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in reply to: Failure narrowly avoided- Mt Bond #55645
Nice Cover!
@jodeacon wrote:
Hi Scott, We are really excited about this hike! I’ll be bringing some Massachusetts hikers – Jan, John, Keith, Nancy and my husband Al. Tav and Steve cannot join us, but Jay Davini will be there. I wasn’t sure how to cancel and add a name, but maybe you can do that. I hiked Moosilauke last year for the FON48s, and South Kinsman two years before that. We just finished our 67th last month, and love Field. See you next weekend, Joann
Hi Joann and Team Field –
I’m looking forward to meeting all of you. No worries about trying to cancel the registration. I don’t think we can change those. Congrats on finishing the 67!
See you all Saturday. I’ll check in here again a couple times before then.
Owls Head Mountain
We gathered early Saturday morning in the predawn darkness at Lincoln Woods Ranger Station. By the light of our headlamps, those of us there a little early said hello and introduced ourselves, quickly finding most of us were there for Owls Head or Bondcliff. One young lady couldn’t decide between the two. Eventually, she found the Bondcliff group and picked that one…yes, she chose Bondcliff over Owls Head. Imagine.
The Belmont group, the hiking fanatics, Dave, and I prepared. Dave and I exchanged a look as we realized we needed our rain jackets. The mist had become light rain. We had a group meeting to split up gear and discuss the options: Option one, and the advertised route involved sticking to the trails and the two notorious crossings of Franconia and Lincoln Brooks. The last few days had seen a fair amount of rain and my suspicion was these crossings would be dangerous at best and impassable at worst. Option two was the Black Pond bushwhack route which is essentially a 3/4 mile off trail shortcut that avoids these crossings. The group felt comfortable with the bushwhack option. We were on the way by 6 AM.
The bushwhack is relatively easy with basic navigational skills especially when heading north to the Lincoln Brook Trail. We stayed high and dry and hit the LBT at the crossing in about 45 minutes. A short break here gave everyone a chance to eat some food and chat a bit. Two women came upon us; they were also headed to Owls Head to finish their 5th and 6th rounds of the 48 if I recall correctly (Congratulations!)
The remaining crossings were still a challenge in a couple cases and in one instance, some of us removed the boots and “waded” across in nothing more than knee-deep water, but with a strong current.
The slide was loose and wet and we took care not to kick loose too many rocks to slide down on others below. We moved relatively quickly up the slide and headed out to the new summit. After getting some calories and warm, dry clothes on, we discussed options. We had made it in good time and would have the flag up but the cold, breezy summit combined with damp conditions would necessitate some changes. The flag was up and flying quickly on its pole while strapped to an old, large tree stump that stood maybe 6 feet tall near the summit with some nice open space above. We observed a moment of silence to honor those whom we came to remember.
Shortly, the Belmont group headed out. They were comfortable with navigational skills, had map and compass, and had taken GPS coordinates along the Black Pond route out as a backup. It was the smart choice to head out. The hiking fanatics hung for a bit longer and then they were on their way as well, so they could navigate the wet slide more carefully. Dave and I would leave in a while after breaking down and catch up to them before the bushwhack, or meet them at its start.
The flag had flown proudly for about an hour when we took it down, folded it, and packed up the pole and gear. Winter hat, gloves, fleece, and long pants had kept me comfortable, but the conditions were a little raw. We headed out. We passed maybe 10 people ascending the slide which suprised me a bit, but it appeared people were camping nearby. We caught our group at the base of the slide and headed out. And congratulations to Garnet on completing his 48 (he really didn’t mention it, so I will). The return trip was uneventful and the bushwhack back to Black Pond went smoothly and quickly. On hitting the Lincoln Woods Trail, Pat and Donna turned on the overdrive and we were all back before long. All in all, for Owls Head, and with the concerns over the crossings, bushwhack, and wet slide, things went smoothly. We had a great group of strong hikers, made good time, and had luck on our side. New friends were made, new summits reached, and goals achieved with this hike, and though we knew why we were hiking today, I couldn’t help but think of the positive that still comes from this.
A few pictures from the day:
Hi everyone,
Just a last message to verify we are on for 5:30 AM tomorrow at Lincoln Woods. I’ll be the guy holding the PVC poles. I plan to arrive by 5:15 as well.
If anyone has an issue, you can try to text me at 6o3 6i7 878six although reception is spotty for me on the Kanc.
Once we are all there in the morning, we can discuss the Black Pond Bushwhack option. 2-3 of the river crossings may be borderline dangerous tomorrow depending on the rainfall. We will almost certainly have to take boots off and wade 2 of them. This alternate route avoids those crossings by taking a route from the end of the Black Pond Trail northerly (340 mag.) to the Lincoln Brook Trail. It’s 3/4 of a mile or so – I’ve done it twice. We can discuss that tomorrow as a group.
See you in the morning!
Scott :flag:
Hi George and Owls Head Group,
Glad to have the company and looking forward to meeting you all.
In general, I’d say people should have the 10 essentials – here’s a link:
(No offense if this is common knowledge)
http://hikesafe.com/index.php?page=gear-listIn particular, I’d stress the warm clothing, rain gear, and extra food, and as you mentioned, headlamps. We’ll be out there 13+ hours trailhead to trailhead and the 2 hours hanging out on the summit may be cold. I’ll have my winter hat, gloves, long pants, and a fleece jacket along with rain gear. I’ll carry a sleeping bag and emergency bivy as well.
If someone (or 2) wants to bring along a z-rest or thermarest, that would be a help so there is one in the group in the event of injury.
Rain is predicted this week, so the river crossings may be challenging. We can avoid some but it may or may not be necessary to remove boots to cross. The good news is that we will have two 10 foot poles that can be quickly connected to 20 feet at hand. 🙂 I’m also bringing an “extra extra” pair of socks in the event of wet boots.
Looking forward to it!
Scott
Hi all,
Glad to see so many signed up for Owls Head.
I will have a flag, 2 ten foot PVC sections with needed materials to connect, guy lines, etc. basically everything needed for the set up. We can share pole carrying responsibilities. If weather is questionable, we can go with one section of pole. If weather looks good, we may be able to get the flag above the trees with 20 feet or fly from the top of the slide if it looks better. This same set up has been used on Waumbek and Cabot successfully.
I had the set up flying the flag in stiff wind yesterday. No guy lines, 20 feet of pole, one strap holding it to a tree. No issues. I will have more straps and guy lines for the actual summit.
Contact me through this thread if you have any issues. See you all at Lincoln Woods! We hit the trail at 5:30.
Scott
in reply to: 2012 Confirmation thread #55328Confirming Waumbek.
We had the flag flying from 12 until about 2:30 from the viewpoint about 50 yards north of the summit.
Windy but weather was good. Rain started when we got back to the lot, maybe 4:30.
Posting pictures shortly.
Scott
Just trying to get contact from Team Pokey who has signed up for Waumbek – please post or email me to let me know:
1) if you will be meeting us at the trailhead so we know whether to wait for you and
2) how many are in your party so we can plan accordingly
Thanks! Hope to see you Saturday.
Scott (email: sgberkana at gmail)
in reply to: The folding of the Flag #54216@SilentCal wrote:
try doing that with a flag that is 30 by 45 feet. not easy.
I bet it wasn’t – considering it would still be 15 feet after the first fold, that makes for interesting planning!
in reply to: The folding of the Flag #54214Video footage of a very deliberate flag folding that shows each step clearly:
in reply to: Flag Pole Ideas #48664Hi all – just posting some pics of the basic set up I’ve used in case it gives anyone some ideas.
It’s got its flaws and strong points but it’s a pretty stable set up especially if the bottom of the mast can be held in place (using rocks, etc.)
The pic with flag is this set up on Cabot 2010
in reply to: Barkley’s ashes #55246I can say the same for us on Waumbek – we’d welcome and be honored with the company, as would anyone here I imagine.
If you’d like to join, we’re hiking Mt. Waumbek which is a nice hike through lovely woods with a couple nice views, but I have to say IMO Chris’s offer of Mount Monroe will take you to a much more majestic place.
Scott
@Srust wrote:
We will be ascending via Airline trail, total of 3.5 miles and taking either the same route back or taking Valley Way back down. The plan is to all meet at Appalachia for 615am that morning. :flag:
We do have 2 flags already but obviously, more are welcome. We also have a 4-5 foot pole.
Hi Srust…FYI – that’s a 4.3 mile route one way. I think that was a typo in the first post.
🙂
Scott
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