#004 Owls Head, White Mountains, New Hampshire

Owl’s Head – My Final Peak of the (48) 4000 footers of New Hampshire

Owl’s Head has been a challenge to think about for a while.  At the long distance, I asked myself the best way to do the hike.  Should I do it as one long day, hike in and camp then summit, or summit then camp?  Do we need a long weekend?

We changed our plans from hiking and camping on Saturday September 28, 2019, since it was going to rain.  I thought finishing the forty-eight may have to wait until next year, knowing that the distance would be too long to cover in winter conditions.  We decided to go ahead and hike Owls Head in one day on Sunday, September 29, 2019.

The morning was cool so we added on some extra layers onto of our summer hiking attire.  The day was supposed remain overcast and not get very warm.  

We arrived at the Lincoln Woods trail head 6:45 am and arrived at the bridge over the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River at 7 am.  We walked the long flat of the Lincoln Woods Trail the turned left onto the Black Pond Trail.  The trail was a little muddy but not bad. Black Pond was very pretty and we took some photos along the way.  The autumn colors were well on their way with a lot of yellow, especially on the hills.

We found the Black Pond Bushwack which was our plan for avoiding dangerous water crossings that I had read about over the years.  The older I get, the less I like rock hopping over rivers.  The Black Pond Bushwack was difficult to follow in some locations but we were able to correct where had gone wrong after a little investigation.

We joined the Lincoln Brook Trail at Lincoln Brook and continued to Owls Head Path.  This was moderate and scenic hiking along the brook and had a couple of crossings that were not very deep or dangerous.

With the sun up hours later and generating heat from moving, we eventually warmed to shed the extra layers.  We cycled through warm and cold and put gloves on and took them off, hands in and out of pockets, light jackets on then off again, depending on if we were generating heat or not.

Owls Head Path was exactly as described.  It started in the woods and quickly became a slide of loose rock.  We had many thoughts of not wanting to head down the slide for fear of injury.  Some friendly hikers told us about the Brutus Bushwack to use on the way down.  Once past the slide, the hike was a typical moderately steep climb until reaching the ridge line where it was a steady meander to the summit. 

After having a half-hour lunch, we headed down.  We kept our eyes out for the Brutus Bushwack.  We were told that the Brutus Bushwack was worth looking for to avoid the danger of the slide. Unaware of the exact location, we passed the bushwack and asked for a couple of guys heading up the mountain to check their AllTrails App.  The app and they guys confirmed that we had passed it.  We decided that we would rather go up for few minutes to find the bushwack than to head down the loose rock of the slide.

The Brutus Bushwack was great compared to the slide.  It was a moderate decline down the hill through thick forest.  Two couples with children were headed down slightly ahead of us as well as another two couples.  They clearly preferred the bushwack option as well.

Overall it was great experience with decent weather, and great company. We ended the very long day sore and tired but uninjured.

A great finish to the long journey of hiking the 48 4000 footers.