Owl's Head via Wilderness Trail, Black Pond Trail, Black Pond Bushwhack, Lincoln Brook Trail, up via "Brutus Bushwhack"/Winter Route (sort-of), down via Owl's Head Slide, retracing our steps.
Distance: 16 miles
Elevation: 2950 feet
Time: 13:00
Hikers: Tim (BikeHikeSkiFish), Earl (BIGEarl), Ryan (FARMER), Paul (Rols) and Andy and his dog
Pemi-East Branch Gauge: 6.75 feet, 700cfps and falling
Wet/Mud: Lots of small streams to step over, 1-2" of running water on several stretches of trails, very occasional boot-sucking mud.
Traction: Helpful, snowshoes unnecessary, not skiable
NOTE: Lincoln Woods is running on porta-potties. NO HEATED RESTROOMS!
Snow Totals:
Lincoln Woods - 1-2"
Wilderness Trail 2-4"
Black Pond Trail 3-6"
Black Pond Bushwhack 6-8"
Lincoln Brook Trail 6-8"
Owl's Head / Brutus Bushwhack / Herd Path 8-12"
Some deeper drifts, some wind scoured areas... as usual.
"Third time's a charm!"
After calling off this hike twice, we were not to be denied. Once again the weather played a role in the trip, with 1-2" of rain in the lower elevations and 6-12" of snow as you got higher up. BIGEarl, Ryan (Farmer) and I drove up together and met Paul (Rols) at Lincoln Woods. The parking lot was a bit slick as we geared up, turned on the head lights, and headed out the Wilderness Trail, departing at 5:43am. The river was louder than usual, but not really swollen so we were optimistic about the future stream crossings. First light appeared about 6:20 and by 6:40 the lights were off and the Black Pond Trail was in our sights. What can you say about the Wilderness Trail? It was a bit roughed up and muddy with puddles, but still flat, straight and boring.
Black Pond / Bushwhack
A few steps into the Black Pond Trail and we were caught by Andy's dog (I'm not sure of the spelling, I think Selenia was her name) which Earl recognized and shortly thereafter by Andy. Andy wanted to finish his "summer 48" (Hah) by bagging Owl's Head, although he's done it in winter already. At the outflow / bog from Ice Pond, we stopped for some photos of the 2256' peak. Earl was optimistic about getting a photo of Owl's Head (the namesake) over Black Pond and he was not disappointed. After the photos, Earl pulled out the maps and we decided on a general bushwhack route of generally following due north but cheating west to stay above the wetter parts. This worked out well, and in fact Rols had a GPS route (I think from Bob & Geri) preprogrammed which was almost exactly what we followed. This was my first official bushwhack and given the open woods and snow it was both enjoyable and beautiful. About 1:45 later we spilled out onto the Lincoln Brook Trail.
Lincoln Brook was moving right along, but there were plenty of rocks sticking up giving us renewed optimism that the upcoming crossings would be doable. Where the ground wasn't wet or soggy, the snow was 6-8" deep, light and fluffy. Not enough for snowshoes or skis, and not an especially good base either with the ground not yet frozen beneath it. There was a pair of tracks preceding us heading northwest, but none returning. The first "crossing" was a feeder brook which none of us knew the name of. The second crossing was of Liberty Brook which the bipedal five passed without incident while the one with four-paw drive complained before finding a difficult and very wet way across. Once on the other side is a nice, if illegal, campsite. The third crossing over Lincoln Brook was the most challenging, but was still doable without dipping more than an inch of your boots. Again our K9 companion was unhappy about this but eventually made it over, drier than over Liberty Brook.
Winter / Brutus Bushwhack
Once across Lincoln Brook we debated the slide versus the winter (aka Brutus) bushwhack and opted for the latter. I would not recommend following our tracks here because we didn't get high enough to the old road and slogged across a very steep and very thick face of the mountain, eventually coming out on the slide about 300 feet too low. This was the least-enjoyable part of the trip and definitely cost us a lot of time. A short way in, Rols decided he didn't feel up to the summit and turned around with our assurance we would return via the Black Pond Bushwhack rather than visiting Franonia Falls. As it turned out there wouldn't have been time anyway. The slide was covered with wind-scoured snow with a fair amount of running water underneath. It was not really icy, but we stopped and put on traction.
Owl's Head Slide and Peak
Once the slide was behind us, I established a good rhythm up the herd path, following rabbit tracks the whole way. I now wish I had paused to take a few photos of the trees and trail blanketed in snow disturbed only by my small, hoppy guide. There are a fair number of blow downs along the way, most are low enough to swing one leg over and then the other, at least if you're 6'3" with a 34" inseam. Ryan and I topped out first and ate and drank while Earl and Andy made their way up. I was not sure if we were on the actual summit so we took some pictures just in case. I could not find the two blue nails which are on the still-officially-recognized "old summit" which was confirmed by Earl when he arrived. Another 10 minutes north and a bunch more blowdowns and we had reached the official summit. Hoping to avoid bushwacking in the dark, we opted not to find the "new" summit. Earl congratulated us on adding Owl's Head to our collection and I reminded him we were only half-way there. A vote was taken and we agreed to descend via the slide, which we did without incident. Although Owl's Head was under blue skies, flurries fell from the clouds clinging to Franconia Ridge.
Retracing our steps
The return trip was uneventful. Even the dog made much less of a show at the stream crossings. As we geared up for the bushwhack, the sun was setting so out came the headlamps. About 15 minutes in, we turned them on. Following our tracks back to black pond, even in the dark, was straightforward. We were all tired, and some were lower on fuel than others so it was still slow going, but eventually a dark void appeared in the trees on our left indicating we'd reached Black Pond. Half way out the Wilderness Trail, we saw the approaching headlight of Rols, who was concerned about our return, and so the hike out ended as it began with the gang of five.
It was a great day, and a great experience, made more enjoyable by the fine company of more experienced hikers. Thanks, BIGEarl, for being the unofficial guide and "leader of the 'whack."
All photos: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/561484411UWGrrb
Tim
Distance: 16 miles
Elevation: 2950 feet
Time: 13:00
Hikers: Tim (BikeHikeSkiFish), Earl (BIGEarl), Ryan (FARMER), Paul (Rols) and Andy and his dog
Pemi-East Branch Gauge: 6.75 feet, 700cfps and falling
Wet/Mud: Lots of small streams to step over, 1-2" of running water on several stretches of trails, very occasional boot-sucking mud.
Traction: Helpful, snowshoes unnecessary, not skiable
NOTE: Lincoln Woods is running on porta-potties. NO HEATED RESTROOMS!
Snow Totals:
Lincoln Woods - 1-2"
Wilderness Trail 2-4"
Black Pond Trail 3-6"
Black Pond Bushwhack 6-8"
Lincoln Brook Trail 6-8"
Owl's Head / Brutus Bushwhack / Herd Path 8-12"
Some deeper drifts, some wind scoured areas... as usual.
"Third time's a charm!"
After calling off this hike twice, we were not to be denied. Once again the weather played a role in the trip, with 1-2" of rain in the lower elevations and 6-12" of snow as you got higher up. BIGEarl, Ryan (Farmer) and I drove up together and met Paul (Rols) at Lincoln Woods. The parking lot was a bit slick as we geared up, turned on the head lights, and headed out the Wilderness Trail, departing at 5:43am. The river was louder than usual, but not really swollen so we were optimistic about the future stream crossings. First light appeared about 6:20 and by 6:40 the lights were off and the Black Pond Trail was in our sights. What can you say about the Wilderness Trail? It was a bit roughed up and muddy with puddles, but still flat, straight and boring.
Black Pond / Bushwhack
A few steps into the Black Pond Trail and we were caught by Andy's dog (I'm not sure of the spelling, I think Selenia was her name) which Earl recognized and shortly thereafter by Andy. Andy wanted to finish his "summer 48" (Hah) by bagging Owl's Head, although he's done it in winter already. At the outflow / bog from Ice Pond, we stopped for some photos of the 2256' peak. Earl was optimistic about getting a photo of Owl's Head (the namesake) over Black Pond and he was not disappointed. After the photos, Earl pulled out the maps and we decided on a general bushwhack route of generally following due north but cheating west to stay above the wetter parts. This worked out well, and in fact Rols had a GPS route (I think from Bob & Geri) preprogrammed which was almost exactly what we followed. This was my first official bushwhack and given the open woods and snow it was both enjoyable and beautiful. About 1:45 later we spilled out onto the Lincoln Brook Trail.
Lincoln Brook was moving right along, but there were plenty of rocks sticking up giving us renewed optimism that the upcoming crossings would be doable. Where the ground wasn't wet or soggy, the snow was 6-8" deep, light and fluffy. Not enough for snowshoes or skis, and not an especially good base either with the ground not yet frozen beneath it. There was a pair of tracks preceding us heading northwest, but none returning. The first "crossing" was a feeder brook which none of us knew the name of. The second crossing was of Liberty Brook which the bipedal five passed without incident while the one with four-paw drive complained before finding a difficult and very wet way across. Once on the other side is a nice, if illegal, campsite. The third crossing over Lincoln Brook was the most challenging, but was still doable without dipping more than an inch of your boots. Again our K9 companion was unhappy about this but eventually made it over, drier than over Liberty Brook.
Winter / Brutus Bushwhack
Once across Lincoln Brook we debated the slide versus the winter (aka Brutus) bushwhack and opted for the latter. I would not recommend following our tracks here because we didn't get high enough to the old road and slogged across a very steep and very thick face of the mountain, eventually coming out on the slide about 300 feet too low. This was the least-enjoyable part of the trip and definitely cost us a lot of time. A short way in, Rols decided he didn't feel up to the summit and turned around with our assurance we would return via the Black Pond Bushwhack rather than visiting Franonia Falls. As it turned out there wouldn't have been time anyway. The slide was covered with wind-scoured snow with a fair amount of running water underneath. It was not really icy, but we stopped and put on traction.
Owl's Head Slide and Peak
Once the slide was behind us, I established a good rhythm up the herd path, following rabbit tracks the whole way. I now wish I had paused to take a few photos of the trees and trail blanketed in snow disturbed only by my small, hoppy guide. There are a fair number of blow downs along the way, most are low enough to swing one leg over and then the other, at least if you're 6'3" with a 34" inseam. Ryan and I topped out first and ate and drank while Earl and Andy made their way up. I was not sure if we were on the actual summit so we took some pictures just in case. I could not find the two blue nails which are on the still-officially-recognized "old summit" which was confirmed by Earl when he arrived. Another 10 minutes north and a bunch more blowdowns and we had reached the official summit. Hoping to avoid bushwacking in the dark, we opted not to find the "new" summit. Earl congratulated us on adding Owl's Head to our collection and I reminded him we were only half-way there. A vote was taken and we agreed to descend via the slide, which we did without incident. Although Owl's Head was under blue skies, flurries fell from the clouds clinging to Franconia Ridge.
Retracing our steps
The return trip was uneventful. Even the dog made much less of a show at the stream crossings. As we geared up for the bushwhack, the sun was setting so out came the headlamps. About 15 minutes in, we turned them on. Following our tracks back to black pond, even in the dark, was straightforward. We were all tired, and some were lower on fuel than others so it was still slow going, but eventually a dark void appeared in the trees on our left indicating we'd reached Black Pond. Half way out the Wilderness Trail, we saw the approaching headlight of Rols, who was concerned about our return, and so the hike out ended as it began with the gang of five.
It was a great day, and a great experience, made more enjoyable by the fine company of more experienced hikers. Thanks, BIGEarl, for being the unofficial guide and "leader of the 'whack."
All photos: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/561484411UWGrrb
Tim
We had found the old road and were heading "right and up" but gave up on it where it entered the thicket and appeared to end. At this point we cut back (left and up) toward the Owl's Head path. Since we made the turn too early we came in too low and actually hit the slide roughly 50 - 100 feet below its top. A mistake that was easy to recover from but cost us some time. The bushwhack area had between 1.5 to 2 feet of snow in many places that also made things interesting. If we had continued on the old road, through the thicket and to the edge of the open birches, and then cut back we probably would have avoided the slide and come in higher on the Owl’s Head Path. Next time.
