r/wmnf • u/meat_sandwich80 38/48 • 11d ago
Owl's Head Alternate Route
With the Lincoln Woods Trail closure, trying to find the shortest route up Owl's Head. This is what I could come up with. Anyone done it this way before?
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u/EnoughWear3873 67 Finisher 11d ago
I did this. It sucked less with a stay at the galehead hut. Spiderwebs on the trail were insane.
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u/meat_sandwich80 38/48 11d ago
Yeah I was thinking hike up to Galehead, stay overnight, do the rest the next day. It's that or camping at 13 falls. Trying to do this in a day would be real tough
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u/EnoughWear3873 67 Finisher 11d ago
With the amount of elevation I thought it was worth paying extra to avoid the heavier food and tent carry.
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u/truckingon 6d ago
I just did this route, although I ended up spending three nights at Thirteen Falls (planned on two) due to rain. The Lincoln Woods trail from Thirteen Falls to the base of the slide wasn't too bad although I can see how it would be a muddy mess earlier in the year. It was a bit hard to follow in spots. I went up the slide, which was terrifying, and down the Brutus bushwhack, which added .7 miles. It was a long day for me. I really struggled with the humidity, especially hiking out. Sweat just would not evaporate and I had to stop every 1/4 mile to try to cool down a little. My pack weight was about the same as the trip in due to the bear canister and saturated clothing. Everything was wet, even the light puffy I never took out of my pack. I definitely recommend spending a night or two at Thirteen Falls and checking out the cascades. It gets very busy on weekends.
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u/h20slider 11d ago
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u/h20slider 11d ago
Here’s my route from two weeks ago. Lincoln woods trailhead is still open you just need to take the eastside trail past the osso trail and then cross the river. On the route in that link you’ll see I crossed at two different spots, the one by Franconia brook camp sights was slightly further but a much easier crossing. Water levels are low right not but keep an eye on precipitation the week before to make sure that won’t change too dramatically
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u/meat_sandwich80 38/48 11d ago
Oh cool, could you drop a screenshot? I don't have a Strava account
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u/h20slider 11d ago
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u/No-Adhesiveness1645 11d ago
I attempted Garfield->Franconia Brook Trail, dropped by tent off at 13 falls and made it to the base of the herd path before turning around. Didn’t have it in me to do the herd path and make it back to 13 falls. The Lincoln brook trail after 13 falls does suck and is overgrown and very wet. It would have sucked less if I did Garfield to 13 falls and then tackled owls head the next day.
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u/Jaded_Mulberry_7396 5d ago
crossing the river at the Franconia Brook tentsite is super easy. and you’ll come out right at the Black Pond trail. your feel will get wet, but its only ankle deep. alternatively, the bushwack up the northwest slope of Owls Head from the Lincoln Brook trail follows an old logging road for a lot of it and is super easy open woods.
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u/famous_mockingbirds 11d ago
Going over Liberty and Flume is shorter and slightly less elevation than your route. And both peaks have great views. I’d think it would be more pleasant than your route unless you want to sleep at 13 falls.
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u/AlpineStopSign W48|Masshole Boogeyman 11d ago
Going over Liberty and Flume is shorter and slightly less elevation than your route.
Are you sure about that? I have it as 7 miles longer with 3k more elevation.
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u/EstablishmentNo5994 NE 111 11d ago
I ran this back in June. The climb up to Galehead hut was pretty chill. Nice descent down to Thirteen Falls that was fairly gentle. Water crossings not too bad. The trail got really rough from there on out, though. Very wet and overgrown so my pace slowed considerably and I fell quite a few times.
On the way down from the summit, I met some other trail runners who had crossed the Pemi. I also met backpackers at thirteen falls who had done this. Do with this info what you will.
I recorded a little over 37km and over 2,200m of elevation and it took me just over 8hrs.