North Twin Trail

We parked at the Seven Dwarves Motel and hiked to the trailhead. The trail had a lovely dusting of snow with black ice underneath. Microspikes necessary. As others have commented, you can skip the first two river crossings by continuing along the east riverbank (staying left). For the third river crossing, we followed others' footsteps further upriver until we reached two trees that had fallen across the river -- you can cross by walking on the lower tree and holding onto the upper tree. Climbing up on the other bank, you'll reach the trail again. After how easy the first half of the trail is, the second half definitely picks up intensity! Glad we caught a glimpse of the views at the top before the clouds rolled back in.

We attempted North Twin yesterday (Sunday 11/29) and thanks to the advice of other hikers followed the herd path (stay left when you reach the water and keep following the unmarked trail - you can't miss the footprints). If you follow the "authorized" (marked) trail you will end up crossing the water three times-- two times more than you need to-- bc the blazed trail cuts across the water, follows along the bank on the opposite side, before once again cutting across the water and joining the herd path. In the summer or when the water is low this wouldn't be a big deal, but right now the air and water are both frigid, the water is racing, and all of the rocks are slick. It's dangerous! Once arriving at the final water crossing we searched up and down the bank for a safe route to cross but found nothing. We contemplated taking off our shoes and rolling up our pants but after watching other hikers slip and plunge into the icy water, we made the decision to turn back. North Twin will have to wait for warmer weather or a deep freeze. The trail up to the last water crossing was roughly 2.5 miles of easy terrain, very pretty, but yesterday also wet and muddy with patches of ice. We didn't need our spikes but definitely bring them for the ascent on the other side of the water. Stay safe!

Used the herd path to avoid two out of three water crossings. Snow expected sun through Monday. As elevation increased brake out the micro spikes. Cold but awesome

This hike I had mixed feelings about. Flat at the beginning and then uphill from there. The views were great but not as good as Garfield. I’m not a big fan of big river crossings they make me nervous especially if it’s really cold. I took the bushwhack to avoid a few of the crossings. I never got wet but it took me a while to get across the way up. Easier crossing coming back. Was a nice day but I don’t wanna do this hike again. Lol

We climbed North and South Twin on 10/18, the day after the mountain was hit by rain and snow. On the ascent, we crossed the river 3 times (with the help of two other hikers, who found a safe path to cross and lent us a hiking pole for balance). The water height was high, which made it hard to find safe crossings. Like others have said, be patient to find a safe crossing and be prepared with hiking poles, waterproof boots, and/or micro spikes; none of which I had. After the third crossing, we realized we could have bypassed the first two crossings by bushwhacking along the river. Other travelers knew this and the path along the river was broken in on our descent. The trail itself was wet, snowy, and icy in places but certainly manageable at this point in the season if you’re patient, careful, and prepared. Started the hike around 9am, summited North Twin by 12:30, South Twin by 1:30, back to parking lot by 5:15pm. You will certainly want to avoid crossing the aforementioned river by headlamp, so be aware of what time the sun will set. Overall, a very fun hike with great views. Thanks again Alexandru and Hamilton! We wouldn’t have made it without your help!

Did this hike on Monday & had a terrible time due to the wet, muddy, slushy conditions. My “waterproof” boots were soaked and I cut it short after hitting the Twins instead of continuing on. Had to do one river crossing barefoot. The summits were beautiful, however. This would probably be really enjoyable with dry conditions- or if you don’t mind the sloshing around and have better gear.

Our team climbed North and South Twin yesterday (10.18) trail leading to the river is WET, do not wear sneakers! You can avoid 2 river crossings by following the "bushwhacked" trail parallel to the River until you get to the 1.9 mi. point, we were able to cross safely, but be very careful, some rocks are very icy in the am, and the water is fairly high, be patient and pick a safe line to cross. Waterproof hiking boots highly recommended.. Past the River the trail is wet, muddy, snowy, icy.. Falling/melting snow from overhead trees pose additional challenges. Micro-spikes recommended, at the very least hiking poles, ditto gaiters. Above treeline the wind/cold picks up significantly, easily 12-18" of fresh snow on top with 2-3' snowdrifts in some places. Summited North/South and decided to not go for Galehead as it was already past 2pm and we didn't want to cross the River via headlamp. Absolutely stunning panoramic views on top of South Twin, the lookout on North is beautiful as well. Very motivated to get down the mountain after taking 5 hours to reach South with breaks and helping out a couple with their river crossing, ran the last 1.5 miles with headlamp.. Great hike, just please be prepared for the elements...

Gorgeous day but we had to bail because the water level was so high from last nights rain. People were taking shoes off to cross but we weren’t willing.