The Mount Bond via Zealand is a 15.6-mile out-and-back with 3,565 ft of elevation gain.
15.6 mi • 3,565 ft gain • 7-12 hours • Zealand Trailhead
Pemigewasset Wilderness Food Storage Requirement
Effective May 1st, 2026, all overnight campers in the Pemigewasset Wilderness must store all food, food containers, scented items (such as soap, lip balm, and toothpaste) and refuse in a cylindrical, hard-sided, non-pliable Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC) certified bear resistant canister. Alternative methods, including bear hangs, for storing food and bear attractants in the Pemigewasset Wilderness will no longer be permitted as they have proven to be less effective than canisters. The only exceptions are the bear resistant food boxes located at the Thirteen Falls Tent Site.
Source: Forest Service
Feels like 31°F
Recent Precipitation
Rain: 0.07" (24h) · 0.07" (48h)
Best Hiking Window
Conditions synthesized from: NWS Higher Summits Forecast, NOAA Open-Meteo, Mount Washington Observatory, NETC Trip Reports, NOHRSC Snow Depth, Mt. Washington Avalanche Center, USGS Stream Levels, OpenWeather Air Quality.
AI-generated from public data. Always verify conditions before heading out — backcountry weather can change quickly.
Summit-level conditions by time of day at 4,698' elevation
Tap a day header to expand to 3hr or hourly detail
Today Oct 5 | Tomorrow Oct 6 | Wednesday Oct 7 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AM | PM | night | AM | PM | night | AM | PM | night | |
| Temperature & Wind | |||||||||
| Weather | rain | fog | fog | fog | fog | cloudy | cloudy | cloudy | cloudy |
| Temp °F hi / lo | 45° 39° | 40° 30° | 28° 23° | 23° 23° | 28° 24° | 36° 29° | 44° 39° | 46° 44° | 50° 47° |
| Chill °F | 27° | 13° | 2° | 2° | 5° | 14° | 31° | 35° | 37° |
| Wind mph | 31 | 42 | 48 | 48 | 36 | 29 | 13 | 24 | 38 |
| Gust mph est. | 50 | 59 | 67 | 67 | 58 | 46 | 17 | 38 | 61 |
| Storm risk | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Precipitation | |||||||||
| Precip in (rain/snow) | 0.1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Chance of precip | 35% | 29% | 5% | 5% | 1% | - | 1% | 1% | 5% |
| Freezing ft | 4,963 ft | 2,982 ft | 9,770 ft | ||||||
| Conditions | |||||||||
| Cloud cover | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Vis mi | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | <0.1 | clear | clear | clear | clear |
| UV | 2 | 5 | — | 1 | 3 | — | 3 | 5 | — |
Tap a day header to expand AM/PM/Night detail
| Elevation | Today Oct 5 | Tomorrow Oct 6 | Wednesday Oct 7 |
|---|---|---|---|
| lo/hi °F · wind mph & dir · chill °F | |||
| Summit 4,698 ft | 39/45° 31 | 23/23° 48 | 39/44° 13 |
| 4,100 ft | 42/46° 29 | 24/25° 45 | 39/44° 10 |
| 3,300 ft | 46/47° 22 | 27/28° 36 | 39/46° 9 |
| 2,500 ft | 48/49° 16 | 30/31° 25 | 37/51° 7 |
| Trailhead 2,000 ft | 49/51° 14 | 32/33° 21 | 38/53° 6 |
4 more days of forecast: plan around the weather window, not just tomorrow.
Full hourly summit forecasts: Mount Bond weather
A long day into the heart of the Pemigewasset Wilderness. Follows the Zealand Trail to the AMC Zealand Falls Hut, the Twinway over Zealand Mountain and Mount Guyot, and the Bondcliff Trail to Bond's summit. Much of the route past Guyot is above treeline with no easy escape. Zealand Road is gated in winter, which adds several miles.
Distance
15.6 mi
Elevation Gain
3,565 ft
Duration
7-12 hours
Trailhead
Zealand Trailhead
The Mount Bond via Zealand is 15.6 miles round trip, starting at Zealand Trailhead. At AMC book time (half the distance in hours plus 30 minutes per 1,000 ft of climbing), that works out to roughly 7-12 hours. Most parties take longer than book time on rough or above-treeline terrain, in winter, or with a heavy pack.
The Mount Bond via Zealand climbs about 3,565 ft over 15.6 miles, an average of roughly 228 ft of gain per mile. That figure is cumulative ascent across the whole out-and-back, not the difference between the trailhead and the high point.
HikerNerd rates the Mount Bond via Zealand Very hard on a six-tier scale from Easy to Most demanding. The rating comes from the route itself: its 15.6 miles, 3,565 ft of gain, and the steepest quarter mile of trail, with routes known for scrambles or ledges rated a step harder. It is the same scale our NH 4,000-footer difficulty ranking uses. Above-treeline exposure, water crossings, and winter conditions can still make a well-rated route the hardest day of your year, so check current conditions before committing.
The Mount Bond via Zealand summits 1 named peak: Mount Bond.
The Mount Bond via Zealand starts at Zealand Trailhead. Check the trail alerts on this page before you drive: trailhead access and parking in the White Mountains change with closures and construction.
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