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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Owl's Head, Mt. Garfield, NH
Trails
Trails: Lincoln Woods Trail, Black Pond Trail, bushwhack, Lincoln Brook Trail, Owl's Head Path, Franconia Brook Trail, Garfield Ridge Trail, Garfield Trail
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Saturday, November 9, 2013
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: No issues. 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Dry Trail, Ice - Black, Wet Trail, Ice - Blue, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment: Light Traction 
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: Open water in all streams/brooks. 6 crossings on the Lincoln Brook trail (tributaries, Lincoln Brook and Franconia Brook) represented minor challenges (ice covered rocks, large gaps between dry rocks). Pole vaulted in some places but wet boots were pretty much unavoidable. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: Some blowdowns on Lincoln Brook (north of Owl's Head Path) but they are close to the ground and easy to step-over.  
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: A great day out for Pepper&Cinnilla. The faithful companions handled everything superbly but it was a long hard day for them. All streams have open water - so, plenty of water for the canines along these trails. Crossings are challenging but manageable. Pepper&Cinnilla found their own way across in most places but they could not avoid getting wet. Patchy ice everywhere - most challenging area for the dogs is the steep section on Garfield Ridge trail near the campsite. Pepper could pick his path but Cinnilla needed a boost in several places. This is a high risk area. We decided to do the Brutus bushwhack in order to avoid exposing the dogs to ice and potential dangerous sections on Owl's Head Path. On our return from the peak other hikers reported the ice as "not too bad" and one other dog (Tucker) made it up that way. However, we decided to stay with the safer bushwhack on the return.  
Bugs
Bugs:  
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: Georg, Pepper&John, Cinnilla and I decided to do both bushwhacks (Black Pond and Brutus) and Georg let us masterfully through both. We went relatively high on the Black Pond BW and the footing was good. Slippery on the steeper sections of the Brutus BW but otherwise it was pretty good - and much easier for the dogs.
Lots of evidence of recent trail maintenance activity of the northern section of the Lincoln Brook tr. It was easy to follow and really no worse than other trail sections.
Ice, mud, water - constantly changing - makes for challenging trail conditions. We used traction (microspikes) from the Garfield campsite section until about 1 mile down the Garfield tr.
Great to see Erica and Guy who were waiting for us the Garfield Ridge/Garfield jct.  
Name
Name: LongMark 
E-Mail
E-Mail: perfrost@yahoo.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2013-11-10 
Link
Link: https:// 
Bookmark and Share Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense.

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