Owls Head (Cherry Mountain) Trail Closure

[1HappyHiker]

Perhaps many of you have already seen the notice (click HERE for link) on the Randolph Mountain Club's website. But, in case you haven't seen it, the Owl's Head Trail to the summit of Owl's Head (on Cherry Mountain) is closed from the trailhead at NH 115 in Jefferson.
This closure was at the request of the landowner.

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

In most cases trail closures sadden me, but the lower part of this trail is a swamp (in summer). No great loss, IMHO.

 

[RoySwkr]

This trail was already moved once (from the driveway) at landowner's request, to what as ME says was not a good location.

The slide route itself is very historic so I hate to lose it for that reason.

 

[NeoAkela]

That's a shame. While I really disliked the lower half of the trail which was almost impossible to do without waders, the upper part of the trail was a good climb. Glad I got one more run on this last year.

 

[kltilton]

I cannot say for sure, but I believe that the trail closure was requested by a land owner further up the trail, not the one at the trailhead. The land at the trailhead was recently subdivided. Hopefully something can be worked out for another re-route. The lower part of the trail was pretty bad, but very nice at the top.

 

[1HappyHiker]

The west end of the Cherry Mountain Trail also traverses private land for the first few tenths of a mile. So, just for the heck of it, I did a mileage calculation based upon a fictitious scenario whereby the landowner opted to close access to this trail as well.

So, with this fabricated scenario, the only access to the two peaks on Cherry Mountain (Mt Martha and Owl's Head) would be from the east trailhead on Cherry Mountain Rd. Since that road is closed in winter, a winter trek to Mt Martha would become an odyssey of well over 13 miles round-trip (once you factor in a road walk from either the Rt 115 end, or the Rt 302 end of Cherry Mountain Rd). And, if you wanted to also include Owl's Head in this fictitious winter hike, then add on another 1.6 miles to the round-trip!

 

[Jason Berard]

Bummer. I guess that's what happens when you think to yourself, " The mountain isn't going anywhere."

The mountain isn't, but the trail might.

I had the exact same thing happen with Stevie Ray Vaughan. Had tickets, couldn't go, and actually said, "Its not like we won't get a chance to see him again."

Will I never learn!?!?!

 

[MichaelJ]

Just to be clear, of the two trailheads on Rte 115, this is the more northern one?

 

[Lefty E]

Yes MichaelJ that is the further northern trailhead....

 

[peakbagger]

II did the loop hike this fall and the lower section of the closed trail tedned to wander around the woods quite a bit in failry wet areas. The traditional route on the upper end is a nice walk in the woods. Of note was that the old trail route, (essentially a logging road) was not posted on either end. This is a well built logging road that appears to be on the forest service land that clooks like it comes in from the north probably off the Cherry Mountain road, this may be aoption to access the route in the future.

By the way, I did the entire loop inclueing the road walk along Rt 1115 which took me about as long as the hike.

This stretch of road is getting a lot of development. The sunset views are great as the area looks west with no significant mountains in the way. Most of the folks dont seem to mind or realize they are in the downwash of the power plant down in the valley.

 

[Michelle]

Hmmm, that trail is part of the Cohos Trail, I wonder how that will be dealt with.......would be a shame to just road walk Cherry Mtn Rd and miss the great terrain up there........

 

[dug]

Now the question will be will people heed the notice that it's closed, or ignore it for peakbagging pursuits?

Not a 4k, probably not a worry.....

 

[Fisher Cat]

WOW, sad, sad, sad. Another trail full of childhood memories gone. All that is left now is walking those steps in the haunts of the mind. What a shame.

 

[jrichard]

This is indeed quite unfortunate, especially for the Cohos trail.

Basking in the sun, taking in the panoramic vista of the Presidentials from Cherry mountain's ledges are among my fondest memories of the Cohos trail.

Yeah, just thinking about hiking up the trail is enough to cause palpitations, and my sneakers did get a little wet in the lower sections. But it was well worth it.

Over on the Cohos Trail Forum, they are talking about rerouting the CT down the Cherry Mountain Trail and road walking on 115. I know from experience that 115 is not a pleasant road walk, but are there other options?

 

[1HappyHiker]

This is indeed quite unfortunate, especially for the Cohos trail. Over on the Cohos Trail Forum, they are talking about rerouting the CT down the Cherry Mountain Trail and road walking on 115. I know from experience that 115 is not a pleasant road walk, but are there other options?

I can see no good alternatives to compensate for the closure of the Owl's Head Trail. Below are the only two ideas I could come up with. However, both would be very poor substitutes for the prior Cohos route (i.e., Cherry Mountain Trail + Martha's Mile + Owl's Head Trail).

1) Continue to route the Cohos Trail over the Cherry Mountain Trail from its eastern trailhead on Cherry Mountain Road. But, rather than directing hikers up to Mt Martha and then on over to Owl's Head, have them continue directly to the western trailhead on NH 115. From there, the trail could continue northward on NH 115 for a couple of miles and then head westward onto Airport Road where hikers could pick up the trail that leads to Pondicherry. At Pondicherry they could pick up the existing Cohos Trail again.

OR,

2) In order to access the Cherry Mountain Trail's eastern trailhead, the Cohos Trail already takes hikers for 3.2 miles on the Cherry Mountain Road (from Rt 302 near Zealand). Although it would be a terrible loss, perhaps Cherry Mountain could be bypassed. The trail could be rerouted to continue on the Cherry Mountain Road for another 3.7 miles where hikers could immediately pick up the existing Cohos Trail corridor at the intersection of NH 115 and 115A. This alternative would be a long road walk along Cherry Mountain Rd, but in my opinion, it would be preferable to walking along busy NH 115!

 

[jrichard]

OR,

2) In order to access the Cherry Mountain Trail's eastern trailhead, the Cohos Trail already takes hikers for 3.2 miles on the Cherry Mountain Road (from Rt 302 near Zealand). Although it would be a terrible loss, perhaps Cherry Mountain could be bypassed. The trail could be rerouted to continue on the Cherry Mountain Road for another 3.7 miles where hikers could immediately pick up the existing Cohos Trail corridor at the intersection of NH 115 and 115A. This alternative would be a long road walk along Cherry Mountain Rd, but in my opinion, it would be preferable to walking along busy NH 115!

I also feel that option #2 is be better. While Martha is nice, I would gladly give it up to avoid nerve racking miles on the highway.

A (perhaps obvious) small benefit of #1 is that hikers would already be on the ridge, and could run over the relatively flat Martha's mile to the ledges as a side trip. But I'd guess that few would go the couple miles out of the way to rest on the rocks.

 

[1HappyHiker]

I also feel that option #2 is be better. While Martha is nice, I would gladly give it up to avoid nerve racking miles on the highway.

A (perhaps obvious) small benefit of #1 is that hikers would already be on the ridge, and could run over the relatively flat Martha's mile to the ledges as a side trip. But I'd guess that few would go the couple miles out of the way to rest on the rocks.

Perhaps Option #2 would also have the advantage of being a very direct and easy route to follow.

And, as already mentioned, this theoretical re-route that I proposed would unfortunately involve bypassing Cherry Mountain. However, the Mt. Martha and Owl's Head peaks could be presented as a spur option off the main Cohos Trail. Perhaps Cohos Trail "thru-hikers" might not find this spur to be too much of an inconvenience. There are Forest Service campsites on the Cherry Mountain Road which could be used for an overnight stay in conjunction with hiking this long, but very worthwhile spur off the main Cohos Trail.
-----------------------
P.S. The very capable folks at the Cohos organization will obviously be the ones to make the final decision regarding a re-route to adjust for the closure of the Owl's Head Trail. And actually there is already a preliminary proposal put forth on the Cohos Trail forum. You can click HERE for full details, but here is a summary of this proposal. It would take hikers over the Cherry Mountain Trail from the eastern trailhead on Cherry Mountain Road to the western trailhead on NH 115. From there, hikers would walk Lennon Road for about a quarter mile and then head north on a rural road to an abandoned railroad bed. This rail bed would be followed northward to join up with the trail that leads from Airport Road to Pondicherry where hikers could pick up the existing Cohos Trail in the vicinity of Waumbek Junction.
This proposal would also present the Mt. Martha and Owl's Head peaks as an optional spur off the main Cohos Trail.

 

[The Hikers]

We have done this hike from the southern access of 115 both summer and winter and found it a good hike. The logging road is a good workout as it is fairly straight and relentless. I , for one , will never miss the other access.

 

[erugs]

Wasn't there also a way in from the west, across from Zealand, if I remember? I won't miss that portion of the loop that is closed, and I would definitely be one of those who considered the ledges of Owl my destination and not just Martha. IMO it takes a long time for the summit area to regroup from its use over the winter snowmobile season, though I can perfectly well understand why snowmobilers want to go there. (Maybe a snowmobile club would consider maintaining an outhouse or two up there?)

 

[1HappyHiker]

Wasn't there also a way in from the west, across from Zealand, if I remember? . . . IMO it takes a long time for the summit area to regroup from its use over the winter snowmobile season, though I can perfectly well understand why snowmobilers want to go there. (Maybe a snowmobile club would consider maintaining an outhouse or two up there?)

Ellen, the trail to Cherry Mountain from the Zealand area that you're thinking of was probably the old Black Brook Trail. Curiously enough, the short driveway to the old trailhead is still there and passable by car during summer months. It's on the north side of Rt. 302 about 0.3 mile west of the turn onto Zealand Rd. The old trail is still follow-able for about 2 miles or so, but then it becomes quite faint.

And yes, I agree with your suggestion that a snowmobile club should consider maintaining an outhouse up there, and while they're at it, maybe they could install a few ashtrays as well!