November 3, 2007
Today's hike is an AMC hike. It was originally going to be led by Ed Hawkins, but because of unforeseen circumstances, he wasn't able to attend. So Becca Munroe received a battlefield promotion from co-leader to leader. Jeff also received a battlefield promotion from hiker up to co-leader. We've got a small group today, just 4 of us. The 4th hiker is Denise. I haven't hiked with Denise yet, but I always looked forward to hiking with new people. Here's today's track.
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We left the trailhead at dark-thirty with headlamps burning. The real time was about 6:35. It was too dark for pictures, but because we returned over the same route, I had a chance to take pictures on the way back. First we headed over the 160' suspension footbridge.
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Overlooking the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River
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We headed down Lincoln Woods Trail which was once a railroad bed. The trail is flat and smooth. In the morning it never seems too long; but on the return trip, it always seems a lot longer.
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It was still dark, and we almost missed the turn for Black Pond Trail.
"There's the turn," I said. I don't think anyone heard me as I began to turn.
Becca then looked up and saw the sign.
"Oh, there's the sign. I was wondering why you were turning," she said.
We reached Black Pond where we took our first break. It was now light enough that I could start taking pictures.
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Next we had a bushwhack of about a mile, maybe a little more. We had the knowhow to use our compasses, but I had a GPS, so we used that instead. (Shhhhh, don't tell Ed.) We found our way to Lincoln Brook where we took another break.
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Now it's time for a couple stream crossings.
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Nearly all the elevation gain on this hike is during the last mile. Here's our group heading up the Owl's Head slide. Why isn't anyone looking at the camera? Because it's very steep and with lots of loose gravel, the
footing is tricky.
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Today's best view was looking up to Mount Lincoln and Mount Lafayette. With it being such a cloudy day, I was surprised that Franconia Ridge wasn't in the fog.
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Then we reached the traditional summit. It has recently been determined that there is a slighly higher spot 2/10ths of a mile north along the ridge, so we continued on to the new summit. I was here back in May and was surprised how quickly a herd path has developed over to the new summit. This was Denise's first time on Owl's Head, so we let her bag the peak first.
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Denise is nearing the completion of the White Mountains 4000 footers. She just has 3 to go. Way to go Denise!! This was my 2nd time on Owl's Head, but first time in November. This made 8 trips to Owl's Head for Jeff, while Becca was unsure how many times she had been here.
Becca's most impressive trip to Owl's Head was a winter solo hike. This summit is deep into the heart of the Whites. It's an especially long hike in the winter and by going solo she didn't have the opportunity to let others break trail. Now that's a hike! As soon as winter hits, she'll be doing a solo hike to the Bonds to complete her winter 4's all solo. It's always fun to have someone with you when you finish a list, so I joked with her that I would like to come. (Obviously, that would ruin her hike, since she is trying to do them all solo.)
We didn't stay on the summit long. Clouds of doom were hanging overhead, and we wanted to get down the slide before the rain started. It was tough going up, but even trickier coming down.
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We passed two hikers and later a solo hiker all heading up. I mentioned the new summit to the solo hiker.
I then asked Becca, "Did you mention the new summit to the other two hikers?"
"No, if they catch back up to us, I'll tell them," she said.
"That's mean," we all said together laughing.
It really doesn't matter which peak you tag. Either peak is accepted by the Appalachian Mountain Club. We continued retracing our steps all the way back to Lincoln Woods.
As we headed down Lincoln Woods Trail, Denise commented, "You're right. This trail is a lot longer on the way back."
"They stretched it," joked Becca.
We got back to the parking lot just after 4:30, making this a 10 hour hike. We managed to stay out of the rain all day, but the rain came down pretty good for my drive home. Special thanks to Becca for heading up this hike. Ed, we sure missed your company today!
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