Kevin Rooney a long time member of this board and the first to do the Winter 48 with a dog a Newfoundland named Brutus was also the person who after studying the satellite photos came up with what is know as the Brutus Bushwhack. It is a way of going up the west side of Owl's Head without using the slide which can be quite dicey in the winter. It is now the standard approach in the winter and I have also used it several times in the summer. Kevin asked me to pass this message on to you:
"Ed -
I noticed your comments on the active thread of Bonds/Owls Head.
I have 'whacked off Owls Head summit over to the trail on the other side of the river, then turned left (north) up to 13 Falls and on to Galehead, so didn't 'whack up the Bonds. Instead, the following day we climbed S. Twin, and then took the Twinway over to the ridge and on to the Bonds.
Crossing the river at that point was not trivial. It was mid-June in a high snow year, so conditions may have been atypical, but we needed to take our boots off and wade across a rather wide river - it wasn't trival. I don't care how experieced a 7-year old is - if he/she's legs become hypothermic on the way across (as the 16 year-old husky lad who was with us on that trip), then they will lose control of their legs and it won't be pretty. There were 5 or 6 us on that particular hike - all adults except for the 16y.o., and we anticipated problems, stationing one of the adults down river "just in case". Thank goodness we did. We'd promised his dad to bring back his son alive... He was "snagged" on the way down the river, and hauled back to shore, none the worse for wear, but he, along with his pack and gear were soaked. We were headed for the hut, so there was some hope of it drying somewhat, but The Sikes sound like they're camping.
In any case - I would never chance that river crossing with a seven year old unless there were several adults along for backup.
If you want to share any of the above with The Sikes, please feel free to.
Kevin"