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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, August 11, 2019
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: We arrived at 6:30am and the lot was 75% full with what looked mostly to be overnight parkers.  
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment:  
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: All crossings, even the major ones were doable without getting your feet wet. It helped to have poles. Saw one person each way get a foot wet, but we didn't have any problem. Helps to take a minute and look for an easy path across. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: A couple of blow downs to navigate on the top part of Owl's Head Path - about thigh high, we went over.  
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: Saw 4 or 5 dogs on the path, including Owl's Path. We have 2 large dogs that love to hike, but we did not take them due to the rough, steep trail conditions on Owl's Head Path. I wouldn't recommend it unless you have a very agile, fit and extremely well mannered dog whose feet are toughened from hiking sharp rock surface. The dogs we saw fit that description and seemed to be doing ok. It's a long, expensive rescue if you need to get an injured dog out. Plus, a rambunctious dog on Owl's Head could easily cause someone to get injured. However, all the dogs we saw were well under control. The 8 miles of trail before Owl's Head path are a dream hike for pups, especially if they like water. I plan to bring mine back to do that part. 
Bugs
Bugs: I was surprised to see the comment from the Aug 11 reviewer saying there were lots of bugs. We had very little on our route. Mosquitos were a little noticeable on the final 4 miles of the return trip, but we didn't feel like stopping to put on more repellent and still did fine. 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: Did this hike in 9:05 hours with my two teenage sons. That includes about an hour stop time. Trails were easy to follow. Mud is deep in a couple areas on Lincoln Brook, but avoidable. Saw a person ahead of us step in what he thought was shallow mud and ended up in mud up to his knee. There is a lot of loose scree on the slide - need to take care with footing.

If you have a mountain bike or hybrid and are looking to cut time/walk miles from this hike, I would highly recommend bringing it and riding the first 3 miles of the trail on Lincoln Woods Trail. Bikes are allowed in that section. Bring a lock and lock it to a tree at the end of the section where bikes are allowed.

We followed the advice of another reviewer and took our lunch break on the exposed part of the slide, instead of at the summit. There is a nice, open flat area of rocks with amazing views of franconia ridge about 1/3 of the way up the slide. Nice and breezy and bug free for us.  
Name
Name: bhayes 
E-Mail
E-Mail:  
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2019-08-12 
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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