Owls Head Trail Lost

[percypeaks]

The Forest Service and the Randolph Mountain Club announced that the 100 year old Owls Head Trail from Route 115 to the summit of that terrific sub-peak on Cherry Mountain has been closed between the highway and the White Mountain National Forest boundary a third of the way up the mountain.

The landowner has requested that the trail be shut down.

That effectively severs the Cohos Trail in two in that area. There are no other options for bringing the trail down to the Pondicherry Wildlife Refuge. Because of that, it effectively kills off any effort to try to reopen the Slide Brook Trail in the refuge because there is no longer a connector to the mountain. It makes no sense to rebuild the trail if people can't reach it any longer.

People now have divert down the Cherry Mountain Trail onto Route 115 in Twin Mountain, not in Jefferson. That leaves hikers on a highway with no trail connections within two miles. It cuts off the summit of Mt. Martha, the Martha's Mile Trail, and the sensational ledges on Owls Head.

Whew!

percy peaks

[jrichard]

This is quite sad. The panoramic views of the Presidentials from the ledges are (were?) among the finest vistas on the Cohos trail.

Here's hoping that something can be worked out.

[ridgerunner]

My sentiments go along with John's. We will do whatever we can to continue the trail through the WMNF. This is one of the problems of a trail utilizing land belonging to private landowners. Not sure why this section of trail was closed, but we have to deal with the fact that it is. So stay tuned while we figure out a way around this.