"A Twins, Zealand, Hale loop hike to help out Molly and Denise with their grids. We went up North Twin first to get the more exposed stuff over in case of bad weather. Partially socked in on the Twins. Same with Guyot. We had some views on Zeacliff. Then there was scattered light rain from Hale down the Fire Wardens Tr. I picked up 19 4000 footers in the month of June, which might be a record for me. " — newenglandwarrior • Jun 26, 2021

"A Hale, Zealand, Twins loop today for my Grid. Parked at Haystack Rd and went up the Fire Wardens Tr to Hale. Continued on to Zealand from there. Socked in, so I didn't bother with Zeacliff. Crossed over Guyot in the clouds. Met up with Molly, Denise, and Sarah off of South Twin on their backpack trip. We had lunch together before continuing on. At that point, I had views on both of the Twins. On North Twin, I saw a pine marten. That probably made the hike. Came off of North Twin, crossed the river, then bypassed 2nd and 1st crossing because of the high river." — newenglandwarrior • May 29, 2021

"Molly needed the Twins for winter. So we hiked up Gale River Tr and reached South Twin. We then went over and hit the summit of North Twin. We came back over South Twin and we tagged Galehead as a bonus peak for her Grid. " — newenglandwarrior • Mar 7, 2021

"Had a great time on this hike. Started out going through Franconia Notch where it was almost fog like. Very cloudy to begin. Parked at Seven Dwarfs for winter trailhead access. Adds an extra 1.5 miles each way. Little River was semi-raging and we had to go about a tenth of a mile beyond the third water crossing to find a safe ice bridge. North Twin trail is steep at the top, some unconsolidated snow made climbing difficult in spikes. Switched to snowshoes and it was much better. Once we emerged onto the rocks though, we were treated to a fantastic undercast with bright blue skies. It is one of the most astonishingly beautiful things to see. An ocean of clouds at your feet. There was Mt Wash, only its upper seen above the clouds. Not cold really, about 30 deg. As we made it to South Twin, the clouds were starting to dissipate. And a strong cold wind arrived too. South Twin has the best views in the Whites!" — Alohabuffy • Jan 10, 2021

"Took advantage of the Zealand Rd gate being open before a Nor'easter. Doug and I did a car spot hike, a Hale, Zealand, Twins hike. We both picked up SW Twin as well on this hike and Doug grabbed Galehead. " — newenglandwarrior • Dec 4, 2020

"North Twin Tr and North Twin Spur over North Twin and South Twin summits, and back. The weather report looked great--partly cloudy, temperatures in the 50's-70's, with a SLIGHT chance of precipitation. (Pretty normal for the White Mountains) The parking lot at the North Twin trailhead is small and fills early, but parking is allowed on one side of Haystack Rd. That's where we easily found a spot, bathed in sunscreen and bug repellant, and started our ascent at 8:15am. The trail is clearly marked and well maintained, with some steep, rocky sections, no scrambles, and only a few downed trees. The three water crossings were the tricky part, and from what I understand, we were hiking after somewhat of a summer drought, so... There is an alternative "well-beaten path" the AMC guide mentions, which follows along the left side of the stream and avoids the first two crossings altogether. We opted to take the three crossings on the way up, get a feel for how everything connected, and take the alternative trail on the way back down. Most of the way up, it became clear we would be taking in our first summit enveloped in a cloud. "Not to worry. It'll pass or burn off. Mountain weather, you kno..." — gooner • Aug 22, 2020

"We broke camp at Guyot and headed up to the viewpoint for sunrise. We then went over and did the Twins before heading down past Galehead Hut and making camp at 13 Falls Campsite. We hiked out the next day." — newenglandwarrior • Aug 11, 2020

"Well, we'll start with the Little River. It was more like a medium sized river as there was little chance to rock hop the third crossing without getting a little wet. Fortunately we didn't slip, we saw three hikers turn around there. With temps in the 30s all day, we hoped for a little sun, but not much at all. Climbing up North Twin, you entered the mist around 4000'. Also snow on the ground and in the trees, gradually increasing to almost 3" on So Twin.. Finally on the way back, we got sun at the west outlook on No Twin. But the trail from Little River to the North summit was a virtual stream. The trail to So Twin was a muddy/slushy mess. Socked in on the top of So Twin, so nothing to look at but ourselves." — Alohabuffy • Oct 26, 2019

"13 & 14 of 48. Solo. Started out around 0715 from the end of Haystack Road. I was the only person in the lot. The drive to the trailhead showed grey sad looking cloudy skies that I hoped wouldn’t stick around. It was about 50°. It had rained a whole bunch yesterday, so the trail was soaked. The first portion of the trail is hard packed dirt, roots and rocks. I had read about a “bushwhack” to avoid two of the water crossings, and I didn’t even realize I had wandered onto it until about two miles in when I was facing a water crossing and thinking huh? Bushwhack my tush, blatant herd path is more like it. In hindsight I suppose maybe it should’ve been clear to me due to the narrow and poorly thought out path, but since there aren’t any good trail markings in this state, it just didn’t occur to me! I wonder how anyone finds their way around after a fresh snow short of using a map and compass considering there are no plastic reflective discs marking the trails here. Anyway. I’m facing this water crossing, when it starts to rain. Crap. Was this predicted? I realized I hadn’t even checked. I decided not to burn the miles and continued on after bagging up my phone & throwing on..." — kellieirene • Sep 12, 2019

"3 days in WMNF. First two days included a nice overnight backpack of the eastern Pemigewasset Wilderness. On day one I hiked up Lincoln Woods and over to the Bonds, then continued on to summit the rest of the high peaks on the Eastern side- Zealand, the Twins, Galehead and Garfield, before setting up camp along the ridgeline above the Franconia Brook Trail. " — wacbravo • Sep 7, 2019