Franconia Falls bushwhack

[Bobby]

Has anyone done the Franconia Falls bushwhack on the way back from Owl's Head? Looking at the map, it appears that one just follows the streams to the falls area then pick up the Falls path to the Lincoln Woods Trail. It can't be that easy, can it? I'm wondering if the bushwhack is better than trying to cross the streams if the water is high.

Thanks for any info.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Yes - from the summit of Owls Head head due East, and use Bond Cliff as a marker. Have done it once, and it was in spring of a high water year (heavy winter snowfall). We didn't have much trouble that far into the Pemi crossing the river, although the water was cold.

It was pretty straight forward. There's some thick stuff near the top, and watch for drop-offs. Some small cliffs up there, we nearly stepped off a couple, so try to make sure there's solid ground under you when pushing thru that stuff.

 

[Tuco]

Bobby- Arghman and I did it a couple of years ago-

http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=8868&highlight=tuco+owls+head

 

[dr_wu002]

I'm sure it's getting easier and easier. I can't go 15 minutes without hearing "Franconia Falls Bushwhack" resonating in my head.

It's pretty easy but practically useless unless you truly can't cross Franconia Brook (get yer feet wet!!) as you won't save much time. There are a few places that you lose the herd path but just keep the river in sight (or walk along the river if it's low water which is by definition an oxymoron because you're doing the "BW" because of lack thereof low water). But anyway, you just walk it, punch through a few times and then yer done. The highlight of our trip was seeing some ravens playing around the stream.

-Dr. Wu

 

[NH_Mtn_Hiker]

Yes - from the summit of Owls Head head due East, and use Bond Cliff as a marker. Have done it once, and it was in spring of a high water year (heavy winter snowfall). We didn't have much trouble that far into the Pemi crossing the river, although the water was cold.

It was pretty straight forward. There's some thick stuff near the top, and watch for drop-offs. Some small cliffs up there, we nearly stepped off a couple, so try to make sure there's solid ground under you when pushing thru that stuff.

What are you talking about Kevin? He said Franconia Falls bushwhack.....You should leave this stuff to the experts like Dr. Wu002 and the others.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Whoops, I mis-read your question. Read "Franconia Falls" and thought "Thirteen Falls". Ignore my previous post unless you're heading for Galehead hut the fastest way ...

Your route is more often referred to as the Fisherman's Bushwhack. It's rather overgrown, and can be a little confusing as to which brook to cross and which brook to follow - if you choose this route refer to your map to keep you straight.

Personally, I prefer the Black Pond bushwhack. It's faster, and more direct. From Black Pond, it's a magnetic north bearing.

Sorry for the confusion. Am probably not an expert on it like some of you guys. According to my spreadsheet, have only done it 14 times.

 

[dr_wu002]

Whoops, I mis-read your question. Read "Franconia Falls" and thought "Thirteen Falls". Ignore my previous post unless you're heading for Galehead hut the fastest way ...

Your route is more often referred to as the Fisherman's Bushwhack. It's rather overgrown, and can be a little confusing as to which brook to cross and which brook to follow - if you choose this route refer to your map to keep you straight.

Personally, I prefer the Black Pond bushwhack. It's faster, and more direct. From Black Pond, it's a magnetic north bearing.

Sorry for the confusion. Am probably not an expert on it like some of you guys. According to my spreadsheet, have only done it 14 times.

I knew you mistook it for going East off Owl's Head. You cross Franconia Brook, right!?

The Black Pond Bushwhack is nice when you're heading to Owl's Head because it's so brainless: Head somewhat north, avoid thick stuff. But when going back it's a pain because you actually have to think about it in order to actually hit the pond. There's also boggy areas in there which you'll hit if you go off course.

I've probably done Owl's Head once. But I need someone to confirm that.

-Dr. Wu

 

[timmus]

I tried to follow some obvious herd path from the last crossing (if I remember well), took me 10 minutes to loose the damn thing. Helped by my minimal bushwhacking experience, I ended up at Franconia Falls much later, and I regretted my choice (woods were thick and there's many swampy areas). In Fall, when the water level is low, I really don't see why you wouldn't stay on the trail.

'hope this can help.

 

[Bobby]

Thanks....I'm just covering my options, I may head there next Monday. It's been raining for a few days now, not sure what the water levels will be.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

I knew you mistook it for going East off Owl's Head. You cross Franconia Brook, right!?
-Dr. Wu

Yes, Franconia Brook. We used Bondcliff as a sight marker, because if you draw a line between the summit of Owls Head and Bondcliff, the crossing of Franconia Brook there is close to the Franconia Brook Trail. Although our goal for the day was Galehead hut, and it probably would have been faster to take a northeast heading instead of east, we wanted to get back on a regular trail as fast as possible.

In the fall, when it's drier, it's probably faster to take Lincoln Brook trail north to 13 Falls, But, that spring followed a particularly heavy snow year, so we figured that route would be especially soupy, as it's a notoriously wet trail.

Personally, I'm not sure when I'll get back to Owls Head again. When I'm back in the NE for a visit it's not in the top 15 peaks I just have to climb again!

 

[askus3]

Franconia Falls is a beautiful destination. Why is everyone rushing to and fro? When i went to Owl's Head, we enjoyed the old fisherman's path that just flowed into the franconia Falls spur path. Then we hung around the falls as there were alot of nice bathing pools to splash around in. So even if the water level is low and you can cross the streams by rock hopping, I would relish the falls. This is a delightful place, treasure it. If I do Owl's Head again from the south (Big IF), I definitely would do the south bushwack (if you want to call it that) past Franconia Falls.

It's pretty easy but practically useless unless you truly can't cross Franconia Brook (get yer feet wet!!) as you won't save much time.: Dr. Wu002

 

[lattinhill]

I agree on both counts . I've done the " standard " Black Pond bushwack both ways and it worked fine . This summer we did the " Fisherman's Trail "from the falls and enjoyed it a lot more . Pretty easy to find as it's just a continuation of the Franconia Falls spur path , but as Wu said it may be of little use in times of high water . The southern end was easy to follow , but as mentioned , there's a lot of confusing feeder streams to cross further up . Most of these were dry when we did it , but it was pretty obvious that they're deep when the brook's running high .

Dave