"I woke up early so I could be ready to go as soon as breakfast concluded. Breakfast consisted of oatmeal, eggs, bacon, and coffee cake. Once the food had wrapped up, I refilled all my water bottles and hit the trail around 7:30am. Although the skies were clear, the sun had not yet crested the Twinway ridge, so it was cold starting out along the shadowed western face. However, my sweatshirt soon came off once I began the ascent of South Twin. Rising over 1100 feet in about 0.8 rocky miles, the beginning of the Twinway features a few Class 2 scrambles and an unrelenting stair-stepping climb until about a quarter-mile from the summit where it begins to level out. At this point, the trees shrank to about human height and the sun was directly in my face, but I welcomed the warmth since I was also subject to some cold winds. I reached the summit of South Twin by 8:45am for my 33rd NH 4000 Footer. The summit is small but offers clear 360-degree views, including (nearly) the entire Pemigewasset Wilderness and clear across to the Presidentials. The morning sun was unobstructed by any clouds and the winds began to subside. I had the summit all to myself, and although I would’ve loved to stay..." — JCalautti • Aug 22, 2025

"Decent weather for an 11 hour hike, fair skies, no rain and some sun. Enough sun to make it hot on wide open Bondcliff. A good day to go from Zealand in the north to Lincoln Woods. With this hike we finished our NH48 Seasonal Grid! Bird of the day: Alder Flycatcher." — Alohabuffy • Jun 13, 2024

"Very cloudy day, in the 20s. All summits socked in except Bondcliff. Did the Bonds traverse, in at Galehead, out at Lincoln Woods. Encountered all possible trail conditions, used micro spikes mostly. 20.9 mi., 4550 elevation gain. Finally got our Winter 48!" — Alohabuffy • Jan 3, 2024

"Spectacular weather with well above average temps made this hike incredible. The entire ridge was at peak foliage. Just fantastic views everywhere, makes the 19 miles well worth it." — Alohabuffy • Oct 3, 2023

"Early morning start for a full epic day in the mountains ! This day was one for the books ! Met plenty of nice people on the trail and Violaine finished her NH48 on a perfect day ! " — HoJo • Sep 2, 2023

"A Zealand Bond Traverse today. Snow was firm on the way in. We managed to cross the river at Zealand Hut and reach Zealand, thus closing out my April Grid. Our group of 5 continued onwards over Guyot and the Bonds. It was windy on Guyot and on Bondcliff. The snow was getting softer on the long walk out from Bondcliff. " — newenglandwarrior • Apr 8, 2023

"Dropped a car at the Zealand Tr parking lot and headed for Lincoln Woods where we began our ascent at 7:15am. We were in for a long and very hot day, but were ready to tackle five peaks and see if we could beat our own time estimate of 13 hours. And we would have, too! If not for an unintentional detour. Word to the wise: when blood sugar and hydration are getting low, and you've already been on the trail for 9 hours, don't trust your memory... and there's no such thing as checking the map too many times. Lincoln Woods to Bondcliff, West Bond Spur, Twinway, then an unfortunate detour down Zeacliff (longest 1.4 miles of my life) and Ethan Pond before finally making it to the Zealand Falls Hut and taking Zealand Trail down to the car. 5 peaks, 22 miles, 14.5 hours, 1 detour, many liters of water, and a cup of lemonade... Views were spectacular, trail company was good, and in spite of the mayhem, I'd love to do this climb again with a few tweaks." — gooner • Aug 6, 2022

"Was going to stay at Zealand , but web site was down. So I dropped my overnight pach and took my day pack. Hit the trail head at 6:45 am. Got back to the hut, grabbed my pack and head lamp and headed out to the car, reaching it at 8:33. Almost 14 hours. Views were AMAZING! " — Bucky • Jul 15, 2022

"Pemi Loop. 20 hrs, 2 minutes. 4 of us. Flume was the first peak, Bondcliff the last. We also threw in Galehead and West Bond for 10 peaks total. Got some blisters out of this hike. Glad to have finally done one. " — newenglandwarrior • Jul 1, 2022

"The last peaks I needed for my September Grid. The weather wasn't as good as I was expecting it to be. I was socked in all day. I covered the 22.6 miles in 8 hours, 50 minutes. A new best time for me. " — newenglandwarrior • Sep 17, 2021