| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Owl's Head, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Lincoln Woods Trail, Black Pond Trail, Lincoln Brook Trail, Owl's Head Path, bushwhacks |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, February 9, 2012 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Usual wide open spaces with some ice but much sanded |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Unpacked Powder |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
all bridged |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Usual blowdowns on the path and plenty of face stingers on the wacks. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Easy trails and wacks for Pepper. Very little icing on his paws, none on his legs. I still applied vaseline to his paws and he wore his sweater but he could have skipped both. There were so many wonderful smells on Lincoln Woods. There's still some open drainages on Lincoln Brook but with guidance they can be avoided by paws or used for drinking. |
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 | Bugs: |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Barebooted on the trails and when using the broken BP wack, but used snowshoes when off the broken wacks and on the ridge. Just after a 2" yelllow birch bendover at the pond the BP packed wacks diverge, the one to the right stays low and comes out in the upper fisherman's wack near the stream drossing. It's pretty easy being so low; I came back using it but it would be awfully mucky in summer. The more upper one to the left is okay but when Owls Head's ears comes into view instead of heading just to the left of the left one, it drops down and to the right, so finally I couldn't continue and I put on the snowshoes and headed N and cut off the angle. Next time I'd do it earlier since the snowshoeing is easy.
The packed wack up Owls Head starts about 400' further up the trail than the usual Brutus wack, it works well with much of its steepness in its uppper sections, meeting the usual Bwack shortly before the OH Path intersection. We came down it in snowshoes. We went up the Brutus wack using and following some snowshoes a good part of the time; the televators being very helpful, but this route is unpacked and braided a bit. I let a vest slide down at a layer change, and in backing down to get it caught a snowshoe in the crust throwing me into backwards head first slide and somersault somehow landing on my feet. Pepepr and I were both astonished, but I got a 9.9 from the North Korean judge. The upshot is that one can follow the exiting packed wacks nicely; they just aren't the routes I'm used to using. On the ridge braiding is minimal, but at the true peak all indications it is the peak aren't visible to many wonder around looking for evidence. There are nails in a tree at both peaks. I went further to check out some limited views.
On the whole this hike is currently just an extended and pleasant stroll in the woods with one short climb. We didn't see man or dog on the trails today, a very comfy day on the trails. Thanks Pepper. |
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 | Name: |
Pepper and Me |
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 | E-Mail: |
windriversjohn at gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2012-02-09 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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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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