BIGEarl
Well-known member
What a weekend!
To start things off, LenDawg invited guests along on his 48’th Winter 4000 Footer and I was able to be part of the group, along with Steve and a number of others. We had a great hike to Isolation. The group was made up of fun hikers. The whole day was a real treat. I was also able to meet many new people that I have seen on-line. It’s nice to actually place a face with the name and get to know the person a little.
Congratulations to LenDawg for the accomplishment!
A number of people called it a weekend after the Isolation hike. Steve I had more hiking planned. Our next target was Owls Head.
The Sunday Morning wake-up call came at around 3:00am. Our plan was to be on the trail at 5:00am. We thought an early start may get us out before dark. The first move was to check the weather. Steve stuck his head out the door and could see it was raining quite hard. We thought about it for a few seconds, realized we had hiked in the rain before, and kept moving. A stop at the common room at Lyon’s Hospitality for breakfast and some coffee for the road and we were off to Lincoln Woods.
We hit the Wilderness Trail a little later than planned at 5:50am. Wet ice is slippery! We had a slow start until finding secure footing to use in our initial hike to Black Pond Trail. We were able to cover this initial section quite quickly and headed off to Black Pond and the bushwhack. It seems the bushwhack is perhaps the only reasonable approach from Lincoln Woods due to the very high water. The bushwhack has seen quite a bit of traffic and is easy to follow. Some folks have taken a shortcut across Black Pond, but not us. After passing around the southwest end of the pond a northerly heading brought us to the Lincoln Brook Trail. It was difficult to decide if the Lincoln Brook was noisier than the Franconia Brook. In the location where the bushwhack came back to the trail both streams were echoing through the valley like a jet engine.
By now we’re pretty wet since the rain continued since our start. The forecasted “occasional showers” appeared to be a slight understatement. The trail follows the right bank of Lincoln Brook to the general area where the Owls Head Slide is located and then crosses to the left bank. A short distance before this crossing there is another stream coming in from the west. This first crossing is interesting. The small amount of ice remaining on this crossing is very weak and must be approached with caution. In a short distance the crossing of Lincoln Brook is necessary. There are no snow bridges to work with and this crossing is very difficult. Both Steve and I made it across with relatively dry feet on the way in. (we were already generally soaked so what’s a little more water)
We headed for the slide and came to a place where all tracks went right and up. So, at 10:00am we followed. This path generally became a bushwhack from hell. The first third was through generally open wooded areas and then the spruce closed in. The footing was poor and it seemed snowshoes would be a real problem in the tight surroundings, we pulled out the crampons and they worked well. The densely wooded conditions stayed with us all the way to an area well above the slide where we were finally able to locate the traditional herd path to the summit. After an additional ~.5 hour we managed to clear the false summit and make our way over the actual Owls Head Summit. After only a couple minutes we agreed to head back down. The tracked out section of the herd path only went as far as the top of the slide. At that point it headed south, back into the thick stuff. After roughly twenty minutes we were once again on the track we followed on the way up. All we could do was swallow hard and keep going. Finally, we broke into the open wooded section and knew we were within a short distance of the Lincoln Brook Trail.
After a quick snack we started our hike back out. First roadblock, re-crossing the Lincoln Brook. In the time we spent making our way to the summit of Owls Head and back down the small amount of remaining snow bridge had significantly deteriorated. High water and persistent rain essentially wiped it out. What little remained broke away when I attempted to cross. Now, I’m a little wetter than before. I managed to scramble through the water and reach the far side. Upon looking back to Steve I could see a look of concern, evidently wondering how he would avoid a swim. A carefully placed log and some well-placed steps and Steve made it across, approximately one hundred feet upstream of the normal crossing. A small amount of ice or perhaps a little higher water conditions and the log will be gone. From here out it was an uneventful walk in the rain. We managed to make it back to Lincoln Woods at 5:20pm.
Now, back to Lyon’s Hospitality and the Super Bowl!
The Monday morning wake-up call came at 4:00am and I was no where near ready to get up. I asked Steve if he could use a couple more hours sleep. With almost no thought at all he answered YES! And turned off the light. At 7:30am, wake-up call number two got me moving. Everything was soaked the day before which had us unpack and spread our stuff around the cabin for drying. We re-packed our backpacks, packed our other things to leave, and went to the common room for some breakfast. I guess there was an hour of procrastination before Steve finally gave me a kick and we were heading for Cabot.
We set out from the trailhead parking for York Pond and Bunnell Notch Trails at ~11:00am. After the short road walk to the start of the trail we were both standing side-by-side, looking at a trail with no signs of recent traffic. We both thought this was going to be a painfully long day of trail breaking. Off we went. I was in the lead and we were bare booting to start. After passing the York Pond – Bunnell Notch trails split I decided snowshoes would be a better approach. I had not started post holing but knew it was only a matter of time. The snowshoes worked out well. We were able to move reasonably well to Bunnell Notch and on to the junction with the Mount Cabot Trail and Kilkenny Ridge Trail. Soon after starting the climb up the Mount Cabot Trail I decided the conditions were better suited for crampons and made the change. As we climbed the forecasted snow showers came in along with a fairly strong wind from the west. We reached the cabin and hiked on to the summit. After a few pictures we headed back to the shelter of the cabin for a quick snack.
The thermometer showed the temperature inside the cabin to be 9 degrees. But, we were out of the wind! At the cabin I changed back to snowshoes. Upon leaving the cabin we managed to nearly run down the mountain making it to Bunnell Notch in roughly twenty minutes. We had only a couple small speed bumps to deal with on the way out from there but it was mostly a down hill trek. We managed to reach the parking area just as it was getting dark, approximately 5:30pm.
We quickly packed our things for the ride home, had a congratulatory handshake, and were off.
A small bonus…. We had a moose in front of us on the way out before reaching the fish hatchery complex. Nice ending!
Three-day weekend, three good hikes, 40+ miles….. Not Bad!
Edit: A couple typos.
To start things off, LenDawg invited guests along on his 48’th Winter 4000 Footer and I was able to be part of the group, along with Steve and a number of others. We had a great hike to Isolation. The group was made up of fun hikers. The whole day was a real treat. I was also able to meet many new people that I have seen on-line. It’s nice to actually place a face with the name and get to know the person a little.
Congratulations to LenDawg for the accomplishment!
A number of people called it a weekend after the Isolation hike. Steve I had more hiking planned. Our next target was Owls Head.
The Sunday Morning wake-up call came at around 3:00am. Our plan was to be on the trail at 5:00am. We thought an early start may get us out before dark. The first move was to check the weather. Steve stuck his head out the door and could see it was raining quite hard. We thought about it for a few seconds, realized we had hiked in the rain before, and kept moving. A stop at the common room at Lyon’s Hospitality for breakfast and some coffee for the road and we were off to Lincoln Woods.
We hit the Wilderness Trail a little later than planned at 5:50am. Wet ice is slippery! We had a slow start until finding secure footing to use in our initial hike to Black Pond Trail. We were able to cover this initial section quite quickly and headed off to Black Pond and the bushwhack. It seems the bushwhack is perhaps the only reasonable approach from Lincoln Woods due to the very high water. The bushwhack has seen quite a bit of traffic and is easy to follow. Some folks have taken a shortcut across Black Pond, but not us. After passing around the southwest end of the pond a northerly heading brought us to the Lincoln Brook Trail. It was difficult to decide if the Lincoln Brook was noisier than the Franconia Brook. In the location where the bushwhack came back to the trail both streams were echoing through the valley like a jet engine.
By now we’re pretty wet since the rain continued since our start. The forecasted “occasional showers” appeared to be a slight understatement. The trail follows the right bank of Lincoln Brook to the general area where the Owls Head Slide is located and then crosses to the left bank. A short distance before this crossing there is another stream coming in from the west. This first crossing is interesting. The small amount of ice remaining on this crossing is very weak and must be approached with caution. In a short distance the crossing of Lincoln Brook is necessary. There are no snow bridges to work with and this crossing is very difficult. Both Steve and I made it across with relatively dry feet on the way in. (we were already generally soaked so what’s a little more water)
We headed for the slide and came to a place where all tracks went right and up. So, at 10:00am we followed. This path generally became a bushwhack from hell. The first third was through generally open wooded areas and then the spruce closed in. The footing was poor and it seemed snowshoes would be a real problem in the tight surroundings, we pulled out the crampons and they worked well. The densely wooded conditions stayed with us all the way to an area well above the slide where we were finally able to locate the traditional herd path to the summit. After an additional ~.5 hour we managed to clear the false summit and make our way over the actual Owls Head Summit. After only a couple minutes we agreed to head back down. The tracked out section of the herd path only went as far as the top of the slide. At that point it headed south, back into the thick stuff. After roughly twenty minutes we were once again on the track we followed on the way up. All we could do was swallow hard and keep going. Finally, we broke into the open wooded section and knew we were within a short distance of the Lincoln Brook Trail.
After a quick snack we started our hike back out. First roadblock, re-crossing the Lincoln Brook. In the time we spent making our way to the summit of Owls Head and back down the small amount of remaining snow bridge had significantly deteriorated. High water and persistent rain essentially wiped it out. What little remained broke away when I attempted to cross. Now, I’m a little wetter than before. I managed to scramble through the water and reach the far side. Upon looking back to Steve I could see a look of concern, evidently wondering how he would avoid a swim. A carefully placed log and some well-placed steps and Steve made it across, approximately one hundred feet upstream of the normal crossing. A small amount of ice or perhaps a little higher water conditions and the log will be gone. From here out it was an uneventful walk in the rain. We managed to make it back to Lincoln Woods at 5:20pm.
Now, back to Lyon’s Hospitality and the Super Bowl!
The Monday morning wake-up call came at 4:00am and I was no where near ready to get up. I asked Steve if he could use a couple more hours sleep. With almost no thought at all he answered YES! And turned off the light. At 7:30am, wake-up call number two got me moving. Everything was soaked the day before which had us unpack and spread our stuff around the cabin for drying. We re-packed our backpacks, packed our other things to leave, and went to the common room for some breakfast. I guess there was an hour of procrastination before Steve finally gave me a kick and we were heading for Cabot.
We set out from the trailhead parking for York Pond and Bunnell Notch Trails at ~11:00am. After the short road walk to the start of the trail we were both standing side-by-side, looking at a trail with no signs of recent traffic. We both thought this was going to be a painfully long day of trail breaking. Off we went. I was in the lead and we were bare booting to start. After passing the York Pond – Bunnell Notch trails split I decided snowshoes would be a better approach. I had not started post holing but knew it was only a matter of time. The snowshoes worked out well. We were able to move reasonably well to Bunnell Notch and on to the junction with the Mount Cabot Trail and Kilkenny Ridge Trail. Soon after starting the climb up the Mount Cabot Trail I decided the conditions were better suited for crampons and made the change. As we climbed the forecasted snow showers came in along with a fairly strong wind from the west. We reached the cabin and hiked on to the summit. After a few pictures we headed back to the shelter of the cabin for a quick snack.
The thermometer showed the temperature inside the cabin to be 9 degrees. But, we were out of the wind! At the cabin I changed back to snowshoes. Upon leaving the cabin we managed to nearly run down the mountain making it to Bunnell Notch in roughly twenty minutes. We had only a couple small speed bumps to deal with on the way out from there but it was mostly a down hill trek. We managed to reach the parking area just as it was getting dark, approximately 5:30pm.
We quickly packed our things for the ride home, had a congratulatory handshake, and were off.
A small bonus…. We had a moose in front of us on the way out before reaching the fish hatchery complex. Nice ending!
Three-day weekend, three good hikes, 40+ miles….. Not Bad!
Edit: A couple typos.
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