rocksnrolls
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Despite the warnings here on Views, Lattinhill and I decided to attempt our first hikes to Owl's Head on Saturday. Our original plan had been to head up over the Twins and Galehead and camp at 13 Falls - heading over Owl's Head and out to Lincolnn Woods the next day. But we figured we could at least manage Owl's Head...
Wanting to avoid as many of the high-water brook crossings as possible, we decided to head up and try our hands at the Black Pond bushwhack. The hike up to the pond was uneventful and we took a little break to enjoy the serenity at this beautiful site.
The bushwhack was quite enjoyable. We were confident that we'd be able to hit the trail easily enough by keeping our eyes on our compasses, so we ambled along enjoying our time in the woods. Spotting Owl's Head through the trees was interesting. Seeing the two bumps on the southern side of the mountain was the first time it had ever looked at all like an owl's head to me. As the sound of the brook got louder we approached a ridge with a steep drop off that was full of some kind of evergreen trees. I'm thinking fir, but I'm no good at ID'ing trees. Well, we didn't want to bother going around it so I pulled up my hood (the trees had some snow on the branches), lowered my head, and plunged into it. Carefully picking our way through, we soon enough came upon the trail, apparently only about 100 yards west of the nearby crossing.
We proceeded to head west along the trail as the snow started to show more and more. Little did we know what we were in for! At the next crossing, of a feeder brook, we couldn't quite spot a way across that would keep our feet wet. The water was really running high! Lattinhill had started to remove his boots and socks in order to go across barefoot when another pair of hikers showed up. I had talked with these two guys from Maine back in the parking lot and knew one was finishing up his NE4Ks today. They had gotten a good head start down the trail, but had set up camp at the start of the lincoln brook Tr so we had managed to make some time on them. After a quick chat, they trudged across the brook and headed off. Well, seeing that, LH decided to put his boots back on and so we headed across too, only getting a little wet. I was glad to have my winter gaiters with us as it seemed to help me keep my feet dry.
The next two crossings were even deeper! We 'whacked along the brook to both times to find the optimal places to cross - which LH did bare-footed after all
.On the 2nd crossing, the water managed to get through my gaiters and soaked one of my feet quite thoroughly!
Continuing on to the slide we were soon in the middle of a winter wonderland. The ground was covered by a good 2+ inches of snow and the trees were well-laden with snow as well. We had to give the branches we approached some good pre-emptive whacks to avoid recieving snow showers down our neck [brrrr]. The trail itself was quite wet with snowmelt, more like a stream than a trail in many spots.
We set up camp near the slide and had a snack to fortify ourselves for the climb. Proceedingup the slide we were soon very worried about our prospects. The slide was quite icy in spots and wet and slick in many others. I had expected more of a gravelly slide and was surprised at how much bare rock we had to climb up and over. LH and I had been considering giving up when the two guys from Maine showed up on their way down. They informed us of the conditions ahead of us - it got worse and the temps were much lower up there - their boots had started to freeze - and we continued on a little more. After the other guys were out of site we talked it over and decided we were both outside our comfort zone and should head back down. It was a little disappointing as I realized this meant that my hopes of finishing the 48 by the end of the year were getting harder to accomplish. Maybe I'll have an easier time of it deeper into the season, with snowshoes and crampons to assist me.
We carefully made our way back down to our camp and settled in for a long rest until the night had passed. I had some amazing thigh cramps set in after sitting in my tent for a while. It took me almost a half hour of massage until I was able to walk around again . We had a hot meal and settled into our sleeping bags for the night. This was only my 2nd night sleeping in a tent, and with the temps dropping to 25 it was quite a new experience. Thankfully I had borrowed a good sleeping bag, thermarest and space blanket from Dugan. That gear along with two pairs of socks, two pairs of long underwear, three shirts, mittens and a hat, made for a nearly comfortable sleep. Luckily we had no moose encounters during the night unlike our night at Cherry Mtn recently.
The next morning we heated up some more food and slowly got our gear stashed back into our packs. Our spirits were high despite the rather miserable night we'd had and our failure to bag our summit. After all, we were out in the beautiful woods and were having a memorable experience.
As we headed out, we first encountered a group of 7 hikers, led by Ed Hawkins. Strange coincidence for me - running into Ed on my first backpacking trip (and first failed attempt at a 4K) since I had first met him early last winter on my first winter 4K (Waumbeck). We had a quick chat about the crossings and he invited us along to go up his 'tweaked' version of the slide, but we declined.
We passed a few more hikers, including a solo hiker who was finishing his 48 that day. I hoep he made it!
We found the tape blazes where the bushwhack back to Black Pond starts and headed back into the woods. We managed to avoid the thick trees this time, but not some bad swampy areas. I got stuck in mid-thigh deep mud at one point and had to have LH pull me out . I wonder if I would have lost my boots if it wasn't for my gaiters?!
After 'whacking along for a while, (during which I received a good poke in the eye from a branch) I spotted downhill from us what I thought was the banks of the pond. So we headed down to it, but it was just an area of dead trees from an old flood. Continuing along on our way from there we soon came across a herd path which brought us right back to Black Pond
Heading back down the trail to our cars, we agreed that, despite the failure to reach the summit, we had had an awesome weekend! We were out early enough to make a stop at the Mountain Wanderer (where I picked up the Scudder guide) and I had a fish feast at the Woodstock Inn before beginning the long drive home.
Wanting to avoid as many of the high-water brook crossings as possible, we decided to head up and try our hands at the Black Pond bushwhack. The hike up to the pond was uneventful and we took a little break to enjoy the serenity at this beautiful site.
The bushwhack was quite enjoyable. We were confident that we'd be able to hit the trail easily enough by keeping our eyes on our compasses, so we ambled along enjoying our time in the woods. Spotting Owl's Head through the trees was interesting. Seeing the two bumps on the southern side of the mountain was the first time it had ever looked at all like an owl's head to me. As the sound of the brook got louder we approached a ridge with a steep drop off that was full of some kind of evergreen trees. I'm thinking fir, but I'm no good at ID'ing trees. Well, we didn't want to bother going around it so I pulled up my hood (the trees had some snow on the branches), lowered my head, and plunged into it. Carefully picking our way through, we soon enough came upon the trail, apparently only about 100 yards west of the nearby crossing.
We proceeded to head west along the trail as the snow started to show more and more. Little did we know what we were in for! At the next crossing, of a feeder brook, we couldn't quite spot a way across that would keep our feet wet. The water was really running high! Lattinhill had started to remove his boots and socks in order to go across barefoot when another pair of hikers showed up. I had talked with these two guys from Maine back in the parking lot and knew one was finishing up his NE4Ks today. They had gotten a good head start down the trail, but had set up camp at the start of the lincoln brook Tr so we had managed to make some time on them. After a quick chat, they trudged across the brook and headed off. Well, seeing that, LH decided to put his boots back on and so we headed across too, only getting a little wet. I was glad to have my winter gaiters with us as it seemed to help me keep my feet dry.
The next two crossings were even deeper! We 'whacked along the brook to both times to find the optimal places to cross - which LH did bare-footed after all
.On the 2nd crossing, the water managed to get through my gaiters and soaked one of my feet quite thoroughly!Continuing on to the slide we were soon in the middle of a winter wonderland. The ground was covered by a good 2+ inches of snow and the trees were well-laden with snow as well. We had to give the branches we approached some good pre-emptive whacks to avoid recieving snow showers down our neck [brrrr]. The trail itself was quite wet with snowmelt, more like a stream than a trail in many spots.
We set up camp near the slide and had a snack to fortify ourselves for the climb. Proceedingup the slide we were soon very worried about our prospects. The slide was quite icy in spots and wet and slick in many others. I had expected more of a gravelly slide and was surprised at how much bare rock we had to climb up and over. LH and I had been considering giving up when the two guys from Maine showed up on their way down. They informed us of the conditions ahead of us - it got worse and the temps were much lower up there - their boots had started to freeze - and we continued on a little more. After the other guys were out of site
we talked it over and decided we were both outside our comfort zone and should head back down. It was a little disappointing as I realized this meant that my hopes of finishing the 48 by the end of the year were getting harder to accomplish. Maybe I'll have an easier time of it deeper into the season, with snowshoes and crampons to assist me.We carefully made our way back down to our camp and settled in for a long rest until the night had passed. I had some amazing thigh cramps set in after sitting in my tent for a while. It took me almost a half hour of massage until I was able to walk around again
. We had a hot meal and settled into our sleeping bags for the night. This was only my 2nd night sleeping in a tent, and with the temps dropping to 25 it was quite a new experience. Thankfully I had borrowed a good sleeping bag, thermarest and space blanket from Dugan. That gear along with two pairs of socks, two pairs of long underwear, three shirts, mittens and a hat, made for a nearly comfortable sleep. Luckily we had no moose encounters during the night unlike our night at Cherry Mtn recently.The next morning we heated up some more food and slowly got our gear stashed back into our packs. Our spirits were high despite the rather miserable night we'd had and our failure to bag our summit. After all, we were out in the beautiful woods and were having a memorable experience.
As we headed out, we first encountered a group of 7 hikers, led by Ed Hawkins. Strange coincidence for me - running into Ed on my first backpacking trip (and first failed attempt at a 4K) since I had first met him early last winter on my first winter 4K (Waumbeck). We had a quick chat about the crossings and he invited us along to go up his 'tweaked' version of the slide, but we declined.
We passed a few more hikers, including a solo hiker who was finishing his 48 that day. I hoep he made it!
We found the tape blazes where the bushwhack back to Black Pond starts and headed back into the woods. We managed to avoid the thick trees this time, but not some bad swampy areas. I got stuck in mid-thigh deep mud at one point and had to have LH pull me out
. I wonder if I would have lost my boots if it wasn't for my gaiters?!After 'whacking along for a while, (during which I received a good poke in the eye from a branch) I spotted downhill from us what I thought was the banks of the pond. So we headed down to it, but it was just an area of dead trees from an old flood. Continuing along on our way from there we soon came across a herd path which brought us right back to Black Pond
Heading back down the trail to our cars, we agreed that, despite the failure to reach the summit, we had had an awesome weekend! We were out early enough to make a stop at the Mountain Wanderer (where I picked up the Scudder guide) and I had a fish feast at the Woodstock Inn before beginning the long drive home.
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