I’ve stayed in all but two of the AMC high mountain huts. I’ve visited them all at some point on my hikes, but had stayed overnight in all but Zealand Falls hut and Greenleaf hut. AMC was having a promotion for discounted nights Sunday through Thursday. So why not? I decided on Zealand Falls hut, and asked Rainbow if she wanted to join me. She did.

Zealand Falls hut is a great choice for people wanting to “try out” hiking and hut stays. It’s only 2.8 miles from trailhead to hut, and roughly 600 feet of elevation gain. The terrain is pretty decent by New Hampshire standards. You also have a few options to hike more, if you’re up for it. And even if you aren’t, the hut is right by Zealand Falls, a great destination on it’s own.

So I picked up Rainbow and we arrived at the trailhead around 11:45 AM and managed to squeeze into the last available spot in the parking lot.

Look how lovely and flat that trail is!

Rainbow and I have actually hiked this part of the trail two times before this. Once in winter, in order to summit Zealand Mountain, and once in summer, on our way to the Bonds. It’s a lovely trail that follows along and often crosses the Zealand River.

A cool, uprooted tree and another crossing of Zealand River.

Then you come to Zealand Pond, which is really two separate ponds with swamp/bog all around. “Z-bridge”, the boardwalk. And a beaver dam at one end. Which I would later learn (during a naturalist talk at the hut) that all the beavers in the area are descendants of beavers brought here in the early 1900s in order to repopulate, as all the beavers in New England were wiped out in the fur trade of the 1800s.

We also saw some leaves starting to turn. Fall is on the way.

In between the two parts of Zealand Pond, you come to the junction with the A-Z trail. Again, look at how flat and nice this trail is. Not at all the norm for White Mountain hiking.

Some really beautiful views of and from the pond. In the photo on the right, you can see the orange-ish bit in the center and a grey-ish dot above that. Much better and more visible in real life, but the grey area is Zealand Falls! Our destination.

Then the junction with Twinway Trail, and another water crossing.

Then the trail actually gets a little steep, but it’s only for a very short distance. There is a short spur to a view of the lower falls.

One note, this year has been incredibly dry. Unlike 2023, where I swear every hike I did was in the rain, this year we’ve hardly had any rain.

Far left photo was winter of 2020, so it’s a bit different, but still you can see much more water (even if frozen). Middle photo was taken July 2023, and again more water, especially on the upper parts. Right photo is from this trip (same one as above, but shown here again for side by side).

Another water level comparison. Left: winter 2020. Right: current

Anyway, after that lower view of the falls, there is one more steep bit, more like a curving stair case, and you’re at the hut!

Starting top left and going clockwise: the exterior of the hut, the dining room, three bunks (mine is the bottom), the bunk room, and the welcome sign.

We arrived (as per my plan) around 2PM. It meant we could check in, and likely have our choice of bunks. We did check in, and got the last two bottom bunks in our bunk room. Yay! Top bunks might be cool, but I don’t want to have to climb down a ladder in the middle of the night to pee, especially after a day of hiking.

Arriving at 2PM also meant we had time to do an optional hike. Zealand Mountain itself has no view at the summit. However, on the way to Zealand, you hit Zeacliff, which is a great view. It’s only one mile from the hut, although it is also 1,000 feet of elevation gain. Knowing it would be tough, but only for a short distance, we went for it.

But first, a stop by the upper portion of Zealand Falls, right next to the hut.

The bad news is that with the dry summer, there isn’t a ton of water coming down the falls at this spot. The good news is that it meant you could walk all around and get some angles you normally couldn’t. To be fair, the left photo is a terrible photo and didn’t show much of the water that was actually flowing. The photo on the right is the view back down to Zealand Pond, where we could see the falls earlier.

We headed up Twinway trail, and I do mean UP. As I said, it’s about one mile, with roughly 1,000 feet of elevation gain.

Not a lot of photos as I struggled up the trail. This section of the trail is much more like other trails in the White Mountains, with boulders and tree roots and jagged rocks to trip you. Photo on the left: a cool tree growing right on the trail. Yes, that’s the trail. Middle photo was an interesting mushroom formation, all in a line on the tree. Right photo is the sign for the Zeacliff view loop.

Incidentally, the puddle in the sign photo reminds me, that the forecast was showing rain potentially in the morning and some in the afternoon. It was pouring when we left home, but stopped before we even got to the trailhead.

Zeacliff!

I coincidentally took the same exact photos as last time. There was another thru hiker sitting in the same spot. And I’m even wearing the same shirt. HAHA

I stitched together two (well, four) photos to show the view, and the mountains with their names. As always, cool to think I’ve hiked many of those summits.

On the left, me thinking I’m SO brave to be so close to the edge. Center, me, obviously. Right, showing some of the “cliff” of Zeacliff.

We hung out a bit, then headed back to the hut. Dinner is served at 6 PM, and as we ate, it began to rain. So nice being able to sit on the porch and watch the rain.

After dinner, they had a naturalist talk on the porch. The rain stopped during the talk, and the clouds started to move out, eventually revealing a full moon!

This is the moon! I took this from the porch of the hut, using a tripod and my iPhone’s default settings. So wild how it looks like it’s the sun rather than the moon. The light in the foreground is from the hut itself.

The moon moved in and out of clouds as it rose.

9 PM is “hiker midnight” and the start of quiet hours in the hut. So we got ready for bed and headed to our bunks for the night. Part 2 to come!