West Bond - 4,540'

Hike date: 09/29/2018-09/30/2018

Description: West Bond offers extensive views of the White Mountains with almost no sign of buildings or roads from the summit, making one feel very distant from humanity. Due to their remoteness, Zealand and the three Bonds are almost always done together in a single day or as an overnight trip. If you are doing these peaks as a traverse, which is what the route described below is, you’ll have several scenic highlights! You’ll have the opportunity to visit Beaver Ponds, Zealand Pond, Zealand Falls, Zealand Falls Hut, the incredible Zeacliff outlook, Zeacliff Pond, enjoy Mount Guyot, camp at a high elevation at a backcountry tentsite (Guyot Tentsite), watch the sunset from the summit of a mountain, and enjoy multiple opportunities for incredible views along the way. If that doesn’t get you excited for this traverse, then you really need to experience it!

Trails Used: Ascend via Zealand Trail to Zealand Falls Hut, then take Twinway to Zealand Mountain. If you are doing just Zealand Mountain, then turn around here and retrace your steps back to the car. If doing an overnight, continue on the Twinway to the summit of Mount Guyot and then turn left on the Bondcliff Trail. Once on Bondcliff Trail for a bit, take the spur path that leads to Guyot Tentsite. Drop your packs and have dinner. From the tentsite, retrace your steps back to the Bondcliff Trail and then continue south along it and take the West Bond Spur Trail to West Bond to watch the sunset. Retrace your steps back to Guyot Tentsite for the night. In the morning, head back up to the Bondcliff Trail from the Guyot Tentsite and continue following it over the summits of Mount Bond and Bondcliff. After enjoying Bondcliff, continue following Bondcliff Trail all the way until it joins the Lincoln Woods Trail, which you will then follow all the way back to the car.

Trail Summary: As a part of an overnight backpacking trip, we did Zealand and West Bond on Saturday and Bond and Bondcliff on Sunday. We spent the night in the backcountry, staying at the Guyot Tentsite. We really recommend this route as it’s a fun way to get a bunch of peaks all at once, especially since these ones are very remote and long/hard to do as a day hike. Note that the route we will describe is a traverse, so you will need to have two cars (one for each trailhead) or use some sort of shuttle service. This was our first experience doing a backpacking trip, and it’s a great route for beginners!

The trailhead for this hike is at the end of Zealand Road. You start by taking the Zealand Trail for 2.7 miles to the Zealand Falls Hut, which gains about 650 feet of elevation. This trail is very scenic and we really enjoyed it: it is a nice easy walk on easy terrain that passes through several outlooks. The best view comes as you walk on a wooden bridge around a pond with views of the surrounding mountains. After the junction with the Ethan Pond Trail (at the 2.5 mile mark), you will now take Twinway for the remaining 0.2 miles to the Zealand Falls Hut. This portion right before the Hut is a bit steep, but after enjoying a nice flat walk it is to be expected. There is a very nice outlook at the Hut with ledges on a brook. Zealand Pond and Zealand Falls are also both right near the Hut, and worth the quick hike to visit. After enjoying the Hut and getting some water/snacks, you will follow the Twinway for 1.5 miles until the junction with the Zeacliff Trail. This portion of the trail ascends pretty steadily over rocky terrain and gains about 1,300 feet in elevation. Right before the junction is the Zeacliff outlook which you cannot miss out on! The views from this outlook are phenomenal, especially during Fall which is when we were here. After enjoying the views and a snack, it’s another 1.6 miles to the summit of Zealand. This part of Twinway is pretty simple with easy terrain, though there is one section that is steep and requires the use of a ladder. The trail gains about 600 feet in elevation over this 1.6 mile period. About half way, there is a short spur that takes you down to Zeacliff Pond. We did not stop, but we’ve heard that it’s very nice to visit. You will come to a cairn that marks the 0.1 mile spur to the true summit of Zealand, which is wooded and has no views.

After enjoying Zealand, it is off to the Guyot Tentsite, which is a bit of a ways away. You will continue on the Twinway for another 1.3 miles and 550 feet in elevation gain until you come to a junction with the Bondcliff Trail. The trail descends for a period of time at a moderate grade before ascending again at a moderate grade. After some time, you will come out of the woods and be at the open summit of Mount Guyot - a beautiful mountain that is not an official 4,000 footer. After enjoying the phenomenal views of Guyot, it’s time to get off the Twinway and onto the Bondcliff Trail at the junction. From here, it’s only 0.6 miles to the spur trail that leads to Guyot Tentsite, with minimal elevation gain and loss. The trail is above treeline for a bit before dipping back into the woods on easy terrain. When we got to Guyot Tentsite, we went and set up camp and ate dinner. The Tentsite is 0.2 miles off the main trail and drops about 200 feet in elevation. After eating, we headed up to West Bond to watch the sunset. The West Bond Spur Trail is about 0.1 miles up the trail from the Guyot Spur. The sign is small and easy to miss, so keep an eye out for it. The West Bond Spur Trail itself is half a mile long and ascends 200 feet to the open summit of West Bond. It took us about 20 minutes to get there. The trail is moderate until the very end, where there is a steep part up to the summit. We got to the top just in time for the sunset (which unfortunately wasn’t too good due to cloud coverage). After the sunset, we headed back to camp and went to bed to get ready for another big day tomorrow.

After packing up camp, we headed back to the main trail and continued on the Bondcliff Trail past the West Bond Spur Trail this time. In about half a mile, you will be at the summit of Mount Bond. The trail to here is steep and rugged, but goes quick... it’s about 400 feet in elevation. Mount Bond has spectacular views of the surrounding area. After Mount Bond, it’s 1.2 miles to Bondcliff. Personally, this was our favorite stretch of trail because as you descend from Mount Bond, you get incredible views in front of you. The trail descends moderately/steeply before coming to a long and flat area leading to the summit of Bondcliff. The views along this ridge are incredible, as you have views on both sides. Once at Bondcliff, you can relax and take the infamous photo before heading down and out. You will follow the Bondcliff Trail for another 6.2 miles before you reach the next junction. The first 0.3 miles will be above treeline. The descent will be long and steep at times, although it is mostly moderate terrain. When you’ve gone about 3 miles from Bondcliff, the trail flattens our and you will be in for a long walk out. The lower portion of the Bondcliff Trail follows old railroad tracks. After the 6.2 miles, you’ll reach the junction with the Lincoln Woods Trail, where you will still have another 2.6 miles of flat walking before you get back to the parking lot. Some people enjoy this trail, but we absolutely hated the last 4+ miles of this hike - since it’s so flat, it feels like it goes on forever! Especially when you have a heavy pack on and you’re tired! All in all, this is one of the most beautiful hikes we’ve done in the Whites. These mountains are very remote, so you truly feel like you’re in the wilderness. While challenging, the terrain is never anything overly difficult. This is a great option for first time backpackers!

Alternative routes:

We have not yet done any alternative routes to the summit of West Bond. This page will be updated once we have!

This was our first time doing a winter backpacking trip! The first day, we went over Mount Hale and then spent the night at Zealand Falls Hut. The next day, we went over Zealand and the three Bonds (West Bond, Bond, and Bondcliff) and then headed out via Lincoln Woods. Due to their remoteness, Zealand and the three Bonds are almost always done together in a single day or as an overnight trip. These peaks are no joke in the winter given how isolated they are - there are not many bailout options and you are truly on your own!

We have a complete blog post on our experience winter hiking Mount Hale, Zealand Mountain, and the three Bonds, which you can check out by going here!

Questions? Comments? Want to share your take on this hike? Get in touch with us using the contact page!

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