28 August 2015: Owl's Head Mountain

Owl’s Head seems to be the one NH48 that hikers seem to dread the most. The mileage is on the high side to get there and back again. There is only one way to get in there that is a reliable pathway. There is nothing noteworthy about the summit, which is wooded, aside from the rather sketchy slide trail to it’s summit which offers good views of the Southern Tier Franconia Ridge on clear days. This trip I was brought out by Bob The Lovegoat (his trip report can be seen here). As a Boy Scout, I was taken on a trip to hike AROUND owl’s head once, so I knew what kind of misery laid ahead of me.

History: Owl’s Head Moutain resides in the middle of the Pemigewasset Wilderness, surrounded by the Bonds to the east and by Franconia to the west, with Garfield ridge and Mount Guyot to the north. The infamous Pemi Loop is comprised of these peaks.


Peak Elevation: 4025 ft
Elevation Gain: 2035 ft
Trail: Lincoln Woods Trail, Franconia Brook Trail, Black pond Trail, Bushwack, Lincoln Brook Trail, Owl’s Head Path.
Length: 20ish mi.
Time on Trail : 0745
Time off Trail: 1845


The trip starts out at Lincoln Woods, via the Lincoln Woods Trail (Parking fees apply). Mr Lovegoat wanted to get out to try a new way to get to Owl’s head in a slightly more direct manner. I obliged because having someone with me to keep me on task during the boring flats on this trip would ensure I at least finished with daylight left. The majority of the trip is flat, mundane former rail bed. During Autumn I imagine it is picturesque as the color change and leaves begin to fall.

In an effort to shave off some length of this hike, Mr Lovegoat and I were going to try a bushwack that was intended to save us about 1 mile of hiking. This bushwack was not at all marked and we had to wing it. In hindsight, while we did save a mile, we probably burned just as much if not a bit more time bushwacking. But, bushwacking can be fun too. This bushwask had us venture off to Black Pond via the Black Pond trail, then continue on to a heading to the Loncoln Brook Trail. We happened upon a fisherman’s bushwash trail, which included a small likely illegal campfire pit at the side of Loncoln Brook. From there we rejoined actual trails to get to the base of the unofficial trail up to Owl’s Head Mountain. This wooded peak has a few blowdowns where some views are present. I imagine that if this mountain were not completely wooded, it would be a top 5 viewing peak in the whites due to what encompasses it. After lunching up there and picking up some garbage left behind by others, we descended. Lovegoat let me go down first, which about ½ way down the slide trail a large rock went tumbling and almost took out my leg, had I not strategically lifted it in time to dodge it. I did yell down below as I did that in case anyone was ascending.

After that I knew the worst of this trip was ahead – the mundane descent through the flats back to Lincoln Woods. With about 4 mile left I started getting cramps in my feet, which would turn into a mild form of Plantar Fasciitis for a few days after. Rolling my foot out on a lacrosse ball helped immensely in pain relief. Anyway, the bridge that spans Franconia Brook was the most welcome sight as we were losing daylight. The foot pain really slowed us down at the end of the day. This was the longest hike I had done in a very long time, so breakdown was inevitable. Im just glad it was on a flat path when I did.

Photos:

Owl's Head Mountain 28AUG15

This is a backdated entry, written in 2017.