JMT Training, Peak 14 of 21: North Twin (Trailwrights + Desserts on the 48). July 10, 2014

North Twin Trail.  8.6 miles roundtrip with 2950 feet of elevation gain.

This was a nice, quick hike up a familiar 4K peak.  It's interesting to watch the girls progress; once upon a time, this would have been an all-day trek.  This time around, we were on the summit 2 1/2 hours after leaving the car.  The girls are hardy and quick.  As their mother, it's fun for me to watch them get stronger and faster with every hike.  My challenge during the coming years will be to get in better shape so I will be able to keep up with them as they turn into teenagers.

The first part of the North Twin Trail is a flat two mile walk along the river.

(By the way, I accidentally hit a "tint" button on my iPhone's camera...the last few hikes have therefore produced green-tinged photos...sorry about that...I've fixed the problem...the hikes after this one will have normal-tinged images).

There are three river crossings on this hike.  The first two can be avoided by following a well-defined herd path on the east side of the river.  The third crossing, however, must be endured.  The water was high for us, but there was a spot downstream where the movement of the river was relatively slow.  We crossed at that point, plunging in up to the girls' knees.  Our shoes are not waterproof, which is actually good -- they dried quickly, perhaps within an hour after emerging from the river (waterproof shoes take forever to dry out).

Soon after the third crossing, the trail goes up at a moderate pace.  The next 1.5 miles is a straightforward slog up the mountain.  I'm not a fan of this part of the trail.  It's a bit boring and..well...slog-ish.

There's a final half mile of steep steep steep before the trail levels out a bit.

You pop out onto a nice look-out point a tenth of a mile or so before the actual summit.

North Twin's summit is right behind Alex.
South Twin is to the left.

We headed back into the scrub for a fairly flat walk to North Twin's summit.

We then walked the short distance to the outlook.

The wind was blowing and the temps were chilly, so on went the fleece.  Then, of course, we ate dessert!  Nutty Truffles on North Twin.

We had to be in Somerville, MA in the afternoon, so we didn't linger too long.  We spent about fifteen chilly minutes looking at the view, then down we went.

Congrats on another Trailwrights peak, Alex!  Five more mountains to go --  Northwest Hancock, Southwest Twin, Sam Adams, Adams 5, and West Bond.