July 11, 2016: West Bond

It was time to knock down another bond.  I grabbed my top secret hiking pack and headed for the trails for another doozy.  West Bond is almost exactly the same hike as Mount Bond except for the last mile or so.  The trail starts off very easily as it goes through some nice fields and ponds.  I had a nice surprise about 20 minutes in as I rounded a corner and saw my 2nd moose in 2 weeks!  First time seeing one on a  trail though and it ran off as soon as it saw me.  I told a lady coming in the other direction about my encounter but I think she thought I was delusional.

With delusions of grandeur in my mind, I arrived at the Zealand hut and then proceeded to blow by it on my way up to the ridge trail. After a lot of strenuous hiking, it felt nice to break out into the sun on the ridge which was fairly flat for a while.

The trail started to climb again right before the summit to Zealand which I once again blew right pass since I’ve already hiked that one. From Zealand, the trail takes a dip before rising again out of the tree line.  I had a nice hike above tree line on my way to Mt Guyot before once again making a dip into the tree.  Before long, it was time to start going up again as the hike turned to a grueling ordeal for the last mile to the top of West Bond.

It was with great relief that I finally burst onto the scene at the summit.  There was a couple others enjoying the views but they were doing a traverse so soon took off leaving me with the summit to myself.  I enjoyed some down time before taking up the long trek back to the parking lot. 45 down, 3 to go!!!!