Galehead and South Twin

The July 4th holiday provided me an opportunity to get back to the White Mountains, to revisit some peaks I had visited on my first days as a college student in 1982. The weather forecast looked good, and although a brief sprinkle spritzed my car as I approached the trailhead, spirits were high as I met up with two friends and their two dogs. Our goal was to climb two of New Hampshire’s 48 four-thousand-foot peaks: South Twin, and Galehead. We succeeded and had some fantastic views along the way. Read on!

We made good time up the Gale River Trail, which followed the river for a few miles and the steeply climbed out of the valley to reach the ridgeline between the peaks of South Twin and Garfield. We rested and enjoyed a snack on the porch of the AMC Galehead Hut, where I checked-in with the hutmaster for my overnight stay. I noted this hut was rebuilt in 2000-01, and thus is a different hut than the 1931 hut I saw on my 1982 and 1984 visits. It’s in beautiful shape, and very comfortable, sleeping 6 croo and 38 guests.

We then headed up the short but incredibly steep trail to the summit of South Twin, scrambling over and around large boulders. I recall descending this trail with a full pack, back in September 1982, and thinking it was one of the steepest trails I’d ever seen. On the summit we enjoyed expansive views across the Pemigewasset River valley, and the surrounding peaks of the Franconia Range and the Bond range, while clouds dotted the sky. In the eastern distance, clouds clung to the Presidential Range, giving us only momentary glimpses of Mount Washington. The day was warm, and the humidity near 100%, lending a blue haze to the more distant views, but looking homeward I could easily see Moosilauke, Cube, and Ascutney.

After a leisurely summit lunch, listening to my favorite bird song – from the white-throated sparrow – we stomped back to the hut for another rest. At this point my friends left for home; I was planning to stay overnight. I climbed the nearby Galehead Mountain barely a quarter of a mile away. It had no view from the top, but a nice view back to the hut from a viewpoint.

I spent the afternoon reading on the porch, until dinner. The hut croo put on a wonderful meal of soup, bread, corn, lasagna, and dessert, followed by a naturalist lecture. In the morning, the croo laid out a fabulous breakfast of oatmeal, coffee cake, scrambled eggs, and bacon, fueling us all up for another day of hiking. Many were heading out for the peaks, but I turned my toes downhill and returned to my starting point.

Check out the photo gallery for more!

Hike stats (two days):
Distance: 7.17mi + 4.45mi (18.7km)
Time: 6h42m + 1h34m; we took our time the first day!
Gain: 3,756ft, 79ft (1485m)