Also on this trip

Trails Used

Zealand, Twinway, Lend-a-Hand, Hale Brook

Trail Conditions

Notes

Water. That was the theme yesterday. The night before had brought a lot of rain to the area and snow at higher elevations. Much of our trip to Zealand Falls Hut had significant amounts of water on parts of the trail. The brooks were jumping their beds. We proceeded, determined to summit. Once we reached the hut we managed to speak to a few hikers and the caretaker. The next few crossings were basically impassable. We did check out the first one and our options weren't good. Zealand would be there another day. But instead of heading home early (and re-crossing all of the messy spots on Zealand) we opted to take Lend-a-Hand over to Hale. Very wet on that trail, too, and we started to see snow! Once we made it past the 2 upper crossings on Hale it started to get drier and we understood why people on Hale didn't look like the drowned rats we were. The crossings there were no problem! Despite our spongey boots (yup, both slipped and dunked at some point), my son not getting his new 4K, and me missing out on Zealand in May, we had a great time! The first time on Lend-a-Hand and we both really liked it. Snow in May was novel! Stay safe!

Parking

Zealand Tr parking area still had spaces when we arrived and left yesterday.

Water Crossings

Anything bridged was fine, but the crossings on Zealand that weren't bridge were tough. We took of our boots for two of them and were wading in knee-deep water. Crossings on Hale were fine. The crossing of Whitewall above the hut was impassable in the morning.

Wildlife

Only a bit down low when we stopped for a quick snack before the road-walk back to our car.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Zealand Trail, Twinway, Zealand Spur, Lend-A-Hand Trail, Hale Brook Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

If I wanted to do Zealand and Hale together again, I would do Hale first. Coming down the Lend-a-Hand would be much nicer than coming down the Hale Brook. You have to go down the hard part of Zealand either way.

Parking

Zealand parking lot less than half full at 8 AM

Water Crossings

No problems with any crossings

Wildlife

No problems. Too cold and windy, I think.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Zealand Trail, Twinway, Zealand Spur, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur, Lincoln Woods Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

Trails are in great condition for the crush of pre-LW closure hikers over the next few days. Between Zealand and Guyot was some of the last bits of snow still hanging around before Winter completely lets us out of her grasp (its 3x tiny areas each about the size of dinner plates). If you'll be part of the pre-LW closure hikers this weekend, please pack out your trash (see L&F notes above). Traffic will probably get much lighter starting Monday, so there won't be as many hikers to do the normal trail-sweeps and grabbing all the little bits of trash here and there Happy Hiking!

Parking

Both park pass/fee lots, Zealand Lot was over half-full today. The push for pre-LW Trail Closure hikes is going to fill up these lots pretty early each morning thru the end of the weekend. Zealand Rd is back open in its pothole glory. Probably just plan for double or triple the drive-time that Google maps gives you from 302 to the trailhead...

Water Crossings

All easily rock-hoppable

Wildlife

Annoying, but if you kept moving they really weren't a bother (stop for a snack and they made themselves known)

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Hale Brook Trail, Lend a Hand Trail, Twinway, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur

Trail Conditions

Notes

Only notable snow/ice was on final ascent to Guyot but will be gone soon and was navigable without spikes. Only notable deep mud was on Lend a Hand trail. Typical Spring conditions.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Zealand Trail, Twinway, Bondcliff Trail, Lincoln Woods Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

Just a few short sporadic sections of snow climbing out of the Zealand/Guyot Col on the Twinway before treeline, no issue at all, and will be gone in a few days. Summer conditions from here on out. All trails are in decent shape, some mud and standing water, and a couple of stepover blowdowns along the route, but nothing that stuck out that I can remember. Great day for a Z-Bonds Traverse, with a nice breeze and cool but comfortable temps above treeline and pleasant down low.

Parking

Both Lincoln Woods and Zealand Trailhead are fee lots. Plenty of space during the weekdays this time of year

Water Crossings

All easy rock hops at the moment

Wildlife

None today!

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Zeacliff, Twinway

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Trail was incredibly wet and muddy, especially before 4000 ft, multiple streams overflowed onto trail creating a wetter mess. Zealand to Guyot had slushy, postholing, slippery ice that I am unsure any traction would help much with (I did put on spikes at one point but I don't think it helped much) after guyot heading to south twin for about 0.2 miles there was significant snow still - postholing and not a real stable monorail with no work arounds (almost turned back at this point) but after it was a mix of slushy snow and wet muddy trail - it is possible to go around it at points but it did slow down my journey. would recommend poles and gators unfortunately (parts of winter still holding on). The monorail above 4000 ft is unstable and at points I had to straddle as it is still very high - hadto walk in other people's postholes for stability

Water Crossings

Water overflowing onto trail - recommend waterproof shoes or boots

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Zealand Trail, Twinway, Zealand Spur, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur, Bondcliff Trail, Lincoln Woods Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Overall, a soggy day. Lots of water on trail, lots of drainage issues. I kept my feet mostly dry, except for a dunking above Zealand Hut. Waterproof shoes (or my waterproof socks) would have helped. I wore my spikes climbing out of the col after Zealand to the Twinway, but that was it. West Bond is still iffy for needing spikes. Glorious blue sky day!

Parking

Full parking lot at Lincoln Woods as people are getting in hikes before the closure.

Water Crossings

Lots of water after recent rains. All rock-hoppable with some patient route finding. I did dunk a foot above Zealand Hut, but it was not a dangerous crossing.

Wildlife

Not an issue except perhaps on the Lincoln Woods exit. They are definitely awake and ready to drive us crazy1

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Zealand, Twinway, Bondcliff, West Bond Spur, Lincoln Woods Trails

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Good conditions overall for May but rain in the forecast followed by warm weather so I expect water crossings will be higher and snow will be less but monorails might be more unstable and prone to postholing. 1st snow at 3400' below Zeacliff then semi consistent at 4k' below Zealand summit but not worth traction as the snow lasts maybe 100' then peters out. Starting in the col between Zealand and Guyot the monorail is pretty much consistent but the snowy monorail was stable and sticky so no spikes needed although that could change with the warm weather. The monorail is high and narrow in places. At treeline on Guyot it's bare ground until back in the trees. Then it's a snowy mostly consistent monorail out to West Bond and quite narrow and high. But again no spikes needed until descending where I donned my rock spikes for safety until back out on the Bondcliff Trail. Up to Bond was inconsistent snow and monorail so I removed the spikes and barebooted the rest of the way to Lincoln Woods. There were a few short stretches and patches of snow coming off Bond and Bondcliff but easily avoided. Essentially I was able to bareboot most of the 19 miles except the except the West Bond Spur Trail and even there I really only needed them for the quarter mile descent into the col. But spikes are still warranted with the ever changing spring conditions and the high and narrow monorails on Guyot and West Bond.

Parking

Plenty of room at the Zealand Trailhead at 6 am, just one other vehicle. And plenty of room at Lincoln Woods at 645 pm. Restrooms open at both parking lots.

Water Crossings

All water crossings were easy rock hops with dry feet.

Wildlife

Happily none but you know they're getting primed as soon as it warms up.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Zealand, Twinway, Mt Zealand Spur

Trail Conditions

Notes

Parked at Hale Brook Trailhead lot and walked up road to beginning of Zealand Trail. Still some significant stretches of elevated monorail mostly on the 1/2-3/4 mile section of trail before Zealand spur. No snow or ice to speak of on Lend-a-Hand Trail but a couple of patches of snow and/or easily maneuverable monorail on Hale Brook Trail beginning just down from the summit. Carried spikes, didn't use. Good workout, beautiful views, fun company!

Water Crossings

Not a problem at all

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Hale Brook Trail, Lend-A-Hand Trail, Twinway, Zealand Spur, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur, Lincoln Woods Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Hale Brook trail is mostly bare. There was some black ice in spots from the recent rain and below freezing overnight temps. Lend-A-Hand was surprisingly nice. I expected high water in the boggy areas, but it wasn't bad. Some running water in sections, wet rocks and black ice covered rocks (which look very similar). The first monorail sections started on Twinway about a mile from the Zealand Spur, mostly avoidable to start then becoming more consistent. I carried Hillsound Trail Crampons (which are spikes) but used Exo Spikes (which are studs) here and kept them on up to Guyot. The snow was mostly stable here, and sometimes narrow rail. Snow free from Guyot until you duck back into the trees on Bondcliff Trail. West Bond Spur's monorail was the most annoying of the day; high and super narrow in spots, mostly unavoidable. Consistent snow most of the way up to Bond, then some short sections descending towards Bondcliff. After that it was essentially bare trail.

Parking

Zealand road is open! There were a few vehicles and a camper at Hale Brook Trailhead this morning. All were parked in strange positions. I pulled in to the spot in front of the trail like a normal person.

Water Crossings

Water levels were elevated but all crossings were easy. Those on Bondcliff trail I did have to use a few submerged rocks.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

lincoln woods, osseo, franconia ridge, garfield ridge, frost, twinway, north twin spur, bondcliff trail, west bond spur

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

This was a three day backpacking trip of the extended pemi loop from 5/7 to 5/9. I camped at garfield ridge campsite and guyot campsite. The tent platforms were all exposed and there was water flowing at each spring. I had a wide range of different conditions. I used microspikes for a few tricky sections but most of this was bare bootable. The osseo trail was melted with swampy sections above the ladders. Between liberty and flume there was still deep snow and monorail. Between liberty and haystack it was mostly melted with a few patches of snow. Lincoln and Lafayette were bare rock. Garfield ridge was mostly melted with a lot of puddles. There was some annoying monorail left between gale river trail and the hut. The twin way up to south twin was mostly melted. The north twin spur was narrow monorail that was a pain to hike across. There were puddles with a thin layer of ice over them. Between south twin and guyot it was mostly monorail with only a few melted sections. The twinway from guyot to Zealand had a lot of monorail left. The bonds had some monorail, particularly on the west bond spur. The Bondcliff trail below Bondcliff was melted with avoidable snow.

Water Crossings

The crossings on the bondcliff trail were all easy.

Trails Used

Road walk, Zealand Trail and Twinway

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Long road walk to the trailhead - road dry and could be open soon. Mostly dry trail to the Zealand Hut. Monorail starts halfway from hut to Zeacliff - narrow but mostly stable mixed with bare ground. After Zeacliff was a combination monorail and bare ground. After the ladder there was a mostly stable monorail all the way to Zealand summit. We noted that there wasn't a significant amount of water running down the trails. We put on microspikes near Zeacliff and kept them on until we retuned to Zeacliff.

Parking

Parked at 302 winter parking. Zealand Road not open yet

Water Crossings

Hop over above hut- no problem

Wildlife

None

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Gale River Road, Mt. Garfield Trail, Garfield Ridge, Frost, Twinway, North Twin Spur, Zealand Herd, Bondcliff, West Bond Spur, Lincoln Woods Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Car drop traverse across from Gale River Road to Lincoln Woods. Not a long report, just what everyone is here for... The monorail update. Snow line is at ~3300 feet in the trees and still firm. Although warm weather will certainly change this. Decent monorail up Garfield, wide enough to walk w/o concern. Over to Galehead was similar but narrow in places. Frost Trail is more spine like, but able to hop around without too much difficulty. Firm snow and rockhopping up South Twin. North Twin spur is pretty gross. As others have said, thin monorail with a bunch of trees smacking you from all directions. Twinway over to Guyot has no monorail, but a pretty firm layer of snow that at least as of today you could walk on top off. There was one other set of recent tracks, and some old snowshoe post holes. This has the potential to become very very messy as things warm up. Narrows into a monorail as you approach Guyot Shelter. West Bond spur is similar quality monorail to North Twin spur although slightly wider and no trees to harrass you. It is a pretty tall and narrow monorail though that is little more than a shoe width wide on the final approach to the summit. Up Mount Bond was the widest bit of monorail holding firm, and the descent down toward Bondcliff was also the same. Once out of the trees, no snow heading over to Bondcliff. Then a brief bit of on and off monorail to dry ground descending Bondcliff til about 3500 feet. Go get it while it's still cool enough to hold...

Parking

Gate still closed at Gale River Road as expected

Water Crossings

Nothing significant.

Wildlife

Nothing yet, but it's coming...

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Gale River Road, Mt. Garfield Trail, Garfield Ridge, Frost, Twinway, North Twin Spur, Zealand Herd, Bondcliff, West Bond Spur, Lincoln Woods Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Car drop traverse across from Gale River Road to Lincoln Woods. Not a long report, just what everyone is here for... The monorail update. Snow line is at ~3300 feet in the trees and still firm. Although warm weather will certainly change this. Decent monorail up Garfield, wide enough to walk w/o concern. Over to Galehead was similar but narrow in places. Frost Trail is more spine like, but able to hop around without too much difficulty. Firm snow and rockhopping up South Twin. North Twin spur is pretty gross. As others have said, thin monorail with a bunch of trees smacking you from all directions. Twinway over to Guyot has no monorail, but a pretty firm layer of snow that at least as of today you could walk on top off. There was one other set of recent tracks, and some old snowshoe post holes. This has the potential to become very very messy as things warm up. Narrows into a monorail as you approach Guyot Shelter. West Bond spur is similar quality monorail to North Twin spur although slightly wider and no trees to harrass you. It is a pretty tall and narrow monorail though that is little more than a shoe width wide on the final approach to the summit. Up Mount Bond was the widest bit of monorail holding firm, and the descent down toward Bondcliff was also the same. Once out of the trees, no snow heading over to Bondcliff. Then a brief bit of on and off monorail to dry ground descending Bondcliff til about 3500 feet. Go get it while it's still cool enough to hold...

Parking

Gate still closed at Gale River Road as expected

Water Crossings

Nothing significant.

Wildlife

Nothing yet, but it's coming...

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Zealand Road, Zealand Trail, Twinway, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur, Wilderness Trail, Lincoln Woods Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

A FINE day in the forest. I relinquished my crown and let Pretzel borrow it for her "Queen for a day" hike. Zealand Road is snow free, but still soft enough that I do not think it will open this week, especially with substantial rain and potential snow forecasted later in the week. Of note, Zealand Hut's pump is down and you cannot get water, you have to filter from the river. Take that into consideration if you're like me and went light for the first 6 miles. Snowshoes would be more of a safety hazard given the current trail corridors and threads. However it is spring, and things change from the morning to the evening. So use your judgement. Our group maybe added a handful of postholes, total, over the 23.25 miles. It's firm. Snow enters probably around 3200 on this side, which traditionally has a lot more snow than the LW side. We donned spikes for efficiency much earlier than Chris' report, mainly out of efficiency. These stayed on until Guyot I believe, despite the first part of the ridge being bare. Probably somewhere around 3500. Firm monorail to start giving way to all snow with a shallow rail beginning to form. Where to step is quite evident, regardless. Muskrat's Zealand spur sign is there, which the odd little shape is actually the tallus slope as viewed from the Twins! Definitely the "jackpot" zone of snow between Zealand and Guyot, we are talking feet here, ~4'+ still judging by tree wells and knowing the corridor is about 8' tall and getting branches at my waist. Firm trails to here, though as the krumoltz got smaller, around noon, about an inch of corn snow atop. Spikes off at helipad, back on as we entered treeline on the other side of Guyot. Firm trail/rail intermixes from here, to West Bond, to Bond. West Bond rail was not as consistent or firm as what was encountered thus far - likely due to full late April sun. Spikes off at timberline, and back on just below Hillary's Step. Ridge to cliffs completely bare. Zero wind let me sit out on the photo rock. While mostly firm, the rail from Hillary's to about 3275 is rotting rapidly and unstable. How long it will continue to be viable remains to be seen. Spikes off here, and rest of day was just the death march out. Of note also, I did wear trail runners and only got damp feet on the way out - due to no longer caring about self preservation. So that should be an indicator of current trails. Congrats to Pretzel on making April, Zealand, and the Bonds all red!

Parking

Zealand was ~25% full at 630. I assume most folks have taken off for warmer weather. LW was less than this upon finish

Water Crossings

No issues with crossing above Z hut. All four seasonal crossings of Black Brook are flowing, but easily hoppable

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Lincoln Woods, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur, Bondcliff Trail, Twinway, Mt Zealand path, Zealand Trail, Zealand Road

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

We did a traverse and started at Lincoln Woods. No wind on the trail and beautiful sunshine. No snow / monorail until mile 8. We bare booted until the descent of West Bond and down Twinway. Trail is in great condition until Twinway where we needed to be careful as the monorail was narrow and slippery. It did not crumble under us however so almost no postholing. Did not see a single person on the traverse.

Parking

Car spotted at Zealand and Lincoln Woods

Water Crossings

All of the water crossings were good. Did not get wet.

Wildlife

The flying kind are starting to wake up but nothing that bites.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Haystack Road, North Twin Trail, Fire Wardens Trail, Lend-A-Hand Trail, Twinway, North Twin Spur, Frost Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Mount Garfield Trail, FR 117, Gale River Road, FR 22

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Snow starts about halfway up Mount Hale. The last half mile is over a shallow monorail, best in spikes, but can be barebooted early in the morning before it becomes slippery. I kept spikes on halfway down Lend-A-Hand Trail. Twinway starts as bare ground, then a narrow monorail forms, but rocks and roots break it up in spots. I barebooted to just past the ladder steps above Zeacliff where the snow levels gradually increased. Heading up to Guyot there is still a lot of snow, very deep with a narrow monorail forming. The two miles between Guyot and South Twin could still be snowshoed if you really wanted to, but it was fine in spikes. There were very deep week-old postholes throughout, which looked painful for whoever left them. Snow was supportive early in the morning, but I would not want to be out here on a warm afternoon, you'll probably posthole to your waist. Twinway down to the hut is a mix of rocks and monorail with some ice, rock spikes are fine. North Twin Spur, leaving South Twin for a quarter mile, is quite ridiculous at the moment. There is an extremely slippery, narrow, deep monorail with branches encroaching on the trail. The rest of the way over to North Twin is easier to deal with, not great but ok. Frost Trail still is holding a decent amount of snow with a stable monorail Garfield Ridge Trail from the hut to Mount Garfield is holding up better than I expected, the snow-covered sections are never too deep, and the monorail was stable. Plenty of bare sections along the way too, including the waterfall section, where I took my spikes off and picked my way up, easily avoiding the icy spots. Mount Garfield Trail has a stable monorail for a mile, where it peters out quickly, the rest of the trail is a mix of the usual April conditions, - sometimes wet, sometimes dry, sometimes muddy. After the water crossing, I hopped onto an old snowmobile corridor to Gale River Road, walking the road a half mile past the Gale River trailhead where I banged a right and followed the snowmobile corridor over to Haystack Road, and then back to Seven Dwarfs.

Parking

$10 at Seven Dwarfs Motel

Water Crossings

Easy rock hops at the moment

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Road walk, Zealand Trail, Twinway, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond spur, Bondcliff Trail, Lincoln Woods Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Road walks are great. The big crossings are best in bare feet. The rest is a 2-3 foot eroding monorail. It's exactly what you'd expect for ZBonds in April, but at least the views were mostly great in the morning.

Parking

Plenty at Zealand road lot and Lincoln Woods

Water Crossings

Took off my shoes above the hut to make easy work of that crossing. 3-4 crossings on the lower part of Bondcliff and Lincoln woods are a bit tricky. My feet were wet, so I just waded through them. Was a nice shock to the system.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Zealand Road, Zealand Trail, Twinway, Zealand Spur, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur, Lincoln Woods Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Well that was one of the sloggiest slogs I ever slogged. I decided to pivot to this hike after waking up to a favorable weather report. Temperature in the 50s, no/light winds and no rain. Trail conditions in a word are slow-going. I barebooted until about about a mile in from the trailhead then put on microspikes from there until Lincoln Woods. There were many stream crossings on the trail up to the hut as water was flowing pretty good. There were stable, unstable and knife edge monorails and hard pack trail which was difficult to see at times and plenty of times I found and plunged into the soft edge. From the top of the big climb up to Twinway until the breakout to Guyot and to and from West Bond, I got carwashed by the trees and was soaked through. I was very thankful for the high temperatures. Over Bond, there was intermittent snow but mostly rocky trail to Bondcliff then snow again in the woods until about a mile or two from Lincoln Woods. It was nice to see Steven again on Zealand road but there were no other humans on the trail. So, yay for me! I'm so glad to grab the peaks and grid out April!

Parking

Plenty of parking

Water Crossings

Except for the water crossing after Zealand hut, the crossings were rock hoppable or hoppable with some minor boot submergence. For the hut crossing, I went way upstream for the rushing water and found two large level rocks to walkover. I donned some very fashionable trash bags and crossed in shin deep water.

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Zealand Road, Zealand Trail, Twinway, Bondcliff Trail, West Bond Spur, Lincoln Woods

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Zearoad is rough, crusty mix of everything, zea trail is better as everyone actually walked in a single file instead of neurosis on the road making everywhere equally tedious. Spikes went on leaving the hut and stayed on until the old wilderness trail jct on Bondcliff trail at the start of the death march. Snowshoes stayed in the car which is good bc otherwise I likely woulda thrown them off Zeacliff, the stretch up to it from the hut was in the best shape from being northeast aspect. A semi consolidated mess showing the early signs of becoming monorail in the near future across twinway. Guyot was brutally punchy, collapsing crust and the mean alpine winds made me cry. Very mealy snowpack on the ridge over to treeline on Bondcliff and on West Bond spur. Semi punchy, kinda bony, and a little crusty on Bondcliff tho the winds mostly behaved thankfully. Mashy springy mess become very slushy on the stupid 1984 relo stretch which had lotsa open leaves and muddy wet puddles. Only a few railroad ties exposed w/minimal slushiness, most of the dirt patches were nice and dry on the last forever 5 miles out. Lotta semi-crusty mix of ice and slushy granular on LW

Parking

Winter lot has many open spots and quiet @LW

Water Crossings

Big step needed on the one above the hut. The bottom 3 on Bondcliff and the 1 on Zealand trails are rock hops. The top 2 on Bondcliff have decent snowbridges

Wildlife

N/A

Also on this trip

Trails Used

Little River Road, North Twin Trail, North Twin Spur, Twinway, Zealand Spur, Lend-A-Hand Trail, Firewardens Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Bareboots from 7Dwarfs to the N. Twin TH, then micros to about half way up N. Twin, then snowshoes to S. Twin, across to Guyot, and down to Lend-A-Hand, then back to Micros. North Twin to South Twin was nicely packed, the rest of the trails were varying amounts of lumpy, churned, loose snow. Most people seem to be going with microspikes now, and the monorail is supportive but there is a few inches of snow that got rained on on top, and is now getting churned up, so a lot of lump. I was super psyched when I got to S. Twin and saw that a couple of people had broken trail to Guyot, probably yesterday or the day before. Remarkably few trees down between S. Twin and Guyot made for mostly easy navigation. You'll definitely want snowshoes for this stretch. It was much colder up above 3500' today, the snow below that level melted quite a bit and the last half mile of N. Twin trail to the TH and Haystack rd has some dirt patches exposed now. Above 3500', not a lot melted.

Parking

Parked at 7 Dwarfs. $10 in the mailbox by the office door with my make/model/plate on a napkin which I origami'd into an envelope. Met a couple just heading out who parked at the end of the road near the bridge and convinced them to move to 7Ds. They asked if I thought they'd get towed and I don't know, but it would sure suck to finish the hike to an empty spot where your car USED to be, probably with no cell service. I assume the property owner at the end of the road got salty at some point when hikers blocked his driveway or something like that...so use the Dwarfs.

Water Crossings

The new log at the main crossing is solid and made crossing a breeze.

Trails Used

Zealand Road, Zealand Trail, Twinway

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Had a beautiful ski in on fresh snow. Switched boots at the Hut and put on snowshoes. There is still a lot of snow out there and it is deep on either side of the trail. Broke trail through maybe 6-8 inches, no biggie. But once I reached the trail junction for Zeacliff up top, I came down off the big open rock and stepped right through the snow into one of the notorious mud bogs. One entire snowshoed foot disappeared up to the mid calf and I was stuck there for a minute. Complete mud and ice water encapsulation of my foot, sock, boot, snowshoe and pantleg. I thought about continuing on to tag Zealand but it was silly. My foot was collecting snow/ice and was getting heavier and colder. Easy decision. Got back to the hut and got some new socks and had a nice ski out. Frustrating but what can you do? Long way of saying, watch out for the mud bog!!!!!! Do not head up above Zealand Hut in spikes or bare boots. Just isn't going to work right now.

Water Crossings

some minor challenges, but nothing too serious