owl's head bushwhacksssss

[the starchild]

hello all,

we are heading to owl's head this weekend and will do the whack from black pond. i barely remember some posts about whacking down the east side of the mountain. does anyone know of any ways down besides backtracking? this will be a two day trip so there will be more than daypacks on our backs, but more/harder mileage may be possible.

can the SSE ridge be followed?

we are both sitting on computers right now searching for info and coming up dry; any beta would be super appreciated.

 

[DougPaul]

Info on east bushwack: http://hikenh.netfirms.com/XOwlsHTr.htm

Don't know about the SSE ridge, but the NNW ridge is XC skiable (and, of course, hikable).

Doug

 

[HAMTERO]

Bushwacked off Owl's Head recently

Suebiscuit and I bushwacked of of OH weekend before last without too much trouble but there has been a lot of snow since then. We went south from the summit some then cut to the SE to pick up the southernmost drainage on that side. Pretty deep snow even then but fun. Suebiscuit made a trail conditions report I think.

 

[bill bowden]

Owl's Head this weekend

given the comparatively warm weathe rthis week, th emajor question for Owl's Head is likely to be whether Lincoln Brook or Franconia Brook are passable to get access to the mountain. The Franconia Falls/ Black Pond bushwhacks avoid the two worst stream crossings but the Lincoln brook crossing at the base of the slide can be very difficult if there are no snow bridges and the Franconia Brook crossing to bushwhack up the east side can also be difficult.

Let us know how you make out.

Bill

 

[RoySwkr]

can the SSE ridge be followed?

The proper search on this site finds the answer at http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=2752

Note that there are S-facing cliffs on the 3060 bump so you need to go W or E, which gives you the choice of crossing Lincoln Brook and reconnecting to the Black Pond bushwhack or following the route described which means crossing Franconia Brook with smaller multiple channels

If you have a GPS, read this note http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=3232
and let us know what you find

 

[bill bowden]

High points on knobs

With apologies for opening this old chestnut up for further discussion, the "x" on US topographic maps does not necessarily mean that it the highest point. For example, on the USGS South Twin Mountain map the "x" on south Hale (Mt. Zeal) is 3676 feet while the same peak has two other knobs with 3680 foot contour lines. The"x" does mean the height at that loacation has been measured and is usually the highest point on that knob. so we have three possible knobs for Owl's Head with the largest (middle) one having a measured height of 4025 feet. Similarly we've got two knobs above 3760 feet on West Scar Ridge, one of which (westernmost) has a measured height of 3774 feet.
Roy, liked your account of the Owl's Head bushwhack, I keep thinking about it myself.

 

[RoySwkr]

With apologies for opening this old chestnut up for further discussion, the "x" on US topographic maps does not necessarily mean that it the highest point.

The 4025 may not be the highest point, and the AMC 4000-Footer Club will accept where the sign is for a patch. I do feel that if it is not the 4025 summit that they count, the list should say 4000+ rather than 4025.

What surprised me is that out of all the folks running around with GPS toys, nobody has responded to the original posting either yes or no. If it was established that the AMC map was in error by showing the trail all the way to 4025, maybe they would send a better person up with a survey-grade GPS to fix it and with some real luck to check the other points too.

 

[the starchild]

thank y'all for the beta and links. my partner was not feeling well so we had change the trip. i summited to where there is a vertical sign that says owl's head. twas a spectacular day! i watched the summits of fraconia ridge glow red then bright white as the sun rose from my sleeping bag.

i posted in trail conditions.