Owl's Head & Hale

I figured it was about time to tackle Owl's Head (4025'), one of the more remote 4000 footers in the White Mountains. Situated in the Pemigewasset Wilderness west of Franconia Ridge, Owl's Head is long a thorn in the side of peakbaggers attempting to accumulate all the 4k peaks. Owl's Head is often left til the end of the list for a lot of hikers, due to the fact that the easiest route to it, and back out, is about 18 miles (maybe more like 19 with the additional mileage to the "new" summit), and there are absolutely no views from the top. There are many things to like about this little mountain, however.

I approached the Lincoln Woods from a large parking area off the Kanc at about 7:45 AM on August 19th. It's nice, with restroom facilities, a visitor center, and informational kiosks. It's the most popular area for accessing the Pemigewasset Wilderness, with trails leading to Franconia Ridge, Owl's Head, and the Bonds, among others. After finishing up the 4000 footers, I'd love to attempt a Pemi Loop, a usually-multi-day hike circling most of the Pemi Wilderness and hitting lots of peaks. I crossed a large 160' suspension bridge that crosses the Pemigewasset river and hiked north at a quick tempo, due to the fact that the Lincoln Woods trail takes the route of an old logging road. The path is very flat, smooth, and wide, and I made great time along here. I think this is why a one-day trip to Owl's Head is done so frequently; it's an 18 mile day but so much of it is on easy terrain, it can be done in a reasonable amount of time. My time for the whole trip was about 10 hours. Also, if you start later in the day or are hiking when the sun sets early, this flat, wide path could be easily taken out in the waning hours of light, or in the dark, with a headlamp.

hikers crossing a bridge

I passed some other interesting landmarks, like a stone foundation of a building, and another large bridge, before the trail hits the Franconia Brook Trail, and then turns sharply west onto the Lincoln Brook trail. The trail becomes a bit rougher at this point, and starts to angle up a bit. But still fairly easy in relation to many trails in the Whites. There were a couple of challenging brook crossings here over Lincoln Brook. The White Mountain Guide warns to be very careful during high water or the spring melt, and I can see why. We hadn't had much rain recently and the crossings were still not easy. On one, rock-hopping wasn't an option, and I took of my shoes and waded across the brook with bare feet. No complaints; the cold water felt great. Around here I met a couple of guys who'd camped out around Owl's Head and were making a 2-day trip of it. I asked where they camped (there aren't any official sites in this area) and they said something to the effect of "We threw our pads on the ground and slept!" Fair enough. The powers-that-be discourage "stealth camping", I think to minimize effects of repeated camping on delicate foliage, and also to encourage people to stay at legit sites in order to raise revenue with the site fees. They also told me the slide was dry, and in good condition.

The slide on Owl's Head is definitely the most interesting part of the day. After hiking for 8 miles over rather unchallenging terrain just to get to the mountain, you're hit with a 1500 foot climb in a mile, up the rocky, rough, and steep western slide. A little cairn in the middle of the trail, 3.4 miles after turning onto Lincoln Brook trail, shows the way up. It's an unmaintained spur, so it's kind of hard to spot. But turn right at the rather conspicuous pile of rocks, and you'll be okay.

I was a bit nervous about the slide, but it was actually quite fun. Hard, but fun. There are few places that are actually treacherous; even if you fell you'd likely just slide a few feet back down and maybe get scraped up. A couple of dangerous-looking cliffs were adjacent to the trail, but easily avoided. I was hiking at this point with a very friendly father-son duo, Henry and Jeff. Henry was trying to finish the 4000 footers before his eleventh birthday! He was a strong little hiker, and didn't complain once, and his dad and I had a lot of welcome conversation.

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I stashed my poles, and we climbed up the steep grade, rocks tumbling down below our feet, trying to find footing that would propel us up and not have us sliding back down. Most of the time you're touching the ground in front of you, finding handholds in the rock and trees along the exposed, sun-scorched trail, and looking for little cairns that guide the way. The Guide recommends staying to the right on the ascent and decent, due to the stability of the rock and availability of handholds. After getting up into some elevation, we looked behind us and had the first view of the massive Franconia Ridge, from a perspective I've never seen. It was quite beautiful. The day was hot and clear, and it was about noon.

After a while we cleared the exposed part of the slide and ducked into the woods, still climbing at a steep incline, but at least now sheltered from the midday sun. At this point were were all very tired and now devoid of views, it turned into a full-fledged slog. Every bend, we'd say surely this is it! But no... more climbing. After about 15 minutes of this the trail finally leveled out, and we approached the "old" summit.

There's an old summit and a new summit. The old summit was the one they used to believe to be the highest point on Owl's Head, but some busybody with a GPS found that there is actually a higher spot. All these trails are officially unmaintained by the AMC (still haven't gotten a clear answer as to why...) but they are pretty well trampled, due to its inclusion on THE LIST. Many say no hiker with all his marbles would visit this mountain, with its long approach, super-steep slide, and viewless summit, had it not been included in the 48. Apparently the AMC doesn't require those who climbed Owl's Head before the new summit was discovered to go back and get the new summit, but many do anyway. So, after passing the old summit, we followed a maze of cowpaths and eventually got to the new sucker, where a large cairn has been built in a nondescript wooded area. I think so many paths now exist because everyone just kind of finds their own way, and creates several rough paths to the true summit. What happens when no official path is established.

uneventful summit

After getting pictures and resting for a few, we headed back down. The hike down the slide was a bit more unsettling than going up, but it was definitely easier. We enjoyed the views all over again, and eventually got back down to Lincoln Brook trail, back to flat ground! Now, another 8 miles out. I changed my socks, getting into a comfy, dry pair before the long haul, and ate some lunch. We contemplated taking a bushwack that apparently connects Lincoln Brook and Black Pond trail, shaving a couple of miles off the return trip, but decided against it. At one point, cruising down the trail, Jeff and I were talking and suddenly WHAM! I rammed my head full-tilt into a huge tree that had fallen over the path and rested about 5 1/2 feet about the trail, that I should have ducked under. But my head was down, I was hiking fast, and I had a brimmed hat on, so somehow I just didn't see it. Ouch. Not recommended. Jeff asked if I was okay, and I was, just a bit embarrassed and left with an aching neck.

We waded across the brooks again, the ice-cold water welcome on my aching feet, and at this point I hiked ahead and told Jeff and Henry I'd see them at the trailhead. My pace was slightly faster than theirs - but not by much - and I just wanted to shift to a higher gear and get this day done with. After seeing everything in reverse, I found myself again on the wide, flat Lincoln Woods Trail, and began to see families and dayhikers taking an afternoon jaunt. Eventually the suspension bridge presented itself, and I skirted down the side down to the river and stuck my feet in again. Ahhh. Nice way to end a hike. It was about 6. Henry and Jeff walked across the bridge a few minutes later, and we exchanged pleasantries and said goodbye. Hikers are great folks.

I got back to EmmyVue and got into my Birkenstocks and a dry shirt before driving a short way down the Kanc to Big Rock, where I pitched my Coleman tent at the same spot John and I stayed at a couple of weeks before. I paid the fee, got some firewood from the caretaker, and then headed into Lincoln to the Common Man, a great little bar/grille/ski lodge, where I met Dana and her dog Gretel. Dana and I had a couple of beers and some food while Gretel dozed in the car, and after a while headed back to Big Rock where we built a fire. Before long we turned in; I was bushed.

Gretel, looking for large land mammals to terrorize

The next morning we head to Mt. Hale, a 4054' foot mountain up near Zealand Notch. We took Zealand Road to the Hale Brook trailhead, and the three of us started up. The climb up this trail is a lot like Tecumseh; very lush, not too steep, but a challengingly consistent grade. Gretel, as usual, would bound off into the woods, splashing into puddles and brooks and tearing through the underbrush, occasionally looked back and me and Dana as if to say "What's taking you guys so long??"

At one point, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a big black creature tear down the mountain, about 15 feet to the left of the trail, obscured by trees. I assumed it was Gretel but simultaneously was surprised at the much-louder-than-normal noise she made crashing through the thickets and the speed at which she ran. I looked ahead, and Dana, with a look of surprise and concern on her face said "That was a bear!" At first I thought she was kidding, but then I saw Gretel far up the trail, looking down at us, a bit baffled. She'd apparently startled a small black bear, who then took off like a shot back down the mountain. It was exciting, my first black bear encounter! Even though all I saw was a black streak, it's a first. I really couldn't believe how fast it moved. We proceeded with caution.

About halfway up the Hale Brook Trail the grade steepened, and a couple of little switchbacks carried us around toward the summit, positioned to our left. It wasn't extreme but I was dragging, maybe due to the long day I had up Owl's Head. Of course Dana barely broke a sweat (:P). The weather was clear and warm, a great day for hiking. Eventually the trail opened to a partial view out toward Tom, Field, and Willey, and after a couple more minutes, we found the summit. It was a small clearing surrounded by trees, not much view, but with a huge pile of rocks, the top of which granted a limited view of the surrounding mountains. Though mostly viewless, it was a very nice open summit; the sky was bright blue and the midday sun was warm, a nice change of pace from the humid woods we'd been hiking in. We had some lunch and lingered on the summit, resting and chatting. Gretel enjoyed licking the inside of my tuna-pouch quite clean, and we tried to get her to sit still for a photo on top of the rocks. Almost.

Atop the Hale Summit rockpile

We moved on, starting down the Lend-a-Hand trail, toward Zealand Hut. This is actually one of the nicest trails I've been on in the Whites, fairly easy and passing through swampy marshes, fields of grass and mossy trees, and beautiful, rocky forests. There seemed to always be something interesting to look at. One of the cooler things was a very small venus fly-trap plant growing near some water; almost too tiny to even see. I'd imagine the bugs it eats are actually too tiny to see. The biodiversity in these woods seems boundless, and never gets boring.

We eventually got down to Zealand falls, and took a break at the top, where Gretel found a natural waterslide down into a basin, which she rode down a couple of times, her legs flailing around. Zealand falls is an incredible natural occurance, and the mind reels at the infinite number of shapes water, given enough time, can carve from rock. Ice cold water cascades down from shelves of varying sizes, creating clear basins and pouring down again, over and over. Swaths of smooth, hot granite, baked in the sun, provide excellent places to lounge and lose track of time, contemplating these ancient falls.

We hiked down to the hut, where we took another break and leisurely watched the visitors come and go. A northbound thruhiker shared his adventures, and a somewhat socially awkward AMC guy was inviting folks to look at sunspots through a telescope. Gretel tried to infiltrate the hut, probably smelling something delicious inside, but we intercepted her. After taking in the beautiful view of Zealand Notch opening before us for a few minutes, we hiked down a short but steep rocky descent from the hut and tramped north on the fairly easy Zealand Trail. Easy, but quite scenic, with rustic bridges over ponds, well-worn paths, and nice views of Mt. Hale on the left and many peaks to the right. After reentering the woods for a while, we eventually hit the parking area. The trek down Zealand Trail seemed an awful lot shorter this time than when I did it coming back from the Bonds. Maybe because my pack was lighter, or I hadn't hiked as many miles that day, or because of conditioning, I'm not sure.

We walked back down the road for about a mile to get back to the car. Our mileage for the day was about 8.6 miles, and other than the Hale Brook Trail, was relatively easy; and the hard stuff was out of the way pretty quick, leaving us to enjoy the day on some of the nicest trails in the area. No super-amazing views, but a side trip up to Zeacliff would be a fantastic addition to this hike. I'll definitely recommend this one to people looking for a nice tour of the Zealand area.

Another beautiful, challenging, and memorable weekend in the White Mountains, with big miles and great conversation.