Bondcliff sits at the southern end of the Bond Range within the Pemigewasset Wilderness, its defining feature a broad, cliff-edged summit that drops hundreds of feet into the valley on three sides. The wide-open ledge looks out across the interior of the White Mountains: Franconia Ridge to the west, the tight bowl of the Pemi to the south, and the rolling above-treeline ridgeline connecting northward to Mount Bond and West Bond. That connecting ridge is almost entirely exposed and counts among the more dramatic stretches in the range.
Getting here is a long undertaking. The standard out-and-back covers roughly 18.6 miles with about 3,200 feet of gain. The first 4.8 miles follow the Lincoln Woods Trail on a former logging railroad grade along the East Branch Pemigewasset River, flat and quick. The Wilderness Trail continues another 1.8 miles before the Bondcliff Trail begins its sustained climb. Most hikers extend the day to Mount Bond (4,698 ft) and West Bond (4,540 ft), making all three peaks a single trip. The Guyot Campsite, reached by a short spur off the Bondcliff Trail, is a practical base for spreading the miles across two days, with tent platforms and a shelter.
The exposed ridge between Bond and Bondcliff is serious terrain in high winds or winter conditions. Snow holds on the upper ridge well into May, and afternoon thunderstorms are common in summer.
David Andre
