Owls Head is located in the heart of the Pemigawasset wilderness and is one of the most remote 4,000 foot mountains in NH. Luckily, most of the trails to the base of the mountain are flat. This was our second attempt to hike to Owls Head. On our first attempt we decided to turn back about half way there due to rain and difficult stream crossings. On this day the we began our hike later than we wanted because we forgot to bring fuel for the stove and had to stop off in Lincoln to buy some more. I'm just glad Danielle remembered the fuel before we began hiking!

We made it down the Lincoln Woods trail in about an hour and before we knew it we crossed over into the wilderness. About an hour and a few stream crossings later we made it to the Lincoln Brook trail which would lead us to Owls Head. Along the way we passed through some swampy areas and crossed several more streams before we made it to the cairn marking the trail up the Owls Head slide. At two of the streams we changed into sandals to walk through the water instead of trying to hop across rocks.

We waited at the base of the mountain for a couple of brief showers to pass before we attempted to climb to the peak. While we waited a few people came down the mountain and told us the trail conditions were not too bad, but it was windy on the slide. These were the last people we saw until we were almost back to the Lincoln Woods trail on the following day. The slide is a steep slope of loose rock and dirt (called scree). There are views looking up and down the valley, but the clouds covered the nearby mountain range.

Eventually, we made it to the top of the slide, but still had a long walk in the woods to reach the true summit. A small sign nailed to a tree lets you know that you made it. After a couple of photos of each other next to the sign we began our trek back to the base of the mountain. After retrieving our packs we found a nice place to set up camp then cooked a rewarding dinner of Ramen noodles. 

The next day we packed up and headed out. This was Danielle's first backpacking trip and she was afraid that she would be sore the next day, but she was feeling fine. The clouds were still with us but there was no more rain. We made good time back to the Lincoln Woods trail and saw a few creatures along the way. Once we got back to the car our feet were barking and it felt good to take off our boots and packs. With a brief stop at McDonalds for lunch we headed back home.