Zealand Hut

[d.b.cooperisalive]

I want to snowshoe to Zealand Hut but don't want to do the Zealand Road (3.8 m of road which is closed in the winter). I see from a map that getting to the hut is possible by hiking the Wilderness Trail to Thoreau Falls Trail to Ethan Pond Trail and finally to the hut. Has anyone done this and if so how long did it take? I can't stand hiking on a road meaning I would prefer hiking in the woods.

[krummholz]

You are talking about a total distance of 13.7 miles. It's 6.3 on the Wilderness to Thoreau Falls, 5.1 from there to Ethan Pond trail, and 2.3 on Ethan Pond to the hut.

What you need to do is get a pair of XC skis to get up the Zealand Road. Then you stash the skis in the woods and switch to snowshoes. You don't have to be an ultra-skilled skier to do that. Even if you snowshoe up the road, it's still an awful lot shorter than the way you are suggesting.

[mrohssler]

You can hike in from the Highland Center via the avalon trail to Mt Tom Spur to the a-z trail to the zealand trail to the hut. It is a little over 5 miles, a little harder ans steeper than going by the road but doable

[mtruman]

13.7 vs 6.2 seems like a no brainier. And Zealand Road isn't really going to feel like a road on snowshoes or XC skis in the winter. Zealand from the north is going to be beautiful (as it is every time of the year).

[mtruman]

Mark's suggestion about the A-Z route is good. Shorter (but steeper) than the Zealand Road route.

Another note about the Wilderness Trail route : if you're starting at Lincoln Woods it isn't going to work since the suspension bridge over the East Branch between the Bondcliff and Thoreau Falls trails was removed.