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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Owl's Head, NH
Trails
Trails: Lincoln Woods Trail, Franconia Brook Trail, Lincoln Brook Trail, Owl's Head Path
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Sunday, July 14, 2019
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Lincoln Woods Trailhead had tons of parking around 8:30am on Sunday. Many cars were parked on the Kanc, so I'm suspecting Friday/Saturday filled up the lot, but Sunday it was easy to find a spot. $5 to park.  
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Significant 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment:  
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: Water crossings were manageable today. The two bigger crossings (I think they are called Franconia Brook and Lincoln Brook) were somewhere between mid-shin to knee deep water depending on the route you take across them. Highly recommend bringing a spare pair of water shoes to do the crossings and using poles for balance in the current.  
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: Owl's Head Path is unmaintained, so there were a lot of blowdowns along the trail once you got to the flatter section above the slide, but most of them were still easy to get around/over. One blowdown (a tree with a lot of branches) makes it look like the trail ends - however you can duck/crawl under it (must remove your pack) and continue on the trail on the other side. (Unfortunately, we didn't have an axe to chop it up and help move it.) 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: Few dogs on Lincoln Woods Trail and Franconia Brook Trail, but none going up Owl's Head Path or on Lincoln Brook Trail. 
Bugs
Bugs: Mosquitoes were way worse after the brief rain on Sunday. 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: Took us about 11 hours round trip with a break at the summit and along the water crossings to change footwear. There was a lot of mud on Franconia Brook Trail and Lincoln Brook Trail.

The trail up Owl’s Head Path is no longer marked with an active bear sign as of July 14, but there is a cairn at the base to mark the start of the trail. Slide took some caution getting up with loose rocks and dirt. The rocks in the woods going up to the summit were wet due to rain on Sunday with some running water over them.

The flatter stretch to the summit was easy to follow with the exception of one blowdown (mentioned above). Summit is marked with a small cairn in the wooded summit - enjoy the views on the slide.

We also didn't see markings along any of these trails, so having the All Trails Pro app helped. We downloaded the map ahead of time and used it to navigate - some areas we ran into had a few "trails" shooting off and we were unsure which one exactly to take, so the map/app helped a lot there.  
Name
Name: LG 
E-Mail
E-Mail:  
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2019-07-15 
Link
Link: https:// 
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