October is a great time for a long walk into the western Pemigewasset Wilderness. This trek took me into the Franconia Brook valley and then off-trail, up to several talus slopes on the lowest western spur of Bondcliff for some stellar views.
It was a beautiful, crisp, chilly morning on the Lincoln Woods Trail.
The classic view upstream along the East Branch to Bondcliff and its sharp south spur peak.
Mt. Flume seen from the bridge over Franconia Brook.
A wonderful place to spend the day.
Turning left onto a route less traveled.
The crossings of Camp Nine Brook were easy rock hops.
More easy railroad grade walking on the Franconia Brook line of the East Branch & Lincoln Railroad.
The south peak of Owl's Head viewed from the edge of a beaver swamp in the vicinity of Camp 9.
I had visited these talus slopes a couple of times in the past, but not since 2006. For this bushwhack, I chose a longer route up a SW ridge that looked more moderate than the direct but steep routes I had used in the past. Plus, this route would ascend through hardwoods for a fair distance.
An interesting boulder tucked into the forest.
There were a few terrain surprises along the way.
Scaling a slope.
This hardwood plateau was the nicest part of the bushwhack.
Into the conifers.
Getting bouldery.
Some big ones.
Uh-oh. Maybe this route wasn't so good after all.
Blowdown in every direction.
It took a while to weave through this mess.
Getting steep, but less blowdown.
First view, towards Flume, Liberty and the south peak of Owl's Head.
As I approached the lowest of three talus slopes I had targeted, I discovered another flaw in this approach. I had come up above this talus slope, and it was too steep to descend safely down to it, where I had hoped to find a rock seat on which to lounge in the sun. From the edge of the dropoff above the talus, I did find a fine profile of the Owl's Head ridge, but there was no place to sit and take in the view.
I also had my first look up the Franconia Brook valley to Mt. Garfield, the signature vista from these openings.
Thanks to the blowdown maze, it had taken more than two hours of bushwhacking to reach this point. I headed back up into the woods to take a break and regroup. Then it was time to head uphill though the prickly forest to two talus slopes higher on this spur.
The upper talus patches were much easier to access.
Fun but cautious scrambling, as some of the rocks are loose.
Great perspective on Liberty, Flume and the ridge extending out to Whaleback.
A good look at the cirque-like bowl under Mt. Liberty, into which I had bushwhacked last year.
Another long view to Garfield.
Owl's Head!
A 20-minute whack across the slope brought me to the top of the largest talus slope on this spur, at 2680 ft., easily accessed from above.
This spot is the real deal, with a bird's eye view down to the broad floor of the valley.
Zoom on a beaver pond on the east side of Franconia Brook Trail.
Mid-afternoon shadows creeping into the ravines on Owl's Head.
Closer look.
Here, at last, I had a comfortable rock seat and 45 minutes in the sun.
For the descent, I looped out to the north and found much better going than my ascent route. Steep in places, but once away from the talus area the woods were generally fairly open without too much blowdown.
Farther down the slope, Owl's Head loomed large.
Hellgate Brook.
From a beaver pond opening along Franconia Brook Trail, I could look up to the big talus slope I had visited on the west spur.
A different angle on the west spur from the beaver pond just north of the Lincoln Brook Trail junction.
Last tinge of sun on the south peak of Owl's Head.
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