July 1, 2023

Start/End: North Twin Trailhead

Peaks: North Twin (4,761'), South Twin (4,902'), "Guyot" (4,580'), Zealand (4,260'), Hale (4,054')

Elevation Gain: 5,495 ft

RT Mileage: 16.92 mi

Duration: 10 hours, 26 minutes

Rock Difficulty: Class 1

The last two weekends of June were total washouts, which meant no hiking. By the time Fourth of July weekend rolled around I was getting impatient, and decided to take my chances on a day with a slightly lower chance of thunderstorms. I didn't want to be too risky though, so I went with the nontechnical North Twin, South Twin, Guyot (not a 4,000er), Zealand, and Hale Loop, which is safely below treeline most of the way.

I woke up at 5:10 AM and began the 2.5-hour drive to the trailhead at 5:30, later than I would have liked in advance of such a long day hike but not too bad. I arrived at the trailhead at 7:50 and was on the trail at 8:00 sharp. The first couple of miles were nearly flat and progress was fast. I opted to stay on the east side of the river right up until the trail began actually ascending to North Twin. There appear to be a couple of different paths you can take in some parts, but they all eventually lead to the same place.

Two miles in, the inevitable river crossing presented itself and there was no way to stay on the east side of the river any further. I spent a long time (~10 minutes) looking for a good place to cross, but the river was running high due to recent rains and there was no easy way across. I ended up carefully wading across through the shallowest parts barefoot, and many others did the same.

After the river crossing, the trail steepened to a 25% grade, which was maintained the rest of the way to North Twin. I decided to take it slow since I would still have 12 miles and 2,500 ft of elevation gain left after summiting. North Twin Trail was your average White Mountains experience, an unrelenting, switchback-less, rocky ascent. There was a decent bit of mud in some spots, but nothing too crazy. I gained the wooded summit of North Twin, my first 4,000er of the day. at 10:50.

After spending about 20 minutes on the summit, I began making my way over the 1.1 miles to South Twin. The 300-foot descent from North Twin was also decently steep and rocky, but the 450-foot ascent to South Twin from the col was much tamer. However, there were prolific amounts of mud on the flatter areas of the trail, and my boots completely sunk into the mud more than once. I broke treeline on the north shoulder of South Twin at 11:40, and summited my second 4,000er of the day just five minutes later.

I spent about 15 minutes on the summit of South Twin before starting the 1.8 miles on the Twinway to Mt. Guyot (not a 4,000er). After a steep 0.2-mile initial descent from South Twin, the trail more or less flattened out, descending only about 200 feet for the next 1.3 miles. This section was also very muddy, but slightly better than earlier on the north shoulder of South Twin. The final 200-vertical-foot ascent to Mt. Guyot was not particularly steep, and about halfway up the trail broke treeline. When the trail flattened out, I knew that I had reached the "summit" of Mt. Guyot.

Mt. Guyot had probably the best views of the route, with the Bonds, Twins, and others clearly visible, but overall views today were sub-par because of wildfire smoke. I didn't linger on Mt. Guyot and promptly began making my way over to Zealand. The 500-foot descent from Mt. Guyot was not steep and spanned most of the 1.2 miles to Zealand. The final 250-foot ascent from the col between South Twin* and Zealand was again steep, but it was so short that it felt like it ended before it even started. I summited Zealand, my third 4,000er of the day, at 2:00 PM sharp.

I didn't know how to feel after summiting Zealand since on one hand I had completed three of the four 4,000ers of the day but on the other hand I still had over eight miles of hiking left. I spent about 15 minutes on the summit of Zealand and ate a quick snack before beginning to make my way over the 4.8 miles to the summit of Hale.

The trail to Zeacliff was very gradual, descending just 600 feet across 1.5 miles. Unlike most flatter areas on this route, this section wasn't muddy at all. I ended up bypassing Zeacliff since I figured it wouldn't be worth it and I didn't want to waste any time. The final 0.8 miles to Zealand Falls Hut was a significantly steeper descent, sustained at around a 25% grade.

The ascent on the Lend-a-Hand Trail from Zealand Falls Hut was not steep at all, a 20% grade for the first 300 vertical feet but closer to a 10% grade for most of the rest of the way. I had been dreading this 1,300-foot ascent from the beginning of the hike, but it really ended up not being that bad due to the low grade. I pushed through and summited Hale, my fourth and final 4,000er of the day, just before 6:00.

After spending about ten minutes on the summit of Hale, I began descending the defunct Fire Warden's Trail back towards the North Twin trailhead. This may have been one of the best descents I have ever had in the White Mountains; despite being sustained at around a 15% grade there were nearly no rocks on the trail. After 2.2 miles of this glorious descent, the trail merged back with the North Twin Trail for the final mile, which wasn't bad either. I made it back to the trailhead at 7:30, and 4,000ers #12, #13, #14, and #15 were in the books.

* The col is technically between South Twin and Zealand, not Mt. Guyot and Zealand, since Mt. Guyot is not a 4,000er