I took a gorgeous solo hike to North Twin Mountain and then on to the higher South Twin. The tops were white with about an inch of snow. The sky was mostly clear, so views of the Presidentials and Lafayette were stupendous. There was little wind with the temperatures in the 30s on top. The hike was a little over 11 miles and had some interesting aspects.
The trail is gradual for the first 0.8 miles. Then the first of three river crossings presented a challenge, as the water was up to mid-thigh deep without stepping stones. I actually piled a few logs in the stream, removed my boots and waded across. My feet were burning by the end and were just warming up when I reached the second crossing. Rats! Another wading required, so I decided to bushwhack and stay on the same side of the river, where I was to end up after the third river crossing anyway. Well, it took an hour to get the third river crossing. Then the trail grew steeper as I climbed to the top. It took 4 hours total, over book time by half an hour due to the bushwhacking. The snow cover increased, but the traction was okay with boots alone. Two guys passed me, but we reached the top nearly simultaneously. I had to rest; they pushed on. The path to the South Twins was the easiest I've encountered in the Whites: 30 minutes for 1.3 miles. The views were tremendous: partly cloudy and snow on all the high peaks. Going down took 3.5 hours. I crossed the stream once at the first crossing (3rd going up), but I had a wet sock after two missteps. I changed socks. I got back after 8.5 hours, a thoroughly fun hike.
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The view from North Twin toward Mt Washington. |
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On the trail back toward North Twin. (40-MB movie) |
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Atop North Twin with a branch to the view toward Mt. Lafayette. |
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Views from North Twin looking toward Mt. Lafayette. the trail, and the hiker. (57-MB movie) |