“Laws change; people die;
the land remains.”. . . Abraham Lincoln
North Twin (4761)
Trail: North Twin Mountain tr.
Date: Sunday 10/1/00
Attending: Shawn, Gabe, Simone and John
Miles: 9 Time: 7.25 hours round trip
AMC huts, / shelters / camping site:
Weather: Clear, high 60’s at the base, 50’s on the summit
Happy Birthday Noah!, Sorry we were up north today, but you know we love you.
How many times can I say, “Another spectacular hike in the Whites.” #39. Hopefully Every time!,,,
We had planed to make this #39 & 40, but I just didn’t have it in me. South Twin looked so far away and I was totally beat. Sure I could have done the dead and pushed on to bag them both but it would have made the trip just another peak bagging day with no joy in mudville. Instead, the rest of the group willingly opted to lay about on the sunny open outlooks of North Twin and enjoy the extra hour on the top. The views were fine, the sun was pleasant and the gentle breeze didn’t even make a sound. It was so very peaceful. We knew it had to end, but none of us were in any hurry to leave the top.
The Trailhead starts at the end of fire road # 304 off Rt. 302. The first 2 miles meander along the Twin River crossing it 3 times. I can see why all the trail descriptions warn about dangerous high water crossings. What was little more than a nice brook for us to bound from rock to rock over, could easily be a serious rushing river to contend with. During these 2 miles the elevation gain is only 500 ft. After the 3’rd river crossing the trail begins its serious assent. For the next mile or so the trail crosses a small tributary brook that looks as though it is reliable enough to filter from. (We filtered our last fill up at the last river crossing on the Twin River.) The trail climbs steadily and on the steep side of moderate for most of these last 2 miles. At times the trail does hit a few stretches that are just plain steep, but not rock scrambling steep, just: “This is tiring me out kind of steep”. Both Simone and I experienced more pain in our legs in the days following the hike, then we can remember since we’ve been hiking regularly.
The trail it self is nothing out of the ordinary. Other than 1 view spot just a few moments from the major view spots near the summit, there is not much to look at. There is one thing worth mentioning that although is not unique, it did seem a little excessive on this trail. The top 2 miles of this trail has lots of small stones. Little ankle twisters ranging in size from golf ball to baseball size. Simone and I were a bit concerned about this anomaly, especially with Simone hiking in sandals.
While we were on the summit we were buzzed by one of the local Glider Plane tours. He was so close that you could hear him swoosh through the wind as he flew by. We also met a man that had just come from South Twin. He had a small collie dog with him that seemed to be in her glory. He told us that she was only 1 year old, but this was the 16’Th 4K she had shared with him. He almost had us convinced that we should try to bag South Twin while we were this close but my body just wasn’t buying it.