Around Owls Head to 13 Falls

When I hiked to Owls Head I hated the mountain, but I really enjoyed the Pemigewasset Wilderness, and I thought it would be nice to hike there, except the part of hiking Owls Head. So, when I decided I needed a couple days away from the COVID world, a nice remote hike seemed just the ticket. I'd read really great things about 13 Falls campsite, and I realized I could do a nice hike that went around the mountain without actually going up it :) And, it would be a good attempt for a real backpacking trip where I carried my tent, sleeping bag, jet boil, food, etc, and slept in a tent in the White Mountains by myself. I knew that 13 Falls was pretty popular, so I decided to take Friday off, and head out then. It was a really good, and tiring, trip!

My goals for the trip were:

1. Camp at 13 Falls
2. Hike around Owls Head

And that's what I did!

I woke up Friday morning at 8, and remembered how I had done my Owls Head trip in Sept, leaving home at 5:30, and that had been too late. But, I decided that I would take the shorter Franconia Brook trail to 13 Falls, that way I would see if I could do the whole thing. I had packed the night before, and my backpack was a little below 25 pounds. I thought I could carry it, but wasn't 100% sure. After I made coffee, stopped to pee, and found parking on the road about 1/4 mile from the Lincoln Woods Visitor's Center, it was a little after 11 when I started my hike. The hike on that I planned was 8.1 miles, but the first 2.9 miles are on an old railroad bed and are pretty flat, and then the next 1.7 are off and on the old railroad bed, and still pretty flat. It does go up some, 1150 feet over the 8 miles, which isn't nothing, but also isn't so difficult. 

I I met some nice people on the way there (translation: some people passed me and said "hello" and "thanks" when I let them go by, and they pointed out where they crossed the brook - why is it that there is always someone to watch you cross a brook when you are feeling clumzy and not at all parkour?). Anyhow, I got to 13 Falls at around 3:30 or 4 ish, and it was full! The nice people were setting up on the caretakers platform. I was pretty bummed, because I didn't want to sleep in an overflow by myself, but then I saw that there was a flat-ish cleared out spot near the caretakers platform, and I asked the folks if they minded if I set up right by them, which they didn't, and so that's where I set up my tent! I was actually pretty fast with tent set up, and got my sleeping bag out, blew up my pillow, put my headlamp where I could find it, changed to crocks, and put my smelly stuff into the bear box. And then I hit the falls!

13 Falls are amazing! There were a ton of pools to go swimming in, which I did - one had a waterfall over it to wash out my hair and other was deep enough to actually swim. There are like 5 pools that you can actually swim in - the water is pretty darn cold, but not quite hyperthermia cold this time of year, and I stayed in the deep pool for about 15 minutes. I felt kind of like I was taking an ice bath, like an elite athlete :). It was really nice, and after I got out my skin was all prickly, and cool. There was a family there that had brought inflatable tubes so they could float and not have to go all the way in - clever! 

After I had explored the falls, climbed around a little and gotten in my swimming, I went back to camp, changed to dry clothes (which I was so glad I had packed) and ate. I brought this freeze dried lasagne, which wasn't bad for what it was, but after all the hiking food I'd had that day was way too big, and was seriously salty. I was done with it after about 10 bites, but it would have been so heavy to carry out, so I finished most of it. There were a whole bunch of people in the eating area and it was fun to talk to everyone, and hear about what their hiking plans were - apparently people hike into 13 Falls and use it as a base camp for other adventures, like going up to Garfield or Galehead - I felt a little lame saying that I was leaving the next day. One of the hikers told me that you can download maps from gaia maps or all trails and use them with your GPA even when you are in airplane mode (and I bought a 3 year membership to All Trails already, so now I can post a pic of all future hikes! So excited!!) As happens in the wilderness, dark came quickly, and I got into my tent around 8:30. For my "luxury item" I brought my kindle and so I read for a couple hours. (I forgot that my tent has a light in it, and I can bring 3 batteries and light it up for reading a book - good to remember!)

I slept a little fitfully, partly the lasagne, partly that my sleeping pad is a little thin, and partly that I was on a bit of a hill and kept sliding down. At one point I dreamed that I was at home in bed and didn't have to hike home - it was a little disappointing to wake up in the tent and realize that I was still going to have to hike back. I got up, packed things up, made coffee and oatmeal, and got ready to head out. 

I read in the guide book and some people there told me that the Lincoln Brook Trail on the other side of Owl's Head was hard to follow after the slide/trail up. It's also 11.5 miles with about 1000 feet of elevation gain in the first two miles and 5 river crossings. I knew it would be smarter to go back the way I came and not risk getting lost in the wilderness, by myself. I put on my backpack, got to the trail junction with Lincoln Brook looked at it for a while and was like "this could be a bad idea." And then I went for it! And, I was so glad I did!

The trail out of the campground followed the falls up for a bit, then crossed over and went steadily uphill. The first two miles were definitely the most challenging part of the hike, but fortunately I had fresh legs and so I felt challenged with the pack, but not overly so. I walked for about an hour, stopped and had a snack, and then started going again. About 15 minutes after that it started POURING, and I was soaked - the water was even coming down through the trees in the most covered parts.  I was a little worried that the rest of the day would be rain, but it was just a passing shower that lasted for about 15 minutes. Soon after, I came across a guy and his dog and he asked me if he was almost at the Owl's Head slide and I was like "are you serious?" because he was probably a mile past it. He was pretty bummed, and turned around. Next, I got to the part where the trail was a little hard to follow - I was glad that I knew that it would be difficult because I definitely had to pay close attention for about a half mile and there were one or two really tricky spots. I wasn't that nervous about it, though, because I reasoned that the hiker who missed the Owl slide found his way through it twice, so I could too. And, I did!

I got to the slide path up Owl's head after about 2 hours and 20 minutes, which I felt OK about - unlike the last time I was there, there wasn't much by the trailhead, except two cairns, so it could be easily missed. The 3.5 miles after that have 5 stream crossings, and again, at the harder ones there were other people, once there was a guy right behind me. So much pressure. I got muddy and wet - more parkour needed. I walked back in 1 - 1 1/2 hour blocks, with rests in between for a snack, refilling my water, soaking my feet (which unfortunately had blisters on the little toes) and changing my socks (I brought 3 pairs, all got wet and dirty). The last. 2.9 miles I was so done and ready to be at my car - again it's flat and an old railroad bed, and I walked it in about an hour. 

Total time for the hike back was 5 hrs 45 minutes of hiking time plus four breaks that varied from 15 minutes to a half hour. I left 13 Falls at 10:20 and got to my car at 5:50. I drove from where I was parked to the parking lot, actually found a spot (!), went to the ladies room and cleaned up a little, put on dry clothes that I'd left in my car, and peed. Then, I got into my car, hydrated, had a little more to eat, and drove home! All in all, a good hike, one that I would definitely do again!!