The trail's former status as a roadbed (or railroad bed, not sure which) was very obvious as we walked along. With the exception of a few washed out / eroded areas, the trail was very level and straight. We made excellent time, arriving at the junction with the Lincoln Woods trail at about one o'clock, only a few hours after leaving Owls Head's summit.
From here, it was only a matter of walking along the wide, open multi-use part of the Lincoln Woods trail. The trail, which had been deserted at 6am, was now brimming with all sorts of people. Most seemed out for only a short stroll or bike.
Right around 2pm, we arrived back at the trail register. Amazingly, even though we had no bikes this time, we had actually managed to beat our previous round-trip hike time. This was (in part) due to the fact that we had chosen bushwhack routes which shortened the distance, and because we had been less slowed by bushwhacking or river-crossing difficulties. Even more interestingly, our average trip speed was exactly the same for both hikes. In any case, just under 8 hours in total for an Owls Head climb is not bad!
Now, then -- I've definitely done Owls Head properly.
Interactive Trackmap & Photo Points - Owls Head - Double-click map to expand
Hike Data - Owls Head Redux
Start Time:
6:07a.m.
End Time:
2:05p.m.
Duration:
7h58m
Distance:
24.41 km
(15.17 mi)
Average Speed:
3.1 km/hr
(1.9 mph)
Start Elevation:
1164ft
(355m)
*
Max Elevation:
4049ft
(1234m)
*
Min Elevation:
1153ft
(351m)
*
End Elevation:
1212ft
(369m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain:
2926ft
(892m)
*
Total Elevation Loss:
2884ft
(879m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
