6-18-19 – 6-19-19
Northeast Adventures
Another great adventure began at the Lincoln woods trail head in Lincoln New Hampshire. I arrived to see the lot surprisingly full. Being so used to winter trail heads being rather empty, this was a shift.Then again Summer is right around the corner so the trails are starting to fill up. I parked my vehicle and paid my fee for 2 nights. I soon donned my overly heavy pack so I could get a bit of training in as well. It was weird being here without wearing snow shoes and kind of nice as well.
I soon signed in at the register and crossed the notable bridge and started working my way up the trail. The weather forecast for the 2 days was cloudy with a chance of rain and sunny both days. I started down the trail taking in the scenery being so green as opposed to be covered with snow . There was a slight breeze in the air and the only sound audible was the noise my foot steps made. I soon made it to the bridge leading to the Pemi wilderness. There is always a nostalgic sensation when I arrive to the sign. I had always felt that you are happy to see signs or happy to leave them. They marked the beginning of an adventure of the ending of an adventure. Once passing the sign I took the trail on the right which would bring me to bondcliff. The last time I was on this path it was covered with snow and had several feet of snow on the trail and I was breaking it. The flat part of this trail was distracting as it looked the same but the elevation gain that comes after this is steady and steep. Step by step I made my way swatting mosquitoes off of me every 5 seconds until I hit tree line.
Once I hit treeline I remembered why this hike is a favorite among so many people. The 360 views immediately capture your attention. For fear of taking in the view for too long, I made my way to the summit of bondcliff. I took in the views and just absorbed everything. This was my 5th time up here and 2nd when there wasn’t any snow or crazy weather. It was quite peaceful. I started to move on Mount Bond so I get some more views. As I took every step I was taking in every moment. The trail started to work its way uphill once more as I worked toward Mount Bond. I soon arrived at Mount Bond only to be greeted by 2 birds staring at me for a split second wondering who this sweaty huffing and puffing guy is. I quickly dropped my pack and took a nice break. After about 10 minutes of getting way too comfortable I had decided I needed to get going so I could secure a tent pad at camp guyot. I booked it down the trail and soon reached camp guyot. I soon ran into the care taker who gave me a quiet tent pad after I paid my fee.
I have a habit of talking way too much to people on the trail but it quite was a pleasant chat I had with the caretaker. After talking I went down to setup camp and take a nap before I went to catch the sunset at Guyot. It had been so long since I had camped when there wasn’t snow and ice everywhere. It was quite relaxing. After a 2 hour nap I headed to the cooking area and cooked some food. Nothing too special just some freeze dried food. After dinner I headed up to Guyot to catch the sunset. To my surprise there were a few people up there as well.
The sunset soon came and it was absolutely beautiful. The shadows being cast over the mountains the colors were absolutely breathtaking. Soon after the sun went down I headed back to camp and went to bed. I woke up at 5am, quickly packed and headed out of camp. Not much happened besides the constant mosquitoes for the next 4 hours. Once I reached the trail head that was the end of another adventure and the beginning of another.
