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Ascent to North Twin-1st lookout on 2008-10-08

Climber: M (whichway) Lardiere

Others in Party:

solo

Date:

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Ascent Type:

Unsuccessful - Turned Back

Point Reached:

North Twin - 1st lookout

Location:

USA-New Hampshire

Elevation:

4740 ft / 1444 m

Remaining Elevation:

21 ft / 7 m (0% left to go)

Ascent Trip Report

woke up on time but took forever to leave the house; left packing for the morning and Delilah wouldn't leave me alone. kyle & i skipped this one on the backpacking trip we took in the spring due to crappy weather. the weather on this day was wonderful, especially in comparison to the Baxter hikes.
had been hesitant to do N Twin due to river crossing warnings in the WMG, but kyle warned that the road to the trailhead is closed in the winter, and Steve at the Mtn Wanderer eased my mind a bit. both he and the WMG stated that there are 3 crossings, and the first 2 can be skipped by bushwhacking between them. it seems like everyone does this - who wouldn't follow the guide? - as i found a literal trail where this 'bushwhack' was supposed to be. on the way up, i fashioned sticks/poles, forked at the bottom, to aid my balance. the 3rd crossing would have been impossible without them. i actually suspect that the water level was relatively low, despite my difficulty. the trail/bushwhack follows the river until the 3rd crossing. this is a beautiful trail for the first 2mi - sound of rushing water & view of the river the entire way and very gentle grades.
the next 2mi are, as the guide says, steep. i ran into a group of 6 older women who, i later learned, had come from Galehead, and assured them that they'd have no trouble with the water crossings.
i reached the viewpoint (which i thought was the summit, hence the 'unsuccessful attempt') earlier than expected and was pleased to find that snow was minimal. it which afforded 180 degree views centered on Washington, is partially treed, cutting down on the wind, and the sun did the rest to keep me warm. the down jacket and winter gloves never came out of the pack during this trip. i stayed there for an unusual 45min, watching the smoke from the Cog.
descent was uneventful - retrieved my "poles" and made it back to the other side of Gale River at the 3rd crossing. toe pain for the last couple of miles despite the flat trail, per usual.
the same group that i had run into earlier was at the trailhead, and i volunteered to take what ended up being a number of photos of their victory. afterward, i visited The Common Man in Lincoln for an octoberfest and homemade potato chips before heading home.

Summary Total Data

Distance:

8.6 mi / 13.8 km

Route:

North Twin tr

Trailhead:

Haystack Rd (2.5mi in)

Route Conditions:

Maintained Trail, Bushwhack

Weather:

Pleasant, Calm, Partly Cloudy

Ascent Statistics

Time Up:

2 Hours 55 Minutes

Descent Statistics

Time Down:

2 Hours 20 Minutes

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