Some probably wonder who in their right mind attempts Isolation and Owl's Head back-to-back. In pursuit of my goal to complete the Grid this November, I have 16 peaks to complete this May, and it just so happened that (as of last week) the last seven I needed required all separate hikes. Then, turns out I have the chance to close out May with my brother and 11 year old niece on Mt. Tom next weekend, so with Isolation, Owl's Head, North Twin, and Zealand left, and in order to spend time family this Memorial Day weekend, it was decided to do Isolation and Owl's Head back-to-back starting Saturday afternoon. I will do Zealand & North Twin on Wednesday night, and then close May out next weekend, whatever day I don't have other plans. Planning grid hikes is so hard but very fun - such has been life lately, hard but fun. So it was about 9:30pm, and I was at a jammed Lincoln Woods but with no one in sight, except the Lincoln Police doing a round-a-bout through the lot.
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| Black Pond Trail |
I started off with a fast walk, reaching the Black Pond Outlook with a pace of 3.5mph. I came across a group of camping fisherman who asked me something I could not understand. I said I was just out for a night hike, but they didn't say anything in return. I figured when I came back through, I would storm through the woods as loud as possible just for fun. They probably wondered where'd the hell I was going! The bushwhack went perfect. With all of the snow gone, I figured the best bet was to re-visit the slide after the last few times taking the Brutie. I took a 10 minute break at the base of the slide. I only saw one sign of a camp as I approached the slide area. Other than that, the group was the only people I saw.
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| One of the two good-sized crossings on Lincoln Brook Trail |
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| The start of the Owl's Head Path |
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| Just about to enter the open slide on Owl's Head Slide |
After such a long day, ascending the slide was a little slower than I would have liked. I was pretty tired, and to make things interesting it was getting really windy. Its always good to remove headphones in certain situations, such as this one...to listen to trees cracking and rocks falling. It was eerie and on my way out and back from the summit, I sometimes sprinted for a few seconds for fear that the violent gusts could snap anyone of the trees in front of me. The summit of Owl's Head was mine around 1:20am.
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| Owl's Head Summit |
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| Owl's Head Summit - 11th Round |
So at around 4:30am, a few hours later I reached the Pemi bridge with the light of morning twilight making its way down the river to me as I crossed it to finish. It was a fun day, and it felt good to tackle two of the most remote peaks back-to-back.
Highlights:
Owl's Head -11th Round
4th Summit in 2015
Trail Conditions:The route was free of snow except for a few small patches up on the summit ridge. The crossings after the bushwhack were easy. The trail was pretty easy to follow beyond the Brutus Bushwhack to the slide. The slide had some loose gravel and rock mostly at the bottom, but not as much moving rocks up higher. The path leading to the true summit was also easy to follow. There was one little push through of a blow down I recall. It was unfortunate on my return trip past Black Pond that I saw multiple occurrences of toilet paper and human poop literally right next to the trail where the Black Pond Outlook is. Perhaps the lone large group camping at Black Pond. Would be nice to at least bury it, pack it out, or have some consideration for others' enjoyment of the woods. Until next time!
Hike Stats
Trails: Lincoln Woods Trail, Black Pond Trail, Black Pond Bushwhack, Lincoln Brook Trail, Owl's Head Path
Distance: 15.7 miles
Elevation Gain: 3,254 ft.
Actual Book Time: 6:55
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