Hellgate Ravine / West Bond / Redrock Ravine ~ June 1st, 2014

 
 East Branch Pemigewasset Suspension Bridge
 There was a washout along the bank.  WMNF re-routed the trail away from the edge to avoid further erosion
Hiking along the old railroad bed on the Franconia Brook Trail 
 Beaver Pond just past the Lincoln Brook Trail Junction
 Hellgate Brook, where I jumped off trail
 primitive tentsite off Hellgate Brook
 Mini gorge in Hellgate Brook
 Bushwhacking along the north bank of the brook
 I found this old balloon in the middle of the woods, I must be going the right way!
 Hellgate Brook
 On an old logging / railroad grade
 Nice open field, soon after this I should have made my way upslope to V Guitar Slide 
Bottom of the Monster Slide
 
Looking down the slide
 The slide starts off narrow then gradually opens up over slab and ledges
 Bondcliff from a ledge on the slide
 Heading up to the top of the slide
 Slime, stay away!  I stayed to the edge where it was a little drier
 Looking back down into the narrow part of the slide
 I see dead things!
 I think it's a moose??!!
 Loose part of the slide, where it opens up
Mixed of loose rock and slab 
 Bondcliff Summit zoomed in
 Heading up the upper slab section of the slide.  I stayed to the left then cut across to the right
 Mount Bond from Monster Slide
Bondcliff from the upper ledge of the slide 
 Thick whack to gain the ridge
True summit from the false summit! 
 Mount Lafayette, Truman, Lincoln (Right to Left)
 Truman / Lincoln Slide
 After getting scratched up badly this heard path was a welcome site!
 Redrock Ravine
 Ledges just west of the true summit, looking back to the false summit bumps
 Redrock Ravine
 Bear Pond from West Bond
 Bondcliff
 Dropping down into the talus field
 Beautiful descent into Redrock Ravine
The boulders where loose but the angle was not too steep making for a slow but pleasant descent 
 Looking back up to the West Bond Col
 Angle of the slide
 Bottom of the slide
 Descending through a brook
 Easy rock hop to the bottom of this tributary of Redrock Brook
 Camp 14!
 Bear Pond outlet
 Bear Pond
 Primitive tentsite at Bear Pond
 Bear Pond
 Late spring at Bear Pond
 Talus field above Bear Pond
 Bear Pond and West Bond
 Talus field I descend below West Bond
 Twinway Slide
Waterfall on Twinway Slide 
 Bear Pond in Redrock Ravine
 Me standing on flat rock
 Eastern shore of Bear Pond
 Talus field above the pond, a perfect place to get away from everything
 Old railroad grade in Redrock Ravine
This piece of rail was in the exact spot I found it last fall! 
 Descending through a lush and vivid green forest on the old railroad grade
 One hundred years ago this was a major logging operation.
 Redrock Brook
 Franconia Brook Trail
 Pine needle blanketed Franconia Brook Trail
 It's hard to see, but this dead stump has a tiny pine growing out of the middle of it!
 Franconia Brook footbridge at the Pemigewasset Wilderness boundary
 Lincoln Woods Trail
 East Branch Pemigewasset River
Route for the day, click here for more details
The slide I went up (picture taken last August from Bondcliff)
Here is a picture of the three slides in Hellgate Ravine.  I call them the Monster Slides, I'm sure there is another name for them but it looks like a monster gashed the side of West Bond.  I went up the left one
Strait on view of the slides from Bondcliff Ridge (from July 2013).  Notice how steep!
The Slide I wanted to go up V Guitar Slide. (from August 2013) Next time!
Map of the majority of the bushwhack portion

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