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Ascent of Mount Garfield on 2011-08-26

Climber: Dan Quinlan

Date:

Friday, August 26, 2011

Ascent Type:

Successful Summit Attained

Peak:

Mount Garfield

Location:

USA-New Hampshire

Elevation:

4480 ft / 1365 m

Ascent Trip Report

8/26/2011
Lil Yeti and I originally planned for a 3 day trip over Garfield and Galehead but due to the pending arrival of Hurricane Irene, we shortened our plan to 2 days but still covering the 2 mountains.
We started up the Garfield Trail at 10:10 on an overcast morning – the weather man promised a sunny day so we are keeping our fingers crossed. The Garfield trail was pretty much a gradual uphill the whole way to the junction of the Garfield Ridge trail. Since we are carrying full packs, the gradual climb is welcome. We decided that we will first go to the Garfield Ridge Campsite and set up and then summit Garfield with a much lighter load.
We reached the campsite at 1:40 to find only the care taker there. We set up on platform 6 had a mid day snack and then headed for the summit of Garfield at around 3:30 with the plan to have supper up there and watch the sunset. The Garfield Ridge Trail is much steeper and more technical than the Garfield trail, but with lighter loads Lil Yeti and I reached the peak at 4:00. GORGEOUS! The views were spectacular, in ALL directions. With just a slight breeze we enjoyed the views and as the sun lowered the rows and rows of mountains unfolded in front of us. We visited with a couple of pairs of through-hikers and talked of the impending hurricane. Most everyone agreed that getting off the mountains before Sunday was a good idea. Around 5 o’clock Lil Yeti and I owned the top of the mountain for the rest of the day, fantastic. We fired up the stove and enjoyed our Chili Mac and Beef as the sun sank lower and lower. Around 7:30 we were treated to a spectacular sunset! What a great day it has been. We headed back to the campsite around 7:45 and while we were getting water at the spring, the caretaker came by to inform us that the White Mountain Forest is closing and everyone needs to off the mountain by 6pm Saturday! Weather reports at the time were predicting Irene to bring 6-8” of rain and 80+ MPH winds starting late Saturday night.

Summary Total Data

Elevation Gain:

3300 ft / 1006 m

Quality:

8 (on a subjective 1-10 scale)

Route Conditions:

Maintained Trail, Scramble

Gear Used:

Ski Poles, Tent Camp

Weather:

Hot, Calm, Clear
Started Cloudy - Clear Skies on Summit

Ascent Statistics

Elevation Gain:

3300 ft / 1006 m

Distance:

6.4 mi / 10.3 km

Route:

Garfield, Garfield Ridge Trails

Trailhead:

Gale River Loop 1180 ft / 359 m

Time Up:

4 Hours 30 Minutes

Descent Statistics

GPS Data for Ascent/Trip

GPS Waypoints - Hover or click to see name and lat/long
Peaks: climbed and unclimbed by Dan Quinlan
Click Here for a Full Screen Map
Note: GPS Tracks may not be accurate, and may not show the best route. Do not follow this route blindly. Conditions change frequently. Use of a GPS unit in the outdoors, even with a pre-loaded track, is no substitute for experience and good judgment. Peakbagger.com accepts NO resposibility or liability from use of this data.

Download this GPS track as a GPX file

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