My Owls Head Experience
I just got back from vacation and noticed that my Owls Head trail conditions posting sure did get a lot of attention. First of all, I'd like to clarify that the ranger who was carving off the blazes was a very nice polite young man (definitely under 30). I did not enter into any debate with him - I realized he has a job to do. My main concern about this is hiker safety. Owls Head is a 4000-footer and we have to accept that it won't be shrinking any time soon. Also, there are books about the 4K's that specify a cairn at the head of the trail. I did a little research ahead of time that told me otherwise, so I knew it might be a problem.
There were hikers approaching the trail after I descended that were not aware that the cairn wasn't there. I would guess that after having hiked 8 miles already, most people are going to invest some time looking for that trailhead. Philosophically - I do not care whether these hikers should be hiking Owls Head or not. Call me a softy, but I do care that they might be out in the wilderness later in the day than they should be and get lost in the dark.
Thanks to the guy who posted the WMNF contact info. I'll be sending them a letter.
