To those who know Owls Head....Is it a good time to try to go there?

[marysgirl]

I need Owl's head for my 48, it is one of my last 7! I hear tales of water crossings that can make you turn around and go back if the water is too high or the snow in not bridged. So being that the weather has been warm, at least here in Massachusetts, please tell me if you think this would be a good time to try? I see no trip reports and a lot of you have much more experience with the crossings and with the hike in general so do tell!! Back up plan is Isolation (2nd try!). I have all week to decide so please chime in!!

 

[dug]

Someone who has done them in all seasons may have a better opinion, but to me the best times to go are Winter (skiable, saves a lot of time) or August/September, when the water is low.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

The rule of thumb is above 700 cfps on the Pemi, East Branch gauge becomes a "wet" crossing via Black Pond and the final crossing of Liberty/Lincoln Brooks. It's at 179 cfps right now and is in the 10-24 percentile range so at the moment it is well below average for this time of year. Keep in mind that if it warms up a lot or rains a lot that the rivers will rise quickly, possibly "stranding" you on the far side on the return trip.

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nh/nwis/uv?site_no=01074520

Tim

 

[RoySwkr]

I would agree that the best time for both Owls Head and Isolation is August when you rarely have to worry about high water or deep snow

Many people think that trips like those two are even tougher in early spring than in winter due to the multitude of different conditions you need to plan for, but they are in no way impossible as evidenced by the number of people that do them then

Isolation may not be a good backup as it may also have crossing issues. If you want an easier trip, wait and try one of the other 5 - but if for some reason you want OH now try it unless it rains Friday

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Watch that daily gauge (shows last 7 days) and the weather each day to see what affect the latter has on the former...

Tim

 

[marysgirl]

Watch that daily gauge (shows last 7 days) and the weather each day to see what affect the latter has on the former...

Tim

Do you have a webpage where I can look up that information?? I will check back with you guys at the end of the week and see what you guys think.
Thanks!!

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Do you have a webpage where I can look up that information?? I will check back with you guys at the end of the week and see what you guys think.

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nh/nwis/uv?site_no=01074520

This falls into the "teaching you to fish" bucket. That's why I suggest you look at this site and the weather every 24 hours until your trip and see what affect the sun, temps, rain, etc., has on the river flow. There is always the possibility of a large ice dam up stream that could let go as well.

Tim

 

[marysgirl]

This falls into the "teaching you to fish" bucket. That's why I suggest you look at this site and the weather every 24 hours until your trip and see what affect the sun, temps, rain, etc., has on the river flow. There is always the possibility of a large ice dam up stream that could let go as well.

Tim

Never been there so I can't even imagine how wide this must be?? How many miles in do you hit this water crossing? How many are there??

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Never been there so I can't even imagine how wide this must be?? How many miles in do you hit this water crossing? How many are there??

Right now (at least the next day or two) is a good time to do Owls Head, assuming you use the Black Pond bushwhack, as this will bypass 2 MAJOR river crossings. If you don't use this bushwhack (or the Fisherman's bushwhack for that matter), then wait until mid-summer or February after a prolonged cold spell for the 2 river crossings to freeze over.

Assuming you use one of the above bushwhacks - there are 3 brook crossings, the first one being about 4 miles from Lincoln Woods. They get progressively wider. Always a good idea to carry a pair of dry socks, and a couple of small plastic bags (like the veggie bags in the supermarket) to put between your sock and a wet boot if you do slip and get your boots/socks wet.

At the risk of confusing you - if you take the trail, and not either the Black Pond nor the Fisherman bushwhacks, you have 2 major river crossings plus 3 brook crossings.

 

[madmattd]

Jeff&Karine from yesterday: http://newenglandtrailconditions.com/nh/viewreport.php?entryid=12192

Taking the trails the whole way, the 2 big crossings generally require wading (at 400cfs, there's not even a slim chance of hopping them), not a great idea this time of year. Taking the Black Pond 'whack, the last crossing, about 7 miles in, is the toughest, but is rock-hoppable in the 400-500 cfs range per Tim's link. Possibly hoppable at higher flow levels, depending on your stride.

With warm weather this week, keep an eye on that guage.

 

[marysgirl]

Right now (at least the next day or two) is a good time to do Owls Head, assuming you use the Black Pond bushwhack, as this will bypass 2 MAJOR river crossings. If you don't use this bushwhack (or the Fisherman's bushwhack for that matter), then wait until mid-summer or February after a prolonged cold spell for the 2 river crossings to freeze over.

Assuming you use one of the above bushwhacks - there are 3 brook crossings, the first one being about 4 miles from Lincoln Woods. They get progressively wider. Always a good idea to carry a pair of dry socks, and a couple of small plastic bags (like the veggie bags in the supermarket) to put between your sock and a wet boot if you do slip and get your boots/socks wet.

At the risk of confusing you - if you take the trail, and not either the Black Pond nor the Fisherman bushwhacks, you have 2 major river crossings plus 3 brook crossings.

I would love to take the bushwhacks, are they well marked? Approximately how far in and in which direction??

 

[marysgirl]

Jeff&Karine from yesterday: http://newenglandtrailconditions.com/nh/viewreport.php?entryid=12192

Taking the trails the whole way, the 2 big crossings generally require wading (at 400cfs, there's not even a slim chance of hopping them), not a great idea this time of year. Taking the Black Pond 'whack, the last crossing, about 7 miles in, is the toughest, but is rock-hoppable in the 400-500 cfs range per Tim's link. Possibly hoppable at higher flow levels, depending on your stride.

With warm weather this week, keep an eye on that guage.

Thanks so much for this information!!

 

[Kevin Rooney]

I would love to take the bushwhacks, are they well marked? Approximately how far in and in which direction??

No, not really. Either go with someone who knows the routes, or be competent with navigational tools (map & compass, GPS, etc).

The Black Pond bushwhack begins at Black Pond. At the 2.8m point of the Wilderness trail, the Black Pond trail goes left for .8 to the pond. Beyond that the bushwhack begins - takes about 45 minutes, and it's not particularly intuitive.

The Brutus Bushwhack begins shortly after crossing the 3rd - and final - brook crossing. It climbs, steeply at times, and eventually intersects the slide trail at a large rock. The slide trail isn't an official trail, but it's done so often that it is as well-defined as many formal trails.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

There is a fairly extensive discussion of the bushwhack routes in this thread.

Tim

 

[peakbagger]

The major thing to keep in mind is that the snowpack is starting to "rot" bascially warm days and warm nights cause the snow crystals to get larger and more loosely connected. This can get tricky as during the morning you may be able to bareboot up a trail and in the afternoon you can post thole with snowshoes (rare but possible). The other issue is that the snow can get to a tipping point where just a little bit of rain or even a stretch of really warm weather can convert the snowpack to liquid water making streams that were crossable in the morning potentially hazardous in the afternoon. The streams on the east side of the Owl drains a lot of easterly slopes of Franconia ridge so they tend to get impacted more by bright sun and warm temps. Given the long range forecast of rain and warm weather Wed, Thurs, Friday of this week, the conditions are lined up for the streams to be running higher. Please note the stream are also about 33 degrees this time of year and if you get wet, its a matter of minutes before you start to lose control of your extremities.

Watch the stream gages and the forecast and keep in mind that most hikers dont expect Owls Head to fall off the list anytime soon, so there is always another chance to go if the conditions and your skills are marginal.

FOr what its worth, Gene Daniels the long term editor of the AMC WMG, listed april as the potentially worse month of the year to do the 48 due to varying conditions.

 

[TCD]

In some years, if you are fortunate, there is a short, VERY nice hiking season after the snow melts and the ground firms up, but before the bugs and the leaves come out. This is usually early to mid May if it's going to happen. Some years there are a few weeks of this "secret season"; other years it doesn't happen at all, and things are a sloppy mess right up until the bugs appear. Keep an eye on reports and watch for this season. A good hot dry spell in April will bring in the "secret season"; we have not had that yet this year, but there is still time...

 

[Lefty E]

It is true weather and water flow will control your date to get Owl's Head...our group of hikers had to postpone twice due to high water, and had to wait almost one year to get it..but very enjoyable late August hike, no bugs, water crossings easy (very refreshing doing them both out and back), and we made good time on the flat approach trails...then we did it again same time of year after the "new" summit was identified with the same great results...except that was the year of the dead moose on the slide!! so you never know!! I found our hike conditions to be good and we were not too worn out by it, actually enjoyable!! As pointed out, if you really want to tag it, find hikers who have done it (numerous times helpful), this time of year it's getting messy for the bushwack...

 

[Mike P.]

For now. I'd only go by the bushwhacks. Are they well marked? Depends if you're an old fisherman, the fisherman's bushwhack is basically just following the river upstream from the Franconia Falls Spur, just stay next to the river. It's easier said then done as snow is beginning to melt and little brooks that would be dry in summer are full of snowmelt. My May trip a few years ago made for very cold stream crossings. It's a nice way to cool off in the summer.

 

[Bombadil]

Just did it today. For those that know the route or can follow a compass bearing, go for it. The crossings were still low. Black Pond BW was a mix of mud, bare ground, and not terribly deep rotten snow (you won't have an easily to follow snowshoe track due to the bare ground). Probably will be a lot worse in a week or two when Lincoln Brook starts to really fall apart and the crossings rise.

 

[marysgirl]

Water is at 315 and it is overcast but not raining. We are going for it!