Peak Bagging: Garfield Mountain + Mount Galehead
I took work off on Friday May 7th to do an overnight backpacking trip, with the goal to summit Garfield Mountain, Mount Galehead, and South Twin and North Twin. Sooo the first two happened- the twins did not.
We started our hike around 4:00pm from the Garfield Trail trailhead. The hike up to the campsite was moderate the entire way, in fact the beginning was pretty flat. There was also a rather large stream (river?) running alongside the trail and a crossing was required in which I decided it was best to take off my boots and socks and just plow through. I had a small towel on hand, so I wasn’t concerned about dry socks and wet feet. The trail was quite a beautiful trail- it was very green (read: moss) and we were lucky to enjoy golden hour glow between the trees along a wooded ridge. It was also along this point where there was an accumulation of snow. Spikes were not needed but I used them. If you don’t have spikes, I find poles to be very helpful in going up/down with snow underfoot.
We reached the Garfield Mountain campsite before dark and took a look around at the tent platforms and lean-to. We chose the first platform as it had no snow on it and it was closest to the cooking area. When we started to cook dinner it was already pitch black out. We took the Solo Stove Lite for a spin and had a difficult time getting a fire started, but once we had it the water boiled quickly. We enjoyed a backpacking-meal of chicken risotto and fettuccine alfredo, although the fettuccine alfredo bag had a small hole in it that proved to be a bit of a hinderance in it cooking properly. By this point my toes were freeeeezing (my boots had gotten wet from the snow) but once I was in my sleeping bag they warmed up to a tolerable temperature. I could have used an extra layer though overall, particularly for my legs. On top I had three layers but my legs were only wearing my leggings :/ I don’t even feel like I got a lick of sleep because I felt like I was awake shivering the entire night, and the night felt soooo long. Simon seemed to be ok temperature wise with his layers, and he had a bit of a fancier sleeping pad then I which may have helped with insulation. He got the NEMO Flyer Self Inflating sleeping pad, which now I want. It packs up way smaller than my Therm-a-rest Z Lite Sol, and it is comfier and has a higher R value (3.3 versus 2.6).
In the morning we took it slow- maybe too slow. We cooked up some Patagonia Provisions oatmeal (which was kind of bird-seedy IMO), and this time we used the alcohol burner for the Solo Stove instead of sticks. I had read that the burner was a bit leaky, so I prepped ahead and packed It in a zip lock bag. Good thing I did because what do you know, it had leaked a little bit. The alcohol burner was 1000% easier than the sticks though, and we got breakfast going quickly. Then we headed back up the mountain to Garfield Mountain’s summit.
After summiting Garfield Mountain it was off to Mount Galehead. The summits are 3.4 miles apart from each other, and the hike here was again moderate, but it took forever. We reached Mount Galehead probably around 3:00pm, so at that point we knew we would not continue on to the Twins. The summit of Mount Galehead is view-less, but there is an outlook a bit before the summit and the Galehead Hut has a nice view from it too. To go down the mountain we took the Gale River Trail, which also seemingly took forever. The top of it also had a fair amount of rock scrambling to do. Since we had parked at the Garfield Trail trailhead, we walked back on the Gale River Loop Road once we reached the bottom. This road has some campsites along it, and almost all of them were full.
While not being a very difficult hike, it still proved to be a bit of a challenge in other ways This was the first time I used my Osprey pack, and while it was indeed very comfortable (had gotten it properly fitted unlike my last pack)- there were some functionalities of it that made me want to throw it down the mountain. The zippers along the waist don’t zip with one hand, the H20 hole is in the middle (would be better to either side), the elastic bands to [possibly] hold the H20 bladder tube along the straps are not that elastic and tough to get the tube through. The whole H20 hole being in the middle really screwed with me when putting the backpack on, the tube mouthpiece would get smushed between me and the back, therefore soaking me. Small things, sure- but ones that were frustrating to deal with nonetheless. Also- I think I’ve got to invest in winter hiking boots for next year!
Trail map courtesy of AllTrails
PARKING
Gale River Loop Road. The gate is closed in the winter, and this will add on miles to your hike.
MILEAGE
The loop I did was ~13.7 miles.
ELEVATION
4,500 ft/1,372 meters
TERRAIN
Relatively flat at the base and then it becomes a moderate slope. The beginning of the Garfield Trail has a river crossing at the beginning. Going down the Gale River Trail, there is some light rock scrambling to do, and part of it looks to be in the path of a creek (it’s wet). At the bottom there is a river crossing, and the terrain is rather flat.
THE VIEWS
Garfield Mountain has views over the Pemigewasset Wilderness, Franconia Ridge peaks and the Bond Range, but you won’t get one on Mount Galehead- it’s wooded!
NEMO Galaxy 2P Tent | similar here
REI Midnight Crew LS | rei
Helly Hansen Rainjacket | similar here
NEMO Flyer Sleeping Pad | nemo, backcountry, moosejaw
Solo Stove Lite | solo stove, moosejaw
Osprey Aura AG 65 | osprey, backcountry
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