Following Atticus: Forty-Eight High Peaks, One Little Dog, and an Extraordinary Friendship by Tom Ryan is published by William Morrow. It tells the story of my adventures with Atticus M. Finch, a little dog of some distinction. You can also find our column in the NorthCountry News.

Friday, January 25, 2008

The Route For The Bonds Traverse



Using the finest White Mountain map there is (http://www.mapadventures.com/), I've scanned the route of our proposed Bonds Traverse hike. It wouldn't fit in one image so I had to use two images. Both run from north to south. The upper image shows the starting point in the upper right hand corner where the red 'P' is showing near Zealand Campground. As I stated, the road is closed in the winter. Then follow the road to the Hale Brook Trail to the summit of Hale. Then follow along the Lend-a-Hand Trail to Zealand Hut. Then it's up Twinway to Zeacliff and eventually Zealand summit. From there it is up to Guyot where the Twinway intersects with the Bondcliff Trail. From there it's over to the spur that leads to West Bond and back, then up to Bond and down to Bondcliff. Then the Bondcliff Trail descends off of the peaks and into the valley where it hits the Wilderness Trail for 1.8 miles before coming into the Lincoln Woods Trail that leads down to the Kancamagus Highway. (The later part of this description can be picked up on the second map, which is but a continuation of the first.) Keep in mind that we may reverse this route and go south to north, starting in Lincoln Woods and finishing on Zealand Road. Please note that mileage is listed in red ink along each trail. You may have to click on each map to enlarge it enough to see the numbers.