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Ascent of Mount Garfield on 2011-08-13

Climber: Ryan Aschbrenner

Date:

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Ascent Type:

Successful Summit Attained

Peak:

Mount Garfield

Location:

USA-New Hampshire

Elevation:

4480 ft / 1365 m

Ascent Trip Report

I enjoy loop hikes when possible, so I parked at the Gale River TH lot on Gale River Loop Road, and hiked 1.6 miles west along the road to the Garfield TH. I hiked the Garfield Trail 4.8 mi to the Garfield Ridge Trail, which I followed 0.2 mi to the Garfield summit. I then hiked east the Garfield Ridge Trail 3.1 miles to the Galehead Hut. Along the way I bushwhacked to Garfield Ridge West (not recommended unless you're a little nutty like me) and Garfield Ridge East (a little easier but still no picnic; it offers a majestic view of the Pemi Wilderness). From Galehead Hut, I took the Frost Trail 0.4 mi up Galehead Mtn, and then backtracked to the Garfield Ridge Trail and descended 4 mi along the Gale River Trail.

This was a good day to visit Mt. Garfield. This must be among the better summit views in the White Mountains, with so many identifiable peaks visible, and with a clean view toward the Pemi Wilderness showing no signs of civilization. The sky was almost entirely clear, so for once this season I had great viewing conditions while bagging one of the major peaks. I hung out for 15 minutes at the old firetower site with two other solo hikers, and had some nice conversation.

I set a brisk pace up the Garfield Trail (1:36 from trailhead to Garfield Ridge Trail), but eased up a bit during my hike along the Garfield Ridge Trail. In addition to the bushwhacks to the peaks along the ridge, I also did a side-hike to check out the Garfield Ridge Campsite.

Summary Total Data

Elevation Gain:

2960 ft / 902 m

Route Conditions:

Maintained Trail

Weather:

Pleasant, Calm, Clear

Ascent Statistics

Elevation Gain:

2960 ft / 902 m

Distance:

5 mi / 8.1 km

Route:

Garfield Trail

Trailhead:

Garfield Trail TH 1520 ft / 463 m

Time Up:

1 Hours 40 Minutes

Descent Statistics

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