NH Tramper
Member
Date of Hike: June 20-21, 2014
Trails/Bushwhacks: Lincoln Woods and Black Pond Trails, Black Pond Bushwhack, Lincoln Brook Trail, Owl's Head Path, Franconia Falls Bushwhack, and Franconia Falls Trail.
Trail Conditions: With exception to Lincoln Woods, all trails/herd paths had some mud on them. I'd say the same was true regarding blowdowns, but even the LWT had an easy over (and a washout that is being repaired). I think, however, that Franconia Falls Trail was free of them. There were plenty of blowdowns elsewhere that's for sure; a handful of them required some effort to pass. The mud issue, though, was really the main issue since all of the crossings were easy! Even bugs, while present, were tolerable. All of the muddy patches could be passed by some herd path or another. The worst mud, by far, was the unmaintained herd path that we pretty much stayed with during the Black Pond Bushwack. Unlike the Franconia Falls Bushwhack -- which was a little tougher, actually -- the BPB is really showing its popularity. We used a compass to navigate but kept seeing the herd path more clearly along the way and the muddy sections are quite pronounced. The Owl's Head Path (Slide) was a hoot (yeah, I said it), but there were sections that seemed wetter than normal.
Special Equipment Used: We brought poles but we didn't really "need" them except for the crossings. They were only slightly helpful, even there. We also brought bug spray and used a little at one point, but the temps were cool and the breezes steady. It was nice.
Comments: I hiked this one with Steff. She needed it for her 48. I didn't need it for the Grid, I have it in June, but I did need it for this year's 48, plus the Franconia Falls Trail was needed for Redline, not that I'm doing that or anything. Those falls, by the way, totally worth the trip. We decided to do a backpack and we wild-camped at elevation. We practiced LNT to minimize impact -- which is a good thing since I'm days away from becoming an LNT trainer. What a blast that was being up there. The view of the sunset over Franconia Ridge was awesome, albeit broken by trees. We ran into another couple camping off of Lincoln Brook Trail Friday but it was pretty quiet out there. That changed drastically the next morning. A steady stream of hikers were coming up as we were descending, even before. The first person we saw made it by 7 (they started very early). On the way down we ran into the kilt-wearing Tim B and his posse (good seeing you guys), Jeff from the 4k Club on Facebook (nice meeting you), and then I got a hello from Cynthia under my windshield wiper (thanks, and hello back).
Mike "Tramper" Cherim
North Conway NH
Trails/Bushwhacks: Lincoln Woods and Black Pond Trails, Black Pond Bushwhack, Lincoln Brook Trail, Owl's Head Path, Franconia Falls Bushwhack, and Franconia Falls Trail.
Trail Conditions: With exception to Lincoln Woods, all trails/herd paths had some mud on them. I'd say the same was true regarding blowdowns, but even the LWT had an easy over (and a washout that is being repaired). I think, however, that Franconia Falls Trail was free of them. There were plenty of blowdowns elsewhere that's for sure; a handful of them required some effort to pass. The mud issue, though, was really the main issue since all of the crossings were easy! Even bugs, while present, were tolerable. All of the muddy patches could be passed by some herd path or another. The worst mud, by far, was the unmaintained herd path that we pretty much stayed with during the Black Pond Bushwack. Unlike the Franconia Falls Bushwhack -- which was a little tougher, actually -- the BPB is really showing its popularity. We used a compass to navigate but kept seeing the herd path more clearly along the way and the muddy sections are quite pronounced. The Owl's Head Path (Slide) was a hoot (yeah, I said it), but there were sections that seemed wetter than normal.
Special Equipment Used: We brought poles but we didn't really "need" them except for the crossings. They were only slightly helpful, even there. We also brought bug spray and used a little at one point, but the temps were cool and the breezes steady. It was nice.
Comments: I hiked this one with Steff. She needed it for her 48. I didn't need it for the Grid, I have it in June, but I did need it for this year's 48, plus the Franconia Falls Trail was needed for Redline, not that I'm doing that or anything. Those falls, by the way, totally worth the trip. We decided to do a backpack and we wild-camped at elevation. We practiced LNT to minimize impact -- which is a good thing since I'm days away from becoming an LNT trainer. What a blast that was being up there. The view of the sunset over Franconia Ridge was awesome, albeit broken by trees. We ran into another couple camping off of Lincoln Brook Trail Friday but it was pretty quiet out there. That changed drastically the next morning. A steady stream of hikers were coming up as we were descending, even before. The first person we saw made it by 7 (they started very early). On the way down we ran into the kilt-wearing Tim B and his posse (good seeing you guys), Jeff from the 4k Club on Facebook (nice meeting you), and then I got a hello from Cynthia under my windshield wiper (thanks, and hello back).
Mike "Tramper" Cherim
North Conway NH
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