I joined longtime bushwhacking partner Cath Goodwin for a full-day adventure ascending North Twin Mountain via a long trailless valley, the mountain's impressive north slide, and a thick bushwhack on the upper ridge. It was a memorable trip.
After making the first Little River crossing on the North Twin Trail, we bushwhacked into the long valley of the nameless tributary that flows down between North Twin and its northern spur, Peak Above the Nubble. Part of the ascent up the valley was aided by an old logging road that is occasionally used by backcountry skiers to access the slide.
Farther up the valley we wandered through open woods.
It's a bountiful season for mushrooms.
These antlers, placed here years ago by someone, are a sort of landmark in this remote region.
A peek at large rock slabs on the steep flank of Peak Above the Nubble.
Well up into the valley we made a short side trip to a small gravelly slide at the base of Peak Above the Nubble.
Here we got our first look at the big North Slide on North Twin.
From here we rock-hopped the mostly open drainage/slide track. In two places, Cath, who works outside for a living, spotted a hovering yellow jacket acting as a sentry for a nearby nest, watching our every move. At both locations we made a detour around through the woods. I was grateful for Cath's sharp eyes and ears (she heard buzzing, too), for last summer I received several stings when I stirred up a nest on a slide on Mt. Osceola.
The second detour proved to be most fortuitous, as it led us into a gorgeous birch-and-fern glade.
Here we found another inscribed antler...
...with relics from an old Little River logging camp beneath.This may have been associated with the lumber baron George Van Dyke's Little River Railroad operation (1893-1900) but my guess it was more likely a later logging operation run from 1912-1927 by Charles Pratt.
Back on the slide track, we paused to admire these vivid rocks.
Still a ways to go to the main part of the slide.
An impressive and somewhat intimidating sight.
A steep scrambly spot on the slide track.
Peak Above the Nubble is now in the rearview mirror.
Starting to look slide-y.
Rose twisted-stalk displays its ruby red berries.
At 3400 ft., after a long approach, we came to "the fork in the slide." The main slide, seen here, continues ahead, rising another 900 ft. in elevation. An older version of this slide shows up on a 1964 aerial photo (but not in 1939). The present more massive slide was triggered by a big October rainstorm in 1995, which also unleashed the Dogleg Slide on Mt. Osceola. The left fork is an older, shorter slide, at least pre-1939, that displays a massive, smooth slab. From reports I had seen, I knew the lower slabs on the main slide would be wet and dangerously slick, and if the ascent proved unfeasible, we were prepared to retreat. We started up the dry strip seen on the far right in this photo.
But it proved to be a dead end, with no safe way to continue up.
Back down to the base we went.
We went a little way up the left fork, and cut into the woods between the forks.
With some careful maneuvering we were able to get back out on the main slide above the first wet slab.
Looking ahead. This slide has some dangerous terrain due to the extensive slimy wet areas, which are slick as ice.
Ascending another dry strip of grippy rock.
Looking back.
Here we detoured into the steep woods to bypass the next set of wet slabs.
Past the worst of it, back onto the slide for good.
Cath scouts the route ahead.
Navigating around a waterfall.
Ledge step ahead.
Looking back down at a tricky move.
Colorful slabs.
Upper part of the slide coming into view.
Lots of loose rock up here, requiring careful attention to foot placement.
Side view.
A section of nice dry slab climbing. Little birches are populating the crevices.
Fine view of the valley we ascended, and all the way out to northern Vermont.
Looking across at the massive NW shoulder of North Twin.
Cath surveying the slide-scape (and waiting for her slow-footed, photo-snapping companion to catch up).
Using a shelf to negotiate a ledge band.
Wild jutting rocks near the top of the slide.
Here we had a look at the big slab on the other slide fork.
Very late in the afternoon, at the top of the slide, we took a break to enjoy the tremendous view, with much clearer visibility than we had expected.
Trigger point of the slide at 4300 ft., and our exit to begin the fairly short but steep and thick whack to the summit.
A steep climb through tangled mossy forest. In these places we are mindful of minimizing our impact as much as possible.
On the crest of the ridge we pushed and ducked and crawled through the infamous Twin Range scrub. All I could see of Cath was the little patch of blue in the center of the photo.
Oh boy. Somewhere in here a water bottle was plucked from my pack pocket.
What a relief to reach the fogged-in west outlook by the summit. It had taken us more than an hour to cover a mere quarter-mile.
My favorite stretch of the North Twin Trail, between the summit and the east outlook.
We took a break at the east outlook and watched the play of evening sun and streaming clouds on Mt. Hale and the Presidentials.
We marveled as the Zealand talus, the Nancy Range and Mt. Carrigain emerged from the mist. Then it was time for the long, grinding, eroded descent off North Twin, the last 3 1/2 miles done by headlamp.
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