NH Gordon Pond Winter Backpacking January 13 - 15, 2018

[1960HikerDude]

Here’s your opportunity to do some winter backpacking at a secluded pond in the White Mountains. Gordon Pond has an undeveloped shoreline and offers fine views of Mt. Wolf. Along the southern shore of the pond, there is a nice grove of trees that is perfect for both hammock campers and tenters. Since this is a winter backpacking trip, I am limiting the distances to accommodate heavier backpacking loads.

Since Martin Luther King Day is a holiday for some, I am offering this as a two day trip with an optional third day.

I am leading this trip for the New England Over 40 Hiking Group on Meetup.com. Hammock Forum members will be added to the trip as my guest. Total attendance is limited to 10 people.

Since this is a winter trip, prior winter hiking experience and previous experience backpacking in any season are required. If you wish to join us, please send a private message with your name, phone number and the best time to call. We’ll have a short discussion prior to confirming your RSVP to make sure you have the proper equipment and experience for a safe and enjoyable trip.

DAY 1 - After spotting some vehicles at the Reel Brook Trailhead onRte 116, We’ll carpool to the Beaver Brook trailhead on Rte. 112 in Kinsman’s Notch. We’ll hike North on the Kinsman Ridge Trail (A. T.) for 3.3 mile. Then we head East for about .3 miles on the Gordon Pond Trail to a small creek and follow it for a few hundred yards to Gordon Pond.

DAY 2. - Folks who choose the 2 day option will return to Beaver Brook the way we came via the Gordon Pond and Kinsman Ridge Trails.

Folks who Choose the 3 day option will continue on the Eliza Brook Campsite following the Gordon Pond Trail to the Kinsman Ridge Trail. We’ll hike North on the Kinsman Ridge Trail approximately 4.2 miles to the Eliza Brook campsite.

DAY 3 - We retrace our steps South along the Kinsman Ridge Trail about a mile to Reel Brook Trail. We’ll follow the Reel Brook Trail 2.9 miles to our cars.

NOTE - As of this writing, the Kinsman Ridge Trail is closed currently closed from the Beaver Brook Trailhead to the Gordon Pond Trail due to the Lost River fire this past fall. However, I spoke with a U. S. Forest Service employee last week. He told me they expect to reopen the trail very soon. If the trail is not open for this trip, we will access Gordon Pond via the Gordon Pond Trail.

Disclaimer:
As a condition of your voluntary participation in this activity you acknowledge and agree to the following: this activity involves inherent risks that can cause property damage, injury, illness, disability, and/or death to participants and/or others; you assume all risk associated with this activity; you are responsible for having the necessary knowledge, skills, abilities, clothing, and equipment

[JoshandBaron]

What's the winter parking situation like for Reel Brook? Wanted to get up to Eliza Brook soon but haven't been able to get any beta as far as what is plowed there. And FWIW, we were towed last time we parked at the Gordon Pond trailhead overnight so you may want to confirm with someone of authority as to what that situation is.

[1960HikerDude]

According to my research Reel Brook Road is maintained year-round and is in reasonably good shape. However, I did read several trip reports describing the parking area as "rough", especially for vehicles with low ground clearance.

In the unlikely event the stretch of the Kinsman Ridge Trail between Beaver Brook and the Gordon Pond trail is still closed at the time of our trip, I will research our parking options for the Gordon Pond Trail.

[tollermama]

This sounds great! I am very interested. Will folks be backpacking or will there be pulks? I looked at the list of gear you have for the other trip and I have all that stuff. I don't have a pulk but could just carry my gear. How many folks are planning to attend? What is the pacing you are looking at? Thanks.

[1960HikerDude]

This sounds great! I am very interested. Will folks be backpacking or will there be pulks? I looked at the list of gear you have for the other trip and I have all that stuff. I don't have a pulk but could just carry my gear. How many folks are planning to attend? What is the pacing you are looking at? Thanks.

I don't recommend pulling a pulk on this trip as there are steep sections of the trail. As of this writing I have two people from the Over 40 group that are confirmed. I expect the pace to be fairly slow, as we will be carrying heavier loads. That's why I kept the daily mileage low. If you'd like to join us, please send me a PM with you name, phone number and the best time to call.

Thanks

Tom

[tollermama]

Well, I am out for this one, just got my January calendar from work and am working this weekend. Sure I won't be able to get someone to work it for me as it is a "long weekend" for some. Oh well. Sounded great! See you at the NEHHA winter hang!

[1960HikerDude]

According to my research Reel Brook Road is maintained year-round and is in reasonably good shape. However, I did read several trip reports describing the parking area as "rough", especially for vehicles with low ground clearance.

In the unlikely event the stretch of the Kinsman Ridge Trail between Beaver Brook and the Gordon Pond trail is still closed at the time of our trip, I will research our parking options for the Gordon Pond Trail.

I stopped by this area on my way back from leading a hike on Mt. Hedgehog, on Tuesday, Dec. 26. I’m glad that I did.

Reel Brook Road is VERY narrow and rough. And the parking area showed no signs of being plowed. I was afraid of getting stuck just driving down the road in a front-wheel drive vehicle. Bottom line is this trailhead is unusable in winter.

I also stopped by the Beaver Brook Trailhead to check on the status of the Kinsman Ridge Trail. The closure notice was still up on the Forest Service website as of last week. However, I found no closure notices posted at the start of the trail and no closure notices were were posted on the information kiosk at Beaver Brook. The Kinsman Ridge Trail was unbroken at the time I drove by. But, that isn’t surprising seeing it was a Tuesday following a Monday snowstorm.

Based on these assessments, We will start and end the trip at the Beaver Brook. We will NOT do the car spot at Reel Brook Road. I'll leave it to group consensus whether we two nights at Gordon Pond, or spend the second night at Eliza Brook and then hike back to Beaver Brook on the third day. I've done that stretch before, and it is easily doable provided we don't get a huge dumping of snow the previous night.