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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Owl's Head, NH
Trails
Trails: Lincoln Woods Trail, Black Pond Trail, bushwhack, Lincoln Brook Trail, Owls Head Path
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Thursday, May 10, 2018
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Plenty of parking at Lincoln Woods 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable) 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Light Traction 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: All rivers were running quite high, as expected this time of year. The only way to make the two crossing on the Lincoln Brook Trail was to find a calm spot and wade through. It's doable but, the water is ice cold and will surely wake you up. Bring a change of change of shoes and a towel.  
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes:  
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes:  
Bugs
Bugs: No bugs yet 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: The Lincoln Woods section is a breeze as usual. We took the Black Pond Bushwack to cut out the major crossings over Franconia Brook. The bushwack was in pretty good shape, with only a little mud near the pond. There is a small area that is quite swampy at the start, but it can be avoided. Once we got to the end of the bushwack where it intersects with the Lincoln Brook trail, we could see that Franconia brook was high and raging. This area did make for a great spot to have lunch and dip your feet in. After seeing the river, it was a good call to take the bushwack, since it would have been quite difficult to make the crossings. The Lincoln Woods Trail was in good shape and made for easy going. Some spots were muddy, but just stay to the side or rock hop through it and you'll be fine. We made good time up until the crossing on this trail. There were no good places to rock hop across, so we had to change into our water shoes and wade through. The first crossing was easy, the second a bit more challenging. We had to go off trail up the river a little ways to find a calm spot to wade through. It can be done, just be careful.

The biggest challenge to wading is that the water is ICE COLD, probably only a few degree above freezing. Use a spare pair of shoes or go barefoot for this and make sure to keep your hiking shoes completely dry, or you'll have an unpleasant slog the rest of the way. Mind the current too.

Once across the trail is fine. We overshot the bushwack since we went so far upstream to cross, so we ended up taking the slide. For those who have never been up the slide, it is steep with loose rocks everywhere. The snowmelt was also trickling down, making some sections wet and slippery. The combination of loose boulders, and wet rocks made for a hairy, and sometimes hazardous, situation. We took our time here, this section alone took an hour. About 3/4 of the way up the slide, we changed into spikes because the crumbling monorail begins. Eventually, the slide flattens out and you reach the top. This is the false summit, and you have to hike a little more to reach the true summit. You'll know when you get there, it's marked with a small cairn. Athough this part is flat, the monorail is soft and postholing is unavoidable. The soft snow combined with several blowdowns make this section a bit of a slog. Coming back, we made better time. Step carefully, and use caution when descending the slide. It was quicker coming back since we already knew where to cross the rivers. Once you make these two crossings, it's an easy walk in the woods back.

* A word of warning * Time your hike properly to ensure you make it back to the river crossings before dark. It would not have been pleasant to have crossed those rivers in the dark. The total round trip took us just over 12 hours.  
Name
Name: Ross 
E-Mail
E-Mail:  
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2018-05-17 
Link
Link: https:// 
Bookmark and Share Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense.

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