12/21/2014

Owl’s Head 4,025′

Lincoln Woods, Black Pond Bushwack, Lincoln Brook, Brutus Bushwack

7:30AM – 5:00PM

17 Miles 

A well traveled bushwack makes for a very special hike of one of the most remote peaks on the 4000 footer list. Great hiking friends become members of the grid club as our larger group makes for the summit. A light snow fell all day as we climbed the Brutus trail in snow shoes. It was a great setting to the day of camaraderie amongst dedicated hikers.

We all gathered at lincoln woods. Jason Beaupre and Andrew Soares are together with good friends in tow as they depart on their 576th hike. They will finish their grid. I recently decided to take this goal up myself. Meeting these two guys showed me what that decision entailed. A lot of hard work and dedication. Dedication to something that most find insane, but to those that hike it just makes sense.

The hike is long. If you have ever looked into this you would find that out yourself. We made the 3 mile stretch down to Black Pond. Getting to know the others who came along who I had not met I heard many interesting stories of the mountains. A couple of them also write blogs about their travels and their links can be found in the hiker resources page of this blog. These include Such Great Heights and DMOutdoors. 

At Black Pond we found the broke out trail that leads to lincoln brook. I would say the trail is a about a mile to a mile and a half before you catch up with Lincoln Brook trail. Here is my GPS track.

Once on Lincoln Brook we made way to the start of the Brutus bushwack. The conversation flowed and we shared trail snacks. The Brutus trail is formed every winter, but the first person to set it makes it so it varies from time to time. I included this track as well. We put on our snowshoes and started climbing.

The Bushwack is nice to change it up, but you lose the views you might get on the slide. The trail is steep for a ways and definitely burns the legs up. It was fun! Once on top we all celebrated the milestone of our friends. Jason even brought a bottle of champagne. I had a brown ale of my own brewing. I had a second that I shared with my new friend Heather, a grid finisher herself! It was a momentous occasion…

The hike down was lovely. The snow fell lightly and the miles flew by. we had a great crew of hikers and the pace showed it. The feeling was inspiring when I saw the way everyone hiked. It is a part of their lives that can not be filled with any substitute and I know from talking with them all that I of the same cloth. Once back at the parking lot we all said our goodbyes. Some were going to Woodstock Inn but my weekend was over and I could not make it. I drove home thinking of the extraordinary weekend I had just had and it gave me energy. I made it home around dinnertime and I embraced Abby, Lucy, and Patton. It was great to see them. It was a great weekend of hiking… Congratulations to Jason Beaupre and Andrew Soares on their grid completion!