By Marty Basch

Slackpacking never felt so good. The Appalachian Mountain Club's Galehead Hut, at 3,800 feet, was reached during a day of rain, cloud and temperatures in the 50s.

A few weeks ago, Tropical Storm Lee caused Jan Duprey and I to postpone our plans to climb a trio of four-thousand foot peaks: viewless 4,024-foot Galehead, rugged 4,902-foot South Twin and solid 4,500-foot Mount Garfield.

The dour weather wouldn't keep us away from the challenging hike this time. Our agenda: a nearly 16-mile trek featuring arduous rocky terrain, a new section of trail and watching a helicopter hover above the trees delivering logs for a new shelter.

Plus, there was slackpacking, and we used the practice of hiking to the summits unencumbered by a big backpack for a little relief, tackling Galehead and South Twin with our packs drying out in the hut (open through Oct. 16). Then on Garfield, for the final assault on its steep cone under wonderful sunny skies, we hid a pack in the woods to pick up again on the way back down.

For the overnight trek we used the Gale River Trail, Twinway, Frost Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail and Garfield Trail, with trailheads for Gale River and Garfield about 1.6 miles apart on the Gale River Loop Road near US 3 between Franconia and Twin Mountain. Locking a bike in the woods saved walking between the parking areas at the end of the day.

The Gale River Trail is an initially benign trek that increases manyfold in difficulty with countless rock steps. The U.S. Forest Service completed a 1-mile reroute in August for the trail to stay on the west side of the Gale River, eradicating a pair of tough crossings in high water. The new way was a tad soft - a rarity in the jagged Whites - and muddy, and extends the trail's length by about a quarter of a mile. Though the going was at times tough, hiking in the rain meant wearing hoods and listening to the rain beat against them, also acting as a backcountry silencer.

The hut was a welcome respite, though the Pemigewasset Wilderness views were fogged in. Checking in and dropping the backs, we opted to stay outside and hike the arduous Twinway to South Twin, a brutal short mile with 1,100 foot elevation gain on a steep, stony staircase to a shrouded, wet summit that is heralded for its Pemi panoramas. There was nothing for us to see on the highest peak in the Twin Range, except for mist and a couple of other hikers who had spent the night at the hut as part of their Pemi Loop trek.

Inching slowly back down to the hut, the rain abated a bit as we hiked the Frost Trail up the Galehiead summit, marked by a cairn and the vast woods.

The hut, always an incredible meeting house, had an energetic crew and a myriad of overnighters, like five north-bound AT thru-hikers, a Washington D.C. couple hiking to Greenleaf Hut and a man from New York intent on doing the Bonds.

Sunshine returned the next day, with hardly any wind and temps near 50 again. Our spirits lifted and we were soon toughing it out again, this time on the unforgiving Garfield Ridge Trail, with its sinister ledges and steep waterfall to climb. From it, we heard a helicopter suspended overhead. Instead of being engaged in search, rescue or recovery, the chopper was airlifting logs for the new AMC Garfield Ridge Shelter, northeast of the mountain's summit.  The old shelter, built in 1971, saw a lot of use and was also beat up by the weather. The new shelter was pre-built by Wooden House Company in Whitefield.

Slogging up, we reached the junction with the Garfield Trail and turned into slackpackers for the last pitch of glorious Garfield. On it is the foundation from a fire tower from the 1940s. From its south side are outstanding vistas of the Bond Range Owl's Head and beyond. To the north are the Presidentials and more. Time spent on a summit on such a stellar day is never enough, but the overnight will always be remembered for the rain and sunshine in a little bit of demanding White Mountain heaven.