Friday, March 15, 2019

Zealand and the Bonds, 3/2/2019 (Sage's Winter 4K Finish!)

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Zealand, Guyot, West Bond, Bond, and Bondcliff Peaks
3/2/2019
Zealand, Twinway, Bondcliff, Wilderness, and Lincoln Woods Trails
23.5 Miles
4,100 Feet of Elevation Gain

Before arriving at the official trailhead, we had a four-mile roadwalk.  Since it was early in the morning, the walk seemed to go by fairly quickly.

After the roadwalk, the sky lightened.  We started to make our way up to Zealand Falls and the hut.





Once we got to the hut, we rested for a few minutes to grab a snack.  The view from the hut was beautiful.




A nice hiker took a picture of all three of us.

Photo by Trish Herr

The trail was packed out to Zealand and Guyot, so we were grateful for that.  



It was a scenic day; I could see views in all directions.


The snow was so deep that the Zealand summit sign, which is normally above Mom's head, was at our feet.  


Us on the summit of Zealand!

Photo by Trish Herr

After Zealand, we headed over to Guyot.  The day remained clear and stellar.



We had a little bit of trouble finding the path to the summit of Guyot, but we could see the top, so we just made our way over there.




We were happy to reach the summit of Guyot!



Mom, Sage, and I at the top:




After Guyot, we tried to make our way toward West Bond.  After a few tenths of a mile, we lost the path, and we came upon a couple of women who were lost as well.  We spent a long time trying to find the trail, and after a while, the two women turned back.  We, however, continued and eventually made it to the Guyot Campsite.  From there, we got lost again, but we found our way to the West Bond Spur after spending more time fighting through tree branches and deep snow.  Along the line, we spotted a few gray jays.



I was so grateful that we found the spur!  After that, it wasn't too difficult making it to West Bond.  Another hiking group caught up to us along the way and helped us pack out the trail.


I hadn't been to the summit of West Bond in years; I forgot how pointy the peak is.  Being on top of the summit made me feel more up high.



One of the friendly hikers from the group took a picture of the three of us on West Bond.

Photo by Trish Herr
Hiking up Mt. Bond felt like a breeze compared to what we had been doing earlier; prior to Bond, we fought through deep snow and tree branches that were constantly in our faces.  This was Sage and me on Bond:

Photo by Trish Herr



Sage and me...

Photo by Trish Herr
When we got to Bondcliff, it was fairly late in the day, so we ate quickly and began to head down.


Bondcliff was Sage's winter finish!  She hadn't officially completed her Winter 48 prior to that day; she was focused on the Grid and didn't concern herself so much with her winters.  Congratulations to Sage for finishing the Winter 48!

Photo by Trish Herr



Sage again...



After a very long hike down, we finally got to Lincoln Woods Trail.  We all were exhausted; it was late at night and we had hiked many miles that day.  We trudged on and just kept going.


The trail from after the Lincoln Woods intersection was flat for miles.


At around 10:30 PM, we finished the hike.  This was Sage and me at the trailhead.  We were so excited to have completed the long traverse!

Photo by Trish Herr

I have never been sorer than I was that night.  My thighs hurt so much that I could barely lift up my knees.  It felt so amazing to sit in a car after such a long day.  We had a very tiring but great hike!

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