Owl's Head 3-10-07

[MTNRUNR]

After a leisurely breakfast @ Dunkin Donuts in Lincoln, started in on the Wilderness Trail @ 8:42.

Barebooted to jct Black Pond Trail then used snowshoes and poles. By Black Pond and onto the bushwhack. Soon the "trail" split Figured the one to the right probably went to the pond so took the left fork. Had thought it would pretty much follow the contour but seemed to climb a bit, which got me wondering(was told later there was a high and low bushwhack?). Then it desended and @ 11:40 I hit the Franconia Brook Trail.

Followed it to the left and soon met a guy from Nashua on his way out. He informed me there was a group of hikers and a skier ahead of me and he'd met 2 guys that headed to bushwhack to OH from the south end.

Unfortunately, the temp's were rising and after about 5 1/2 miles snow started balling up under the snowshoes and on the pole tips! Yuk!!! After cleaning them off, it took about 8 steps for them to build right back up

Arrived @ base of slide @ 12:04, ate some and headed up. I could hear voices ahead, which made me feel good...company, that's a good thing

Passed guy that had left his skiis below and had snowshoes on. He was camping out near Black Pond with a friend who was a bit ahead.

I definately was going to use crampons coming down

Caught his friend above the slide and continued, when the 1st of the "group" started whizzing by headed down. There were about 8 men & women moving very well.

Reached the old summit @ 1:51 and the "new" @ 2:02, trail was well broken(of course) the whole way

After taking pix w/2nd camper we headed back. Showed him the old summit but still no sign of his friend. He figured he'd turned back.

Soon we got to the point the bushwhackers had joined the trail. Told him I was going to follow it back. So @ 2:17 I headed into the woods.

There were a few tight spots but not bad! However there were a couple spots where there was more than one track! Fortunately the ones I followed brought me back onto the Fran Brk Tr in the middle of the brook, just a bit East of where I'd joined it earlier

Ended up following the FBTr back to the Wilderness Trail where I was extremely glad to remove my balled up snow shoes!!! Sticky snow detracted greatly from the FUN factor!

As usual the trek out was uneventful(except for 2 skiers whizzing by!) and seemed to take forever. Got out 9 hours and 36 minutes after starting...lot longer than I'd expected. Didn't quite need the headlamp. As I changed into dry clothes the rain picked up!

Feel bad for folks in the near future with predicted warm weather!

Sooo...who were all you folks out there today ...and THANKS for breaking Trail!!

 

[grouseking]

I headed up the Franconia Brook trail Saturday after I decided I couldnt do Flume. Took a nap in the snow... was nice! Almost warm enough for no jacket.

The view of Owls Head from the beaver area was awesome.

Sounds like you had a great day!

grouseking

 

[Artex]

Spring is coming for sure. Nice TR, enjoyed reading it. Glad you had a good day.

 

[alspal]

Nice report. I really want to do OH soon, but may hold off until high summer (after Ascutney). See you at the circuit races soon....

 

[focusonbalance]

Try some glide wax or pam cooking spray on your snowshoes. May help you out in the future for wet stuff. Did we see you at our campsite? We made it out the other end in 11 hours the next day. Tough tough work, deep snow and unmarked trails, but out safe and sound. 2 am when I hit my pillow.

 

[dug]

Hey MTNRUNR, that was me you passed near the top of the slide. I ended up not going all the way to the top. I had been there before, and was too darn tired to keep going on. My friend, who you met, needed the peak and there was no way he was turning back. I hung around the slide for a while before descending, and met him a few minutes later at the bottom. I'll PM you with some additional info.



One note regarding the Black Pond Bushwack. The route that takes the more northerly route is not set for skiers. Way too windy and not enough straight lines. Therefore, we tried the other route on the way back...which was even worse. We didn't pull back to the tent at Black Pond until the rain was well under way. Made for a crappy, tent-bound night.

Lost some MSR snowshoes on this route, so if anyone sees them they can PM me so I can get them back to the right hands.

The skiing on Lincoln Brook Trail was fabulous, however!!

focusonbalance: I did see you three at the site, you were heading up and I was heading down to grab my skis for the ride back to Black Pond. My friend followed a few minutes later. I read your trail conditions report, sounds like a "fun" walk to Garfield

 

[Meo]

Have I known, I would have ask for your VFTT nicknames!

I was with the group of 7 French Canadians (I was the one who broke the hinge of my MSR snowshoe a few minutes from the summit and had to walk back with only one snowshoe ). I remember the 2 guys we met as they went down (and who stopped at the "old" summit), the 2 skiers we passed on the trail (and who we saw again near the summit), the guy at the top of the slide while we were glissading and stopped to put our crampons on, and the group of campers we met at the junction with the herdpath.

So, who is who?

BTW, Owl's Head was my last unclimbed Winter 115. Wooo-hooo! Thanks to Julie, Danny (KEDS), Marc (High-Clearance), Jean & Nat and Marina who were with me on this very special hike

 

[Meo]

Oh, I forgot: thanks a lot Double Bow (and your team) for your trailbreaking last week! You did an awesome job!

 

[dug]

I was the guy chillin' near the top of the slide that you all buried as you slid down

Just kidding. I was also one of the two skiers that we first saw you at the intersection of the bushwack from Black Pond. Nice to meet you all and glad everyone made it out safely!

 

[Double Bow]

Oh, I forgot: thanks a lot Double Bow (and your team) for your trailbreaking last week! You did an awesome job!

Our pleasure! Although, I suspect that the warm temps did quite a bit to help too. Congrats on your big accomplishment! I hope our paths cross someday.

 

[focusonbalance]

Yes, kudos doublebow and team for breaking out!

Meo, I wish I had known, I had repair stuff for MSR's.

I am the female with the two guys camping. We had a great trip up the slide and an enjoyable glissade down most of it. Hope you made it out okay with one shoe.

 

[Meo]

Meo, I wish I had known, I had repair stuff for MSR's.

Yeah, I had one spare hinge, but I left it in the car... A classic!

I am the female with the two guys camping. We had a great trip up the slide and an enjoyable glissade down most of it. Hope you made it out okay with one shoe.

Yeah, I remember you, it's nice to be able to put a face on a nickname!
Making it out on one snowshoe was ok. I tried to bareboot, but the path was too soft, so I used my remaining snowshoe on my right foot. Back at the car, I realized that the hinge of this snowshoe was also broken! They should put a sticker on MSR snowshoes reading "Good for up to 114 northeastern summits"...

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

As usual the trek out was uneventful(except for 2 skiers whizzing by!) and seemed to take forever. Got out 9 hours and 36 minutes after starting...lot longer than I'd expected. Didn't quite need the headlamp. As I changed into dry clothes the rain picked up!

Feel bad for folks in the near future with predicted warm weather!

Sooo...who were all you folks out there today ...and THANKS for breaking Trail!!

The two skiers were probably Walter and Gary, who were part of the three of us who completed the 22nd Annual Armadillo Pemi ski-through; I was dragging about 30 minutes behind because of my blankety-blank waxless skis (bad choice), so did not arrive at the parking lot until about 6:30 pm. Great day to be outdoors!