sapblatt
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- Oct 22, 2004
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Day Two –
At 9:00AM we headed out across the falls and onto the Lincoln Brook Trail. The climb was moderate, gaining about 1000 feet over a couple of miles as we weaved up towards height of land. Audrey noticed some very cool mushrooms (once again, genius here forgets the name) that Pat said went for about $50/pound when they are rarely available.
The trail passes by some nice falls at first and then a couple of good looking swimming holes as it continues upwards.
At height of land it gets pretty level and quite boggy and wet. I am pretty much convinced that if Kris were not right in front of me I would still be out there missing in action. This trail is not the Wilderness Trail – it is very easy to lose. I only saw one blaze the entire day and Kris pointed out some old ax blazes that I never would have noticed. The toughest part (easiest spot to lose the trail) would have been where the trail followed a rocky streambed for a while. All of sudden, Kris remembered that we had to be up on the left bank, and there was the trail again. I would still be following the streambed!
By this point cantdog was at least ten minutes ahead of us and Pat and Audrey were a bit behind. They told us they were going to skip the Owl’s Head summit but they would wait for us in that area. At about 11:20, just ten minutes ahead of LittleBear’s guess we were at the Owl’s Head Path.
This path was at times very cool, a bit unnerving, a lot of work and a lot of fun. The three of us lost about 30-40 pounds as we took daypacks up. The slide starts almost immediately and the loose rocks and big slabs are in your face. The views behind you to the Franconia Range are incredible as we had a great day! It got quite warm in the sun but a nice breeze kept it under control. The exposed part of the slide is quite short, probably less than a half mile, but the steepness continues for quite a ways. The amount of rock that you could send flying with one step is incredible; you do not want to be to close the hiker in front of you going up or down this trail.
As the path rises to the ridge it levels out nicely and has a few minor ups and downs before reaching the wooded summit, complete with a log to sit on, a cairn and a summit signpost. We sat and ate and drank for about ten minutes before departing. The descent was a bit quicker, but a little more unnerving. I must have sat down and slid four or five times. We made it up and back in a little over 1:45…not too bad for me! The trail is very well marked with blue blazes and cairns and is easy to follow. The only real issues were the numerous blow downs. I counted five in a very short section of trail, perhaps 75 feet.
We reassembled our gear and headed to the brook for a break and water refills. This is where the remaining brownies came in real handy! The mileage from here back to the Wilderness Trail really flew. We made it through the stream crossings pretty easily. I had an interesting issue when I undid my hip belt, just like you are supposed to and then when I slipped a bit I found my pack heading over my head! Luckily, I was able to steady myself and regain control without going down. I remember we made it from the last crossing back to the Franconia Trail in about 35 minutes, way faster than we expected. The Wilderness Trail dragged a bit, but it went well except for the suicide bikers who did not announce they were about to run you over until they were either past you or six inches behind you!
Pat and Audrey sure know how to end a hike in style. The parking lot and Subaru turned into a mountain pub as we enjoyed some beer and wine and snacks. Right about when we were about to pack it in we saw some people walk by. After a few seconds my brain registered one guy as being Dr. Wu…and I was right. We all got to meet Dr. Wu, Barbarossa and Yam (who I had hiked Hale with.) They just got back from a bushwhack deep into the Pemi and it seemed like they had a great time in the brush!
It was real nice to get out with everyone and it was great to hike with Pat, Audrey, Kris and Julie. We finally all left at around 7PM and I got home way to late and I was way to sleep deprived today – but you know what? It was so worth it I cannot wait to do it all over again!
Owl’s Head - # 40
At 9:00AM we headed out across the falls and onto the Lincoln Brook Trail. The climb was moderate, gaining about 1000 feet over a couple of miles as we weaved up towards height of land. Audrey noticed some very cool mushrooms (once again, genius here forgets the name) that Pat said went for about $50/pound when they are rarely available.
The trail passes by some nice falls at first and then a couple of good looking swimming holes as it continues upwards.
At height of land it gets pretty level and quite boggy and wet. I am pretty much convinced that if Kris were not right in front of me I would still be out there missing in action. This trail is not the Wilderness Trail – it is very easy to lose. I only saw one blaze the entire day and Kris pointed out some old ax blazes that I never would have noticed. The toughest part (easiest spot to lose the trail) would have been where the trail followed a rocky streambed for a while. All of sudden, Kris remembered that we had to be up on the left bank, and there was the trail again. I would still be following the streambed!
By this point cantdog was at least ten minutes ahead of us and Pat and Audrey were a bit behind. They told us they were going to skip the Owl’s Head summit but they would wait for us in that area. At about 11:20, just ten minutes ahead of LittleBear’s guess we were at the Owl’s Head Path.
This path was at times very cool, a bit unnerving, a lot of work and a lot of fun. The three of us lost about 30-40 pounds as we took daypacks up. The slide starts almost immediately and the loose rocks and big slabs are in your face. The views behind you to the Franconia Range are incredible as we had a great day! It got quite warm in the sun but a nice breeze kept it under control. The exposed part of the slide is quite short, probably less than a half mile, but the steepness continues for quite a ways. The amount of rock that you could send flying with one step is incredible; you do not want to be to close the hiker in front of you going up or down this trail.
As the path rises to the ridge it levels out nicely and has a few minor ups and downs before reaching the wooded summit, complete with a log to sit on, a cairn and a summit signpost. We sat and ate and drank for about ten minutes before departing. The descent was a bit quicker, but a little more unnerving. I must have sat down and slid four or five times. We made it up and back in a little over 1:45…not too bad for me! The trail is very well marked with blue blazes and cairns and is easy to follow. The only real issues were the numerous blow downs. I counted five in a very short section of trail, perhaps 75 feet.
We reassembled our gear and headed to the brook for a break and water refills. This is where the remaining brownies came in real handy! The mileage from here back to the Wilderness Trail really flew. We made it through the stream crossings pretty easily. I had an interesting issue when I undid my hip belt, just like you are supposed to and then when I slipped a bit I found my pack heading over my head! Luckily, I was able to steady myself and regain control without going down. I remember we made it from the last crossing back to the Franconia Trail in about 35 minutes, way faster than we expected. The Wilderness Trail dragged a bit, but it went well except for the suicide bikers who did not announce they were about to run you over until they were either past you or six inches behind you!
Pat and Audrey sure know how to end a hike in style. The parking lot and Subaru turned into a mountain pub as we enjoyed some beer and wine and snacks. Right about when we were about to pack it in we saw some people walk by. After a few seconds my brain registered one guy as being Dr. Wu…and I was right. We all got to meet Dr. Wu, Barbarossa and Yam (who I had hiked Hale with.) They just got back from a bushwhack deep into the Pemi and it seemed like they had a great time in the brush!
It was real nice to get out with everyone and it was great to hike with Pat, Audrey, Kris and Julie. We finally all left at around 7PM and I got home way to late and I was way to sleep deprived today – but you know what? It was so worth it I cannot wait to do it all over again!
Owl’s Head - # 40
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