North Twin Mountain

Trail: Gale River Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Twinway, bushwhack, North Twin Spur, North Twin Trail

Conditions: Dry Trail

“Today was a perfect day to tackle SW Twin. We went in from Gale River and out North Twin with a car spot. Here's how we attacked the bushwhack: -Attempted to follow David Darby's GPS tracks that others have noted. They're not perfect, but they're a great start. https://www.peakbagger.com/climber/ascent.aspx?aid=854365 -Avoided the first entry point that immediately puts you in thick trees and found a much more open one about .1 down the trail -Scott wore yellow tinted eye protection. Somehow it made parts of the bushwhack easier to see. -Hugged the left side of the first set of pines to avoid them. -Kept the southern drop just to our left after them -Fought through the thick stuff going down to the col -Made it to the true summit ok There is no obvious easy way to do this, but if you follow the above it will be less hard.”

Trail: North Twin, Twinway, Garfield Ridge, Gale River

Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant

“An OTHH hike, with a smaller than typical group. Two of us started at 7am, and we didn't see anyone else on the North Twin trail until fairly high up, when we were passed easily by a sole hiker traveling light with a small back. The other two of us started later and caught up near the top of N.Twin. We made the 1.3 mile trak over to S.Twin mostly together, and along the way we encountered a number of others doing the out-and-back from S.Twin to bag North. They tagged up on North and beat us back to South, without packs, of course, and aided by being a small fraction of the age of even the youngest (ie. less old) of us. As we made our way down off South to the hut, we encountered the usual trickle of hikers coming up, mostly laden with heavier packs. Two of us dropped packs at the hut and bagged Galehead, while the other two of us took advantage of the opportunity to get a ride back to Haystack Rd by going down from S.Twin this way. The mileage would be about the same, we wouldn't have to regain N.Twin, and we wouldn't have to cross the Little River again. It was a long enough day even without Galehead, and I had been up there enough times already. Boy, does that lower couple of miles of easy walking out on the Gale River Trail go on forever at the end of a day!”

Trail: North Twin Trail, North Twin Spur, Twinway, Frost Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Gale River Trail

Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable

“Huge thanks to Tammy for the car spot this morning. The North Twin trail is in great shape. There are a few muddy spots but most of the mud has firmed up and is supportive. The rocks up the steep section were dry and grippy. The usual mud pits between North and South Twin are thriving. Most of them have rocks placed to avoid the mud but check first before stepping. Don't ask me why I suggest this. The descent down to the hut was a fun playground and it was great talking with the NOBOS as they were ascending. The Frost trail is in good shape with a few muddy areas and mostly dry rocks. The trek out on Garfield Ridge and Gale River was uneventful and pretty quick given the dry conditions. It was lovely to bump into TrailDaddyRik and talk about the multitude of projects we both have going on right now. I met so many friendly hikers today and we all were so happy to be enjoying the beautiful weather. It doesn't get much better than this!”