Summits: Owl's Head (4,025')
Trail route: Lincoln Woods Trail, Black Pond Trail, Black Pond Bushwhack, Lincoln Brook Trail, Brutus Bushwhack, Owl's Head Trail
Trail conditions: Snow with some soft muddy sections under the snow and a couple of icy water crossings
Weather: Unseasonably cold with some wind, blue sky with full sunshine
Total miles: 16
Total time: 9:25
I would be joining Jill and Guy for this hike and the following is a timeline throughout the day.
7:25 - A cold morning as we start our long hike to Owl's Head across the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River.
8:19 - After a 2.6 mile hike along the Lincoln Woods Trail we turn onto the Black Pond Trail.
8:46 - We arrive at Black Pond and start the bushwhack from here.
9:38 - When we reach the Lincoln Brook Trail there are no footprints seen coming across the water crossing which would indicate all recent hikers have been using the Black Pond bushwhack.
11:05 - We start up the Brutus Bushwhack following tracks from recent hikers. We veered off the tracks and made our own way up a very steep section thinking it was the actual bushwhack according to GPS but had we gone another 30 feet we would've been on the right track as others had taken. Didn't make that mistake on the way down.
12:45 - Reached the very cold summit of Owl's Head. Stayed long enough to get a photo and then quickly began our long hike back to the trailhead.
1:35 - We're back down at the beginning of the Brutus Bushwhack and the steep hiking is done for today but there's about a seven mile hike ahead of us out to the parking lot.
3:00 - We turned onto the Black Pond bushwhack and are winding our way through the woods to Black Pond.
3:50 - Reaching the final stretch of our hike is the long, straight, monotonous walk on the Lincoln Woods Trail back to the parking lot.
4:50 - We cross the suspension bridge over the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River and back to the parking lot ending our long, cold hike to Owl's Head.
I was very glad to have great hiking companions on this long cold hike today as it would have been a very lonely solo hike!
Enjoy the photos!
The hike starts here
Crossing the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River
Sun coming up over the mountain
Ice forming
View from Lincoln Woods Trail
This snowman was here to greet us
This trail seemingly goes to the horizon
Turning onto the Black Pond Trail
On the Black Pond Trail
Black Pond
At the water crossing we were able to avoid by taking the bushwhack
A good layer of snow and ice on the water
Lincoln Brook
Small waterfall
Brook crossing
A successful water crossing
Guy heading up the steep and snowy trail to the summit
A partial view from the Owl's Head ridge to the Franconia Ridge
A look up through the trees to blue sky
Jill treads lightly over this water crossing
Another successful water crossing
Heading back across the Black Pond bushwhack
Mount Flume from Black Pond
Ice formation
The long straight walk out
Back at the trailhead on the other side of this bridge
Darkness falls at the end of the hike
Having Fun in the Great Outdoors!
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