We had a good long snack break near / at the summit of North Twin, including sampling some of Luc's Gorgonzola-like soft french cheese. When then started off down the North Twin Trail, bound for the low country and the northern terminus of our backpack.
The trail down was steep but not in bad shape (There's one very good lookout not far below the summit, too), and we fairly quickly lost altitude, leaving the cold and windy gray world behind and re-entering a world of colorful leaves and mild temperatures (and even a bit of sunlight too).
Our last obstacle was the three crossings that the North Twin trail makes of fhe Little River (don't let the name fool you!). The river was fairly large and even the uppermost of the three crossings was somewhat tricky to do without getting your feet wet. We skipped the lower two crossings, opting instead to bushwhack along the eastern shore. Calling it a bushwhack is a bit much, actually, since clearly many people have done this and there is actually a pretty nice path. Recommended.
With a bit of celebratory hail falling, we arrived at the North Twin trailhead just after 12:30pm, leaving us plenty of time to shuttle back around to get Ewart's car, and start the long drive home. Seven more peaks done for me, and we're down to the home stretch now - only 13 to go!
So, what do I think of this traverse? Certainly some of the peaks are great. Unfortunately, the weather forecast didn't pan out as planned, taking away much of the scenic beauty; On the whole, it's a worthwhile traverse to do. Since I did many peaks in one go, I'll end off with a brief ratings listing, as follows (on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being best):
- Bondcliff : Rating 9 - fantastic alpine ridge along summit, beautiful rugged cliffs not commonly seen in the NE.
- Mont Bond: Rating 7 - somewhat rough trails leading to top, and open area on top is limited (but is still technically an open top).
- West Bond: Rating 8 - quite a nice little peak, with steeply sloping summit slopes giving a nice airy open feel. In excellent position to view Bondcliff.
- Guyot Campsite: Rating 2 - strategically positioned midway along traverse. The way it is setup and overcrowding are issues. Not a good experience.
- Mount Guyot: Rating 7 - large patches of nice, open alpine on top.
- Zealand Mountain: Rating 1 - no views to speak of; trail over from Guyot is a tiresome rough slog
- South Twin Mountain: Rating 8 - highest peak of group; offers a decent little stretch of open terrain on top.
- North Twin Mountain: Rating 5 - basically a treed summit with a couple of lookout ledges. Still, ledges do offer some nice views.
