The Bagging of Owl's Head Slide (7/28/09)

[The Feathered Hat]

An owly new summit
To our bag could be summon’d
If Tuckerman and I
To Owl’s Head would hie.

But weekends don’t fail
To bring crowds to this trail.
That’s my puppy’s delight --
But some fear the bite.

So a quiet Tuesday
Was our choice for this play,
And we had empty trail
Where it’s straight as a nail.

Oh, we had no towel
And we had no trowel
When Tuckerman and I
Hiked to The Owl!

(Wait! My memory’s foul –
We had a trowel!
The bathroom kind,
When we hiked to the Owl.)

So…
We had no towel
But we carried a trowel
When Tuckerman and I
Hiked to the Owl!

We whack’d the Black Pond whack
Going out and coming back.
(Though on return: too east
We met Franconia Falls, at least.)

Miles of trail, stride by stride,
Got us to Owl’s Head Slide.
Oh the Slide was steep, the Slide was hot
But that Tuck-Dog, he went up like a shot

While Big Boss Man huffed and puffed;
On just two legs, the Slide is rough.
But dog and man both made the top
First old peak, then new peak with rocks.

Oh, we had no towel
But we carried a trowel
When Tuckerman and I
Hiked to the Owl!

In shade beside summit stones
We ate our lunch – just gorp, no scones.
How ‘bout some verse as we chew
Say, “The Shooting of Dan McGrew”?

“A bunch of the boys…” I began
But Tuckerman just upped and ran
“Hey dog, no Mister Service for you?
No shooting of Dangerous Dan McGrew?”

But to Tuckerman, let’s be fair,
He loves poetry, so I like to share.
But he prefers some Robert Lowell
On no-view peaks such as the Owl.

Oh, we had no towel
But we carried a trowel
When Tuckerman and I
Hiked to the Owl!

The long return, not much to say:
Muddish and warm was this long day.
I lost my hand-saw, damn and drat,
And even the feather from my cap.

Oh well, some things will fall right off
When whacking in woods deep in the duff;
The cost of bushy adventure perhaps,
Or just my lousy memory’s lapse.

But a full good day and no harm
The Owl’s Head hike has many charms.
‘Twas the ninth peak for Mister T
And number forty-four for me.

Oh, we had no towel
But we carried a trowel
When Tuckerman and I
Hiked to the Owl!

________________________________
More photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99682097@N00/sets/72157621881715594/

Steve B
The Feathered Hat
[email protected]
________________________________
Tuckerman's report for dogs:

Many miles but you can do it;
Lots of mud, and sticks for chewing.
Whacking is incredible fun
I thought, "Too short!", when we were done.
As he wrote: the slide, hot and steep
But water you'll find in some seeps.
Lots of miles, but I could've done more.
I give this hike four sniffs out of four!

 

[rocket21]

For those who don't know, TheFeatheredHat is a *big* Michael Bolton fan. If you notice, the whole trip report can be put to the tune of "When A Man Loves A Woman"


That aside, great job! I didn't know dogs could write poetry either!

 

[TrishandAlex]

Most excellent report, Feathered Hat. Keep 'em coming!

 

[Silverfox]

Typically fine trip report on an excellent day in the mountains..

You know, I bet that slide didn't seem so bad when humming "When a Man Loves a Woman"..wait tell me you were humming...not singing

Good luck on the Final 4

 

[rocket21]

You know, I bet that slide didn't seem so bad when humming "When a Man Loves a Woman"..wait tell me you were humming...not singing

I think we know the answer to that, Silverfox

 

[loanshark]

owl's head

Great report Steve. Liz and I almost did this hike yesterday, but the weather report changed our mind and we opted for more views.

 

[Jimmy Legs and Little D]

Bagging the Owl

A most cool way
to write your post for the day
that you and Tuckerman bagged
the renowned "Owl's Head".

Little D

 

[The Feathered Hat]

Thank you, everyone.

The long, flat slog out of and back to Lincoln Woods is conducive, I learned, to making up exceedingly dumb rhymes. And since the trail was pretty much empty when we were on it, I had a fine opportunity to work on my Michael Bolton imitation as well, which I'm trying to pair with rocket's Bill Cosby dance for the full "Michael Cosby" package.

By the way, there was no evidence on the Slide of the young moose that TrishandAlex reported seeing a couple of days earlier. Tuckerman did rush off the slide at one point to follow a smell, and later I realized that was where the moose had been standing. But no buzzards circled overhead and I didn't smell a carcass, so I think the moose has survived.

As a few others have said, the Owl's Head hike gets no respect but is actually pretty nice for much of the way. The Lincoln Brook Trail is beautiful in the morning.

 

[Dave Bear]

Steve, very nice report and thanks for the info on the moose. She would have been hard to miss if she was in the woods where we left her. It was only four to five feet from the slide. Owlie has beautiful views of the Franconia Ridge and very nice woods to enjoy/endure over the whole journey! Just need to perceive the path as the place you want to be. One of my big reason's for looking hard at a whack off FRT into Owlie is that I prefer the woods and the climbing to the Lincoln Woods railroad bed. To each their own! Thanks for sharing!

 

[grumpygran]

Poet on Owl's Head

A poet to boot, made the climb sound a hoot! Well done Tuckerman, you topped the old man!
Grumpygran