White Mountains | Bonds Traverse
When it comes to hiking & camping, I prefer the remote spots, the hidden gem trails & backwoods campsites. While the Bonds Traverse may be well known by many New Englanders, it is in fact the most remote spot in the White Mountains of New Hampshire AND allows you to check off five 4,000 footers off of the NH 48 list!
Of course there was rain in the forecast (it ALWAYS rains during our adventures) but that didn't stop us from making this weekend trek as epic as possible. And so it begins...on day one we started off at Zealand Trailhead (note: there is a shuttle between the start & end trailheads). Zealand trail was full of magical views including bridges, bog reflections & my fave, mountain fog...
The hike started off pretty simple, level & misty. As we continued, the weight of our 30lb+ packs started to kick in, the rain got more intense & elevation was coming in hot at over 2,000ft gain in just a few miles.
Along the way we ran into this little alpine fella, the grey jay. He ate food off of all our hands then continued to sing us a tune once he was full. I thought for sure we were just warming up to see some bears or moose, as someone heading down trail had just seen two bear cubs. But no, we did not see any (large) wildlife.
Mt. Guyot summit views
Mt. Zealand | Zeacliff summit views
kickin back around our invisible campfire (campfires prohibited in this area)
About 9 miles later, we made it to camp. We stayed at the AMC Guyot backwoods site - where we were lucky enough to get a tent platform because of the poor weather. There is no better feeling than dropping a heavy pack & taking your shoes off after a rugged hike. Next up...dinner.
The backwoods choice of grubs was Good To-Go meals! We each brought along the mushroom risotto without discussing beforehand - that's how amazing it is. We hung out under the tarp that was dubbed the 'cooking station' & met many like minded, friendly strangers that didn't let the rain stop them from enjoying a moody mother naynay.
After dinner, the soreness had really kicked in. My feet & hands were raisins, everything was wet & campfires are prohibited. So we kicked back, set up camp, changed our clothes, passed around a 3oz flask with 6 people & hoped that we would wake up to a dry, sunny view.
And sunny it was. We continued on day two for ~12 miles to Mount Bond, Bondcliff & finished at the Lincoln Woods Trailhead.
view from Mt. Bond
because #selfies matter...
your vibe attracts your tribe.
onward to bondcliff
because sitting on the edge just wasn't dangerous enough...
And there you have it...the Bonds Traverse. If your looking for a backpacking getaway from reality, I highly recommend this trek. It does not disappoint & can easily be done in a weekend. Next time, I will be spending more than one night to fully reap all the benefits of the revitalizing backwoods. For more details on the trail we took & lengths check out hikenewengland.com
xox, Cassouki