Today's plan was to meet at the same time and place as Saturday, but with a much different agenda. We'll be climbing Owl's Head and bushingwacking to the Owl's Ears. This is another hike headed up by Ed Hawkins, but we have a much smaller group today. It's just Ed, Lars, and myself. I just met Lars on Saturday so I'm looking forward to getting to know him a little better. We left the parking lot about 7:05. Like the other day, we immediately went across the suspension bridge.
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The next two or three miles on the railroad bed haven't change in the last 2 days so I didn't bother with pictures. As the great Yankee baseball player Yogi Berra would say, "It was like deja vu all over again." We reached the junction with the Black Pond Trail . . .
. . .where we took our first break.
Ed has hiked these trails so often that he knows where all the good sitting rocks are.
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This is when I found out that today would have a little more bushwacking than I had anticipated. We began hiking up the Black Pond Trail which dead ends. There's a trail that goes all the way to the summit of Owl's Head. I figured we would take that and just bushwack to the ears.
"Why are we going this way?" I asked Ed.
"If we bushwack from Black Pond to Lincoln Brook it will save us a mile. The other way is a lot longer and the trail has no redeeming value." replied Ed.
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From the edge of Black Pond you can see the ears of Owl's Head. To call them the ears is a bit of a stretch. One looks like it could be an ear but the other is just a tiny flat spot several hundred feet below the other ear.
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Black Pond
There were a couple people fishing on the far end of the pond, the only people we would see all day.
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Now the bushwacking started. I've never bushwacked before and was looking forward to gaining some experience. I don't see myself doing a lot of bushwacking in the future, but it is really an essential survival skill to have. Ed showed me his topographical map and how to get a bearing. Turns out that my compass isn't much good. It's tough to get a bearing on it. Ed let me use his. I'll have to buy a new one in the near future. Although Lars has bushwacked before, he also was hoping to gain some more experience.
We were off with Lars in the lead. About halfway to the brook I got my chance to lead. It's not as simple as just pointing your compass and walking in a straight line. There are bushes, small hills, large rocks, and fallen trees that are in your path. Walking in a straight line is not possible. This first bushwack of the day was really a no brainer. I needed to hit Lincoln Brook which ran perpendicular to the direction I was heading. I would have to really, really be off to miss it. Although I really couldn't miss the brook, Ed corrected me to the right a couple times in an attempt to come out at a particular spot along the brook. As I got closer I could hear the brook which made it even easier.
"I hear water," I said.
"That's a good sign," said Lars.
"As long as it is the right brook," I joked.
We came out at Lincoln Brook just a couple hundred feet east of the point Ed was looking for.
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We followed the brook for a couple of minutes until we reached Lincoln Brook Trail.
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I gave Ed his compass back. We won't be doing any more bushwacking until the afternoon, and he will be leading the way. We followed the trail a couple miles crossing the brook a couple times. Ed was in the lead, and I heard him laugh. He had reached the junction with Owl's Head Path. There was a fallen tree, and someone had lined rocks across it.
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Since this was a wilderness area the junction was not marked with a sign. There were a couple of small cairns and someone had carved an arrow on a tree along with an OH for Owl's Head.
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The arrow that was carved out of the tree was then placed under the line of rocks to point the way.
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Several other trees had arrows carved in them as well. I am all for the strict rules of a wilderness area, but in my opinion the rules need to bend just a little. Several trees were now damaged, and it could have been avoided by allowing a small sign to be put here.
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Although we had been hiking for a few hours, we had gained little in elevation. Almost all of the elevation gain in climbing this mountain would be over the next mile. Lars is making this steep climb look easy.
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Because there are a lot of loose rocks in this area, Ed instructed us to stay close together that way if one came loose it wouldn't roll down the mountain and hit one of us.
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The path was lined with lots of these purple flowers.
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There is a great view of Franconia Ridge from here.
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After quite a workout the trail levelled off. Since I had not been on Owl's Head before, Ed let me lead the way. There is actually two summits to Owl's Head: the traditional summit and the new summit. Ed was up here with another hiker who kept claiming there was a higher point on the summit. The top of the mountain is wooded with lots of little ups and downs along the ridge so finding the high point is a difficult task. Ed went with him on a hike, and verified that there is a point further north that is higher. He then took Eric Savage up here, and he also confirmed it. If you are attempting to complete the 4,000 footer list, I believe the AMC now recognizes either point. All I found at the traditional summit was a very small cairn.
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We left our packs at the traditional summit and headed off to the true summit. There is no trail but a herd path is beginning to develop. It's only another couple tenths of a mile. We passed a couple small patches of snow on our way. A small sign has been placed on a tree.
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There is another small cairn on the true summit where Lars took my picture.
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We walked back to the traditional summit where I got my 8th Ed Hawkins 4,000 footer handshake. It's #35 for my White Mountains list. I'm still working on my White Mountains 4,000 footer list for the first time. With today's summit Ed has now completed the list 42 times.
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Now it is time for some major bushwacking. Ed has been wanting to hike to the ears for a long time. He has done so much hiking in the area, it is rare to go on hike with him to someplace he hasn't hiked before. It was neat to watch his bushwacking skills as we found our way to each of the ears. The ears aren't on any list, and there are no views. Remember the age old question: Why does someone climb a mountain? This is one of the times when the answer is 'because it is there'.
As we began the steep descent, the black flies came out, and for some reason they found me more tasty than Ed or Lars. A while later we could hear the sound of Lincoln Brook. We reached and crossed the brook before completing one final bushwack back to Black Pond. Once we got back to Lincoln Woods Trail, Ed gave the green light. I was eager to get home to Lynn so I jogged the 2.6 miles back to the parking lot arriving about 7:05 making this a 12 hour hike.
What an adventure? Thanks Ed for teaching me some of your bushwacking skills. I would also like to thank Lars for coming. I hope to hike with you again soon.
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So what do I think of bushwacking. Well, Ed said it needs to grow on you. I'll take a trail hike over a bushwack any day, but the skill is good to know. I am working on New England's 100 highest peaks and a few of them don't have trails, so there will be some bushwacking in my future.
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I had a terrific time today, but the views were few, so I especially enjoyed the ride home along the Kancamagus Highway where I stopped at a couple of the outlooks.
Lily Pond
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Mount Chocorua and Three Sisters
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Green's Cliff
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While driving this route in the early morning or evening I always have an eye open for a moose.
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Since this was my first bushwack, my wife would also like to send a thank you to Ed for getting her husband out of the woods in one piece.
