FOT48: Owls Head

On September 15^th 2001, a group of six hikers climbed Mt. Liberty and flew an American flag from the summit in a patriotic remembrance of the events that had transpired four days earlier. The following year, the event Flags on the 48 was organized.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this event, here is a brief explanation: Every year on the Saturday that falls closest to September 11^th, hikers summit each of the 48 4,000 footers in New Hampshire, and raise the American flag in memory of the events that occurred in 2001. The flag will fly from 12 to 2 in the afternoon from every summit.

This was my second year participating in this event. Last year, I signed up for a crew that hiked South Twin. This is one of those events that fills up quickly, especially the more popular summits with good views and easy accessibility.

I signed up for Owls Head this year, which is one of the more remote, viewless summits, with a round trip of 16+ miles. To put it mildly, it’s a pain in the butt to get to, has no major reward at the top, and makes for a very long day.

A group of 6 of us met in the parking lot a little after 5am. We turned on our headlamps and started down the trail. Occasionally, the silence would be broken by a few early morning mutterings and introductions, but for the most part no one was fully awake for the first couple miles of the Wilderness Trail.

Soon we found ourselves stumbling through the brush as we followed the Fisherman’s Bushwhack alongside Franconia Brook. At first the lightly worn path was evident, but it soon became trickier, and we stopped to look around for what we thought might be the trail several times before continuing on in the right direction.

The approach to Owls Head is relatively flat for several miles, before reaching a mile long scramble up an open rock slide. It is a steep, gravel and boulder covered trail that heads into the woods after about a quarter mile. In that one mile, the trail gains over 1,500ft of elevation. Once the trail flattened out near the top, we continued to follow a small herd path to the summit of Owls Head. 

At the summit, we all bundled up in our warmest layers and set to putting up the flagpole and raising the flag. We also had a small memorial to James Foley, the reporter who was killed by ISIS. The weather was cooler than expected and there was a damp chill in the air. We broke out some whiskey, bacon, and hot dogs fresh off the grill (complete with buns and condiments). The summit was surprisingly busy that afternoon, and we got to meet some fellow hikers.

After two hours on the summit, we headed back down the slide. We got to the bottom just as the rain began to fall. Talk about good timing! The hike back to the trailhead was relaxed, with miles of gradual terrain and many river crossings, which resulted in some wet feet.

Thirteen hours after we had started, we arrived back at the trailhead, everybody overflowing with exhaustion and an elated sense of blissful accomplishment. After exchanging contact information, and snacking on some delicious homemade baked goods, we departed. All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a greater group of people to spend a day with in the mountains. Hopefully, I’ll see some of you at the 2015 event!