North Twin Mountain

Trail: Little River Road, herd path, Haystack Road, North Twin Trail, North Twin Spur, Twinway, Frost Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Gale River Trail, Gale River Road, Beaver Brook XC ski trails

Conditions: Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts, Snow - Wet/Sticky

“A mixed bag today. Firm base throughout with different surface conditions depending on elevation and orientation. N Twin Spur was drifted throughout. We followed the general trace of the trail straying in several areas. Avoid the Spruce traps we found about two tenths from the south summit. The Frost Trail was a minefield of snow bombs as the sun warmed the area in the early afternoon. Snowshoes went on at the Little River crossing and stayed on all the way to the car park at Beaver Brook Rec Area. There was evidence of bare booters from the day before with some post holes but they were easily avoided.”

Trail: Little River Road, herd path, Haystack Road, North Twin Trail, North Twin Spur, Twinway, Frost Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Gale River Trail, Gale River Road, Beaver Brook XC ski trails

Conditions: Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow - Drifts

“Night and day difference from when we were here on Thursday. Bare boots to start since the trail was hard packed and it was -9 degrees at the trailhead. Everything was frozen solid. We switched to snowshoes on the steeps up North Twin for efficiency. The winds were mild but with the cold temps, it had a bite to it. Tagged North Twin and headed to South. There was drifting in the open areas but it was no big deal. We saw evidence of 3 spruce traps which had tried to claim a few victims but were easily navigated. The wind on South Twin was really cold so we didn't stay long. The descent down to the hut had nice grippy snow which was perfect for snowshoes. We dropped our packs at the hut to push through all the trees up to Galehead. The descent down Gale River trail was cruisy in snowshoes as well. Snowshoes stayed on until the road. With the warmer temps on the way, snowshoes will continue to be the way to go. The postholes we saw were far and few between but the snow is deep enough that us little folks would be sucked in and not be seen until spring. Wear the shoes.”

Trail: Little River Road, herd path, Haystack Road, North Twin Trail, North Twin Spur, Twinway, Frost Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Garfield Trail, Gale River Road, Beaver Brook XC ski trails

Conditions: Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Small Patches

“Dropped my car at Beaver Brook and headed to 7 Dwarfs. North Twin Trail was in awesome shape, cruisy. Went to snowshoes about .5 from the summit, could have been sooner. No issues over to South. Heard a lot about spruce traps here recently but we had no issue. My parter opted to head back after South while I pressed on. Relatively easy descent down to the hut. Galehead tree misery continues. GRT was broken out and in surprisingly good shape, so I decided to send it, but you obviously want snowshoes. More demon trees, as others have reported. Saw Borealis, which was cool. Surprisingly easy ascent up to Garfield with televators. The Garfield trail was bulletproof. At first this was great, but down low, yesterday’s warm temps softened the snow, and many booters left tons of divots which refroze. Fast, but hard on the feet. Gale River Rd was great, with easy frozen granular walking conditions.”