Owlshead, True Summit

[dms]

Yesterday, Jessbee, Dr. Wu and myself paid a visit to the true summit of OH. Thanks to Dr. Dasypodidae for carrying out accurate measurements this past summer, and establishing that the most northern bump of the summit ridge is the true highpoint of OH. We took the Black Pond bushwack route to the Lincoln Brook Trail, and then on to the base of the slide. The conditions on the slide were a mixture of bare rock, and mushy snow, with some icy spots. The trip up was great, fantastic weather conditions and views. We followed the trail to the middle bump which had been previously considered the summit. Someone has nailed up an Owl's Head sign again. The problem being that this is in fact not the summit. All the tracks we had seen on the way in stopped here. We continued on about .2 mi to the true summit, which is now marked by a small cairn about a foot in height. This northerly bump is clearly 30-40 feet higher than the middle bump. Descending the slide was more difficult than ascending as all the snow had turned to mashed potatoes. We had hoped to retrace our steps on the Black Pond bw route, but it was dark by the time we got to the route, so we decided that the better strategy was to stick to the Lincoln Brook Trail, and then on to the Franconia Brook Trail. The second brook crossing was a little dicey and we got our feet wet, but because it wasn't very cold out, it was not a major issue. Our last obstacle was missing the beaver pond trail relocation on Franconia Brook Trail, and we ended up in the beaver meadow until we were able to find the relocation. It was a great day, we finished a little later then we had hoped we would, but I want to thank my companions, Jessbee and Dr. Wu, for a wonderful time, you couldn't ask to hike with nicer folks than them!

 

[NH_Mtn_Hiker]

Owl's Head is always a great hike. I love the variety of conditions and trails you get on that trip.

And,

Gee...I wonder who built that little cairn at the true summit. If Jade would have helped carry rocks up the mountain it may have been a little bigger.

 

[dms]

Summit cairn

The cairn is great! My thanks to whoever built it!!

 

[jessbee]

Yesterday's hike was a bit more than I'd bargained for, but it was a great time nonetheless! Coming out in the dark wasn't so bad as there was a full moon and plenty of light. We didn't need headlamps on the Lincoln Woods Trail. The slide was awesome, and I hope to see it again in summer conditions. There were also signs of moose and deer (scat, tracks, hair) at several points along the trails, which was pretty cool. I'd never seen deer tracks out in the Whites before. And of course it helped to be in good company. Thanks, guys, let's hike again soon!

 

[J&J]

Here's a picture of the new summit cairn. DMS- we ran into you on top of Owl's Head on this day 9-11-05.

 

[NH_Mtn_Hiker]

Here's a picture of the new summit cairn. DMS- we ran into you on top of Owl's Head on this day 9-11-05.

..and here it is 3 days earlier

 

[dms]

J&J, thanks for posting the pic. It was nice to meet you folks back in September. Gotta love OH, it's always worth the effort to get there! Thanks also NH Mtn. Hiker. The cairn looked good dressed in white yesterday!

 

[jessbee]

My pictures from this trip are here

Sorry, no photo of the cairn from yesterday

 

[drewski]

deer tracks

i see deer tracks on almost every hike i take in the whites.watch the muddy spots in summer,and always look for winter tracks

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

Thanks for the great trip report, dms, and the photos, jessbee, and the photo of the new summit cairn, J&J. I plan to make my next visit in February, so will hope that the new cairn is not buried in snow by then.

We skipped the Owls Head slide and the summit(s) on my last winter visit to the area in January 2005, as we were running late after coming in via Rt. 302 and Mount Garfield. By the time we got to the BP bushwhack, it was pitch dark (no full moon), but Cath Goodwin nailed the clearing at the west side of BP within less than a meter, which was all the more remarkable given the lack of any tracks whatsoever (just good compass navigation skills, eh?).

 

[dms]

Dr. D, I don't think that you will have any problem finding the summit cairn, even though there is over a foot of snow on the ridge, we had no problem in seeing it. Even though it's not big, it is located uder the shelter of some trees, and on a small rise, so it is well above the snow cover. NH Mtn Hiker did a good job building it!

 

[Tim Seaver]

skills?

By the time we got to the BP bushwhack, it was pitch dark (no full moon), but Cath Goodwin nailed the clearing at the west side of BP within less than a meter, which was all the more remarkable given the lack of any tracks whatsoever (just good compass navigation skills, eh?).

Skills - nah!
Cerebro-GPS is more like it As long as you don't run out of Stonyfield Smoothies, she'll bring it home without a hitch. Keep that thing powered up!

 

[drewski]

ah ya

the smoothies

 

[dr_wu002]

Ah, finally -- pictures!

http://community.webshots.com/album/546434853OAzbuY

What a great day this was. It was somewhat discouraging to have missed the relocation and ended up putzing around in the Beaver Meadow for quite a while trying to figure out what to do but once past, the fun continued. As usual, great company -- Dennis (DMS) and Jessbee are wonderful hiking partners. A nice long day in the Pemi; can't wait to get back!

-Dr. Wu

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

Skills - nah!
Cerebro-GPS is more like it As long as you don't run out of Stonyfield Smoothies, she'll bring it home without a hitch. Keep that thing powered up!

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