| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Owl's Head, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Lincoln Woods Trail, Black Pond Trail, bushwhack, Lincoln Brook Trail, bushwhack, Owl's Head Path, Franconia Brook Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, July 27, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Lincoln Woods Visitor center had only a few parking spots at 5:30 am when we arrived. When we left the lot was full and overflow was parked on the Kanc. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All the water crossings were easily hop-able. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Near the peak one blow down requiring that you squat and shuffle through a downed tree. Larger people might have to take off their packs and pull then through. A few other downed trees but can easily get over them. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw 4 dogs on the trail. They looked happy. |
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 | Bugs: |
Mosquitoes mostly. Black flies seem to have gone. Stretches of boggy bits, so DEET is recommended. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Saw an orange shirt hung conspicuously on the Owl's Head path. |
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 | Comments: |
We tried the Black Bond Bushwack to cut off a few miles and avoid river crossings, given that previous trail conditions said the rivers were high and crossing were hard. I'm not sure if the Bushwack saved us any time. We had to stop 5-8 times to get our bearings and it was a bit slow going through brush and woods; the mile or so we saved was on flat logging roads that could have been done in about 20 mins. The beginning of the bushwack is a trail but then peters out pretty quickly. GPS is required unless you are very good at reading topography. We more or less followed the bushwack path on GPS and ended up exactly at the junction with Lincoln Brook. If anyone knows the bushwack well, please put a few blazes down to help us newbies. Hikers who had come the long way said the river crossings were not a problem so we went back the long way- and they were right. All crossings were very easily hop-able. As you may know, all the trails are flat logging trails until Owl's Head path that start gradual, leads to a loose-rock scramble, then a root-scramble and then the top, with a path to a small clearing and cairn that is the peak. The junction from Lincoln Brook trail to Owl's Health path wasn't obvious- we didn't see a sign, just continued on as usual and found ourselves on it. In the loose rock scramble section there are a few cairns to help, but it seems there are many ways to go up (pick your own adventure is how one fellow hiker put it). As long as you go "up" you should be fine. The Owl's head path took us about 1 hour 15 mins each way- we usually go a little slower than book on the steep ups and downs. We did 3.0- 3.5 miles per hour on the flat bits. With short breaks along the way, and a 15 minute break at the peak, we did it in 8 hrs 45 mins. |
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 | Name: |
NMMc |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-07-28 |
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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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