Most sane people would say, 10 degrees, windy, tons of snow, yeah, we'll stay home by the fire today. But here we were, at 7-Dwarfs Inn getting ready to hike the Twins. I guess the heart of an adventurer still beats in me. Anyone who loves to see whats just over the next rise or around the next corner knows what I'm talking about. Wildpeaks (Tom) had come up with the idea to hike the Twins and then traverse over to the Bonds and hike out to Lincoln Woods.
Sure, sounds like a great hike, I signed up right away. With my car parked at Lincoln Woods and John joining us at 7 Dwarfs, we were off. It was pretty cold and cloudy with a hint of snow in the air. We left the road at a stone post and walked on a nicely groomed snowmobile trail. Our snowshoes that rode on our pack, came off as we took a left on the much less packed Haystack Road.
We followed a snowmobile track for a half mile or so to the North Twin Trailhead. Pleasant conversation was passed easily on our brisk walk. It was nice to see a packed path cut through the deep snow. We enjoyed a flat walk and crossed several ice-bound streams easily. At the final crossing, our crisp hard frozen sidewalk ended. Here was where the skiers turned back. One set of windblown tracks remained ahead of us.
We stopped a few times to fuel up and drink as we stepped moderately on up the ridge. John led the way for awhile, it wasn't easy going and he did a great job shredding snow with his big yellow Tubbs. The higher we climbed, the deeper the snow and little trees that weren't buried looked like gumdrops. I broke trail for awhile then Tom took over.
Frozen winds wove through the treetops frosting them completely. It was much colder up here and my wet fleece was replaced by a nice warm shell. We donned neck gaiters and thicker hats and I replaced my icy gloves with new ones. The wind would come and go, we hoped it would subside. Climbing up the steeper parts was a challenge. Here the snow had blown off the ridgetop and was piled in big mounds.
Snowshoes were almost useless here because the crampon wouldn't bite, we had to grab trees and hoist our bodies up and over. There were three of these humps and going over them was exhausting. But we did make it and then just had the easy ridge-walk to the true summit.
The wind really wasn't that bad and we walked over to the outlook. It was completely socked in with no views at all but Tom (in red) pointed out where the peaks would be if you could see them. This was John's first time on the summit. We ate lunch and I put a chemical foot warmer in my right boot. My toes were numb and I was thinking about heading down if they didn't warm up.
South Twin was tantalizingly close, just 1.3 miles according to a sign. My foot warmed enough to take a shot at it. I was pretty tired and decided no Bonds for me today. It had taken us 4-1/2 hours to summit and a good deal of effort. We wound through frosted trees down off North Twin seeming to lose the trail and then find it again. It was like a white tunnel that looked nothing like the easy path I've travelled in summer/
We went down into a little col and then up a long gentle rise. The wind which had been absent greeted our backsides. We were climbing above the trees protective cover. We were also just at the level of the clouds and we watched them race by and scrape the trees.
You should be able to see the summit from here but it was all a bluish gray blur until the wind picked up new snow and then it was just white. We met a group of three packless hikers on the way to North Twin and were grateful for their packed path. All of the sudden we could see the summit and the soft sun. John led the way up over ice coated rocks to the top of South Twin Mountain. I tagged it and fell behind a rock then Tom had his turn on top.
The wind was incredible, it howled and slammed us from a couple of directions like it couldn't make up it's mind. Your pose was either hunched over, crawling or falling, your choice. John shouted out wondering how hard it was blowing. I didn't have an anemometer but when it's strong enough to knock down a person, it's close to hurricane strength. Tom did a video while we huddled behind a ledge. John pointed at the ice covered sign and said it looked like a cross from a cemetary.
On the summit we took a vote as to whether we'd go to the Bonds. It was 2PM and my vote was no. John and Tom agreed, we were all pretty much out of gas anyway. With the wind and the cold and the lateness of the hour, it was the only thing to do.
We were pretty comfortable as we lounged at 4,902, I was happy to finally reach #40 on my winter list. Tom hit #43 and I'm not sure how many John had done but he was working on his all-season list.
We still had almost 7 miles to travel before our day was done so we picked ourselves up and headed back. The wind was brutal and now in our faces, we pulled frozen gaitors over our faces and hiked straight into it. We made it back down the cone safely and back into the snowcone forest. I was tired but led the way back to the summit of North Twin which wasn't a bad hike at all.
We skied on our snowshoes down the steep parts and really enjoyed the flat walk out across the stream. The two hikers who'd left behind us must have done the North Peak and then headed out so this trail is nicely packed out now. I put on my headlamp for the final 3/4 miles back to 7 Dwarfs so the snowmobiles wouldn't run us over. Thanks to Tom for inviting me and it was nice hiking with you guys today.