Lincoln woods trail closure later this summer?

[Sherby]

There is a planned construction project (https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=61348) that indicates a possible trail closure for several weeks, no specific dates are given, only that water level needs to be low. Anyone has heard more about this?

AFAIK, there no easy way to bypass this trail, access to Owl's head would be pretty limited, Bonds needs to be done from the north, etc.

 

[NHClimber]

Says 9-12 weeks, late May-early October 2022. Interesting to see how they will get equipment across the river.

"The purpose of this project is to improve the safety and sustainability of the Lincoln Woods Trail. Currently the trail is narrowing and eroding into the Pemigewasset river (Pemi river). The side slopes adjacent to the trail are eroding rapidly and need to be repaired soon to keep the trail open to the public. This project is needed to improve the visitor recreation experience on the Lincoln Woods Trail."

"Project is on the Lincoln Woods Trail which is accessed off of the Route 112 Kancamagus Highway just west of the Lincoln Woods Trailhead. The main project area will be about 0.6 miles from the junction with Route 112. Disturbed length of trail would be about 800 feet."

"The Lincoln Woods parking lot may have some construction equipment unloaded and/or crossing through it during project implementation activities. The Lincoln Woods parking lot should not need to be closed at any point during implementation."

"Project projected to begin summer of 2022 after design and permitting completed. This project will need to occur during low water conditions. Project should take 9-12 weeks. The Lincoln woods Trail will need be closed from the junction with Route 112 to the end of the construction area during this period. The suspension bridge itself can be open but users would not be able to exit the bridge on the west side."

"Large construction equipment and dump trucks will need to access the site. Access paths are not all known at this time. Some equipment may need to cross the Pemi river to access the site. The Lincoln Woods trail will be used as an access path. To construct the retaining wall coffer dams will need to be constructed in the Pemi river and water will need to be diverted."

 

[JoshandBaron]

If water levels need to be low for the project then crossing the East Branch from the Eastside Trail shouldn't be a problem. The ford at Franconia Brook is pretty straight forward, often with stepping stones, and there are many other opportunities between the trailhead and there.

 

[Sherby]

If water levels need to be low for the project then crossing the East Branch from the Eastside Trail shouldn't be a problem. The ford at Franconia Brook is pretty straight forward, often with stepping stones, and there are many other opportunities between the trailhead and there.

Good to know, never had to look for a crossing there. I also didn't visit the Eastside Trail yet, is it in good shape? I guess it receives less visitors since the bridge removal.

 

[Rhody Seth]

Considering the amount of traffic that area gets I'm sure there will be a workaround for hikers. People are going to be coming down the trail either way so they'll need to make accomodations.

 

[JoshandBaron]

Good to know, never had to look for a crossing there. I also didn't visit the Eastside Trail yet, is it in good shape? I guess it receives less visitors since the bridge removal.

Eastside trail is a road until the Wilderness boundary with one minor washout that is only an inconvenience to the FS trucks heading to the campsite. After the campsite there are maybe 2 washouts and a possible ford of Cedar Brook. Pine Island trail runs (used to run?) along the river connecting to the Eastside trail and has a history of being washed out.

 

[OldEric]

Says 9-12 weeks, late May-early October 2022. Interesting to see how they will get equipment across the river.

They shouldn't need to get equipment across. The old Wilderness Trail (and the older tracks) used to hit the Kanc on the westside of the river. Back in the 60's there was a small dirt lot there where we (legally) car camped on Friday nights. It's on'y a couple of hundred feet to the current trail and the old railroad bed it still there

 

[skiguy]

They shouldn't need to get equipment across. The old Wilderness Trail (and the older tracks) used to hit the Kanc on the westside of the river. Back in the 60's there was a small dirt lot there where we (legally) car camped on Friday nights. It's on'y a couple of hundred feet to the current trail and the old railroad bed it still there

Those were the days. Also back in the day when Whaleback was regularly done in conjunction with the old Osseo Trail. Technically there was no "Pemi Loop" unless you walked the road. Back then hitching a ride was part of the adventure. All they need to do now is move the boulders.

 

[NHClimber]

They shouldn't need to get equipment across. The old Wilderness Trail (and the older tracks) used to hit the Kanc on the westside of the river. Back in the 60's there was a small dirt lot there where we (legally) car camped on Friday nights. It's on'y a couple of hundred feet to the current trail and the old railroad bed it still there

Oh that is right. The trail comes out at the road with some boulders and a signpost that can be moved.

 

[peakbagger]

The Sopa references possibly bringing in equipment down at river level to install the sheet piles.

 

[Will]

0.6 miles seems a little further in than I remember but the area in trouble is the same they worked on a few years ago, trying to patch it uphill a bit. That was not going to work, as many tried to explain to them at the time.

 

[skiguy]

0.6 miles seems a little further in than I remember but the area in trouble is the same they worked on a few years ago, trying to patch it uphill a bit. That was not going to work, as many tried to explain to them at the time.

.6 is a workable value in the equation. Imagine just twice that distance what logistics would be like. Just ask J.E.

 

[peakbagger]

The site characteristics appear to be a steeply sloping rock outcropping heading down to below river elevation covered with a gravel slope. The rail bed was cut into the gravel slope when the river channel was oriented east away from the outcropping. River channels move and the East Branch's channel has shifted west towards the trail at this point and east upstream. The net result is the full force of river at high flow is being directed like a fire hose at this gravel deposit leaving a near vertical banking that is slowly eroding away the gravel. It will not stop until the gravel bank is eroded away to the underlying rock outcropping or there is a flood event that moves the river channel towards the east side of the river. The proposed fix is to drive sheet piles (vertical interlocking steel panels) down into the river bed that will deflect the force of the river away from the gravel. The sheet piles will also retain gravel behind them. Its a brute force method. The alternative is remove the gravel and bolt in a support structure to the underlying rock well above water level and build a platform to bridge the gap. That structure will require long term maintenance. It would be impressive with nice views up the river. The final option is to cut a new trail bed slabbing up the slope to clear the washout then slabbing back down to intersect the existing grade. This would be unpopular with some users of the trail as it would take away the flat grade. If you look at the reconstruction of the East Side truck road into the East Side trail as an example, it would be major scar in the woods as I expect that the WMNF wants to retain the option of service vehicle access through this area.

The prior repair attempt really did not address the erosion issue at all, all it did was shift alignment of the railbed west and install some picket fencing on top of the slope. I would guess most of the money went to upgrading the old railbed from the Kanc by removing the old ties and regrading to get to the site rather than addressing the actual issue. The history of the East Branch is washouts, the channel moved before and it will move again.

 

[maineguy]

The final option is to cut a new trail bed slabbing up the slope to clear the washout then slabbing back down to intersect the existing grade. This would be unpopular with some users of the trail as it would take away the flat grade.

This is what was done with the Champney Falls Trail a number of years ago. It was very unpopular.

 

[OldEric]

This is what was done with the Champney Falls Trail a number of years ago. It was very unpopular.

Likewise with the current Greeley Ponds Trail from the Waterville side

 

[Creag Nan Drochaid]

Washouts do happen. What is best fix? Each site is different. Traffic is different, so if USFS wants to drive pickup trucks along this RR roadbed, then their plan seems most cost-effective and sustainable of the three Peakbagger lists.
Of course, people will, and should, walk the railbed when and where heavy equipment is not travelling it; all you need then is a flagger. People can walk a temporary bypass trail through the woods to get them around a jobsite; any normally competent level 1 crew can build a 900' trail in a day. Closing a short bit of trail is no harder here than it is on a highway.
After this trail is re-opened, there is Birch Island Brook bridge 0.4 mi. beyond Osseo trail that can be fixed and improved to present guidelines, I believe. That is another weekend job for a crew of several volunteers. All in good time.

 

[Brewster]

The FS Campton folks have advised that this project isn’t happening this summer and so not to worry about alternative routes. It will not be implemented until at least 2023, and will include significant advance notification to the public.

 

[Rob S]

The FS Campton folks have advised that this project isn’t happening this summer and so not to worry about alternative routes. It will not be implemented until at least 2023, and will include significant advance notification to the public.

Thanks for this. We are tentatively planning to climb Owl's Head later this month.

 

[peakbagger]

The last time they did the closure for the repair work it was stretched out for far longer than needed. What should have taken a contractor a week took months of closure to the point that I and others were suspicious that there was some other motive for closing the trail for so long. Even at low water, crossing the East Branch upstream of the Franconia Brook still required going over knee deep in a wide stretch where the current was noticeable.