Owl's Head Week of Apr 11th

If anyone is heading out to Owl's Head please post up trail conditions. I'm looking to knock off 1 of my last 3 to complete NH 4k's and will be taking Lincoln Woods approach. I'm guessing prepare for mud, snow, and ice up top! Thinking crampons a must in case the last mile is iced up. I'd love not to have to bring em!

I would think the stream crossings would be TOO high to cross at that time.

I would encourage you to use the BB bushwhack and to bring traction for the slide.

I'll be bringing 12 points not micro spike. I figure if I end up needing them the final mile to the summit is steep enough micro spikes won't offer the best or safest traction. Now I'm worried a bit about the water crossings. Looks like rain coming before I head out.

richard said:

I would think the stream crossings would be TOO high to cross at that time.

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Water levels are lower than you might think: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nh/nwis/uv?site_no=01074520

Says 381 cfps. That's actually pretty low. My experience says < 700 cfps is safe, possibly with somewhat submerged boots. < 500 cfps is a rock hop. This is via Black Pond skipping the two big crossings and only crossing the Liberty Brook and Lincoln Brook above the confluence with Liberty Brook.

YMMV,
Tim

bikehikeskifish said:

Water levels are lower than you might think: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nh/nwis/uv?site_no=01074520

Says 381 cfps. That's actually pretty low. My experience says < 700 cfps is safe, possibly with somewhat submerged boots. < 500 cfps is a rock hop. This is via Black Pond skipping the two big crossings and only crossing the Liberty Brook and Lincoln Brook above the confluence with Liberty Brook.

YMMV,
Tim

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I would second the 500 cfs threshhold if taking the official trails and doing the two difficult crossings mentioned in AMC Guide. At these levels the majority of the width of the river is very easy, but both crossings have a narrow channel of deeper water that is where the difficulty will be (maybe 10' or so in width). I've only done in Summer and found it is easiest to just throw water shoes on at first crossing, cross and leave on until second crossing, which is only about 0.4 miles of easy walking. After clearing the second crossing I went back to my boots. Of course water temp was not an issue in Summer. Not sure how unpleasant that option would be this time of year. I'm sure it could be hopped with a little searching for a good spot under 500 cfs. I'm not a particularly good rock hopper so I'll usually just use water shoes and cross instead of screwing around trying to find a line of rocks that can be hopped. That can become a real time killer sometimes.

bikehikeskifish said:

Water levels are lower than you might think: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nh/nwis/uv?site_no=01074520

Says 381 cfps. That's actually pretty low. My experience says < 700 cfps is safe, possibly with somewhat submerged boots. < 500 cfps is a rock hop. This is via Black Pond skipping the two big crossings and only crossing the Liberty Brook and Lincoln Brook above the confluence with Liberty Brook.

YMMV,
Tim

Click to expand...

GR8 Link! I'm watching the weather....So ready for Spring and sun, not Spring and 16F ):

I've run into some pretty crummy luck in getting my last 3/48 done! Week od April 11th I had a septic pipe from my tank go on me!! Going to try again first week of May. I checked the water levels (thanks again for the link Tim) and so far so good. I'll be hoping for the best as I do see some rain in forecast next week.

I'd bring Micro Spikes as well... the weight vs convenience factor is offset. You can always get light weight hip waders to cross and leave the hidden on the other side ..