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The Bondcliff Trail leads from the Wilderness Trail about 4.7 miles from NH Route 112 to the Twinway near the summit of Mount Guyot. It passes over the summit of Mount Bond and The Cliffs of Mount Bond, hence its name. Most of the trail is in woods with moderate grades, but the section over The Cliffs is an extensive boulder field exposed to winds and there are small alpine zones on Mounts Bond and Guyot. The Bonds are among the New Hampshire 4000-footers that are furthest from a paved road, and each summit offers 360-degree views.
Less than .1 miles further on the Wilderness Trail from where the Bondcliff Trail turns off is the last remaining logging railroad trestle in New Hampshire. According to C. Francis Belcher in Logging Railroads of the White Mountains: "The next time you are anywhere near this spot, go out of your way to inspect this remarkable antique. Men don't build or care for structures like it today." Unfortunately he is correct - the Forest Service has proposed to remove it as a non-conforming structure in Wilderness.
Distance: Wilderness Trail to Twinway, about 6.8 miles one-way
Elevation gain: About 3500 feet on the ascent, 800 feet on return
Maps:
USGS Mount Osceola, South Twin Mountain
AMC Franconia-Pemigewasset or Moosilauke-Kinsman or Crawford Notch-Sandwich Range
Location: White Mountains Region
NH 2003-2004 map H-7
DeLorme NHA&G 44-E/G1 - Lincoln
Lincoln is located at Exit 32 of I-93
South End: Wilderness Trail about 4.7 miles from Lincoln Woods parking lot off NH Route 112, elevation about 1600 feet
Shortest route from parking area is to follow Lincoln Woods Trail to Wilderness Trail
North End: Twinway near the summit of Mount Guyot, elevation about 4508 feet
Owner: White Mountain NF
Maintainer: AMC
Special regulations: Pemigewasset Wilderness except last .7 miles
From the Wilderness Trail, the relocated Bondcliff Trail climbs steadily, then circles R, climbs again, and circles R to rejoin its old route up the W side of Black Brook. After ascending up the W bank, the trail makes three crossings of the brook, with the third one often dry as the water trickles underground. The trail circles R to a usually-dry brook bed which it follows briefly downhill, then ascends steeply along the back side of a ridge. Next the trail turns L on an old woods road which crosses a slide area with timber supports before making the fourth crossing of the brook at 2.9 miles. There is more likely to be water here than the third crossing, and there may be a few seeps further along the trail in wet weather.
The trail now makes a spiral around a minor knoll, heading S then W then N then E before making a sharp switchback to angle W then S up the main ridge. The footway starts to become rockier, and at 4.1 miles the trail crosses the nose of the ridge and swings N. The gradient increases, and after a warning sign for the alpine zone the trail ascends a 10-foot cliff. Above this point the trail passes through scrub and across ledges to the flattish summit of The Cliffs, often referred to as Bondcliff, at 4.3 miles. The cliffs to the L may be hazardous in windy or slippery weather.
The trail descends across a boulder field to a col, crosses a small knoll to another col, then begins the ascent of Mount Bond. The scrub gradually gets taller until the trail is in trees again, but the footway remains rocky for some distance longer. The trail suddenly pops out on a ledge at 5.5 miles, where a boulder to the R is considered the summit of Mount Bond. The trail makes a more gradual descent, passing over a knoll and descending more steeply to a junction with the West Bond Spur at 6.0 miles, which of course leads to the summit of West Bond. The trail descends another .2 miles to a side path which leads R steeply downhill .2 miles to Guyot Shelter. The Bondcliff Trail then ascends another .4 miles to the bare S summit of Mount Guyot, followed by a slight descent to the junction with the Twinway at 6.8 miles, where it ends. Follow the Twinway L to South Twin Mountain and Galehead Hut, or R to Mount Guyot and Zealand Falls Hut.
NA
Map Notes: The USGS map shows the old route of the trail at the S end with four more brook crossings, and does not show the West Bond Spur.
Scroll the topozone.com map up to see the N tip of trail
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