Twin, we would replenish her food bag and water bottles, give her a hug, and send her over to the Bonds.  

After this, Mom and I would hike over to North Twin and then down North Twin Trail, drive over to Lincoln Woods, and start hiking in to meet Alex coming off the Bonds.  We would then wait 15 minutes for Alex to get a head start walking towards the car, and then we would trudge back towards the Lincoln Woods parking lot ourselves, where John would be waiting to congratulate Alex on her accomplishment.

Because Alex had to start off so early, John, Mom, and I started in the dark.

Photo by Trish Herr

Photo by Trish Herr

After 5.0 miles of moderate trail, half of it in the dark, we reached Garfield.  There were 360 degree views and a slight undercast.  It was exceptionally beautiful. 

Photo by Trish Herr

Photo by Trish Herr

John and Mom...

Mom and I said goodbye to John and started down Garfield on Garfield Ridge Trail.  At first it was a bit of a waterfall trail, but it got less wet as we got closer to Galehead Hut.

A view of Galehead, Galehead Hut, and the Twins!

We eventually got to the hut. To give both Mom and I a significant break, we decided to take turns going up Galehead while the other one rested at the hut.

Photo by Trish Herr

When it was my turn to go up Galehead, I went without my backpack and therefore scampered up the .4 miles. 

I could see the hut from Galehead's viewpoint...

The summit was quiet and cool, and I didn't want to leave so soon, but I had to get down to the hut so Mom and I could get up South Twin

Since I went second, when I came back down it was time to head up South Twin, where we would wait for Alex.  The Twinway was gruelingly steep and took a long time, but eventually we made it to the gorgeous summit of South Twin.

There were a lot of people on the summit, so we asked one of them to take our picture...

Photo by Kind Hiker Lady

After taking photos and eating snacks, Mom and I laid down and waited for Alex.  I even took a nap!  We waited 2 hours and 40 minutes.  So one can imagine how relieved we were to see her when she caught up to us!  After replenishing Alex's supplies, Mom and I waved goodbye as she headed toward the Bonds.  We then started towards North Twin.

It was a relatively easy ridge walk, and we were at North Twin's summit before we knew it.

Mom and I at the North Twin view point...

Photo by Trish Herr

Here is a view of where we had come from.  This picture shows Galehead, Garfield, and the ridge walk between them, as well as other mountains that we did not ascend.

Mom and headed down North Twin toward our car (we did a car spot with John, so our car was at the start of the North Twin Trail while his was at the start of Mt. Garfield Trail).

It got flatter as we neared the parking lot...

After a while, we made it to our car.  Mom and I then drove to the Lincoln Woods parking lot, picking up some food for us and a cold Sprite for Alex on the way.  When we got to the trailhead, we parked our car, ate our food, said hi to John, who had been waiting there since he got down from Garfield, and started walking towards the Bonds to meet Alex coming out.  Our reason for doing this was so that her last stretch would be broken up by us saying good job and giving her a Sprite.  It would give her a nice boost at the end of her hike.

We ended up hiking to the bridge by Franconia Falls before we saw Alex.  We said hi and then sent her on her way.  After waiting around 15 minutes, Mom and I started walking back towards the Lincoln Woods trailhead after Alex.

Photo by Trish Herr

Eventually we all made it out and to the car.  John had been really nice and bought some mini cupcakes and sparkling apple cider, so we had a little celebration in the parking lot.  It had been a successful, fun, and tiring day for all of us.  Also, I just want to say congratulations to Alex for doing a solo Pemi Loop!  You worked so hard for this and I am so proud that you completed your goal!