Trip Report - Owl's Head 8/28-29

[Tim&Val]

Hi!

We had a great walk around the Pemi for a couple days, and I got to climb my first slide. The weather was warm and clear during the days, cool and clear at night. Views from the Owl's Head slide were beautiful.

Trip report can be found here!

And KD, I owed you some ADK pictures, here are some from Tim's trip (with Dad and Sister-in-Law, but not me) into Lake Colden. Lake Colden is an area where there are multiple designated campsites, so of course, the bears have a "route" that they can follow from site to site each day. There's no narrative since I wasn't there, but there are some pictures from Mts Cliff, Redfield, Skylight and Gray. Also, a bear found a dry Gatorade envelope in *someone's* pack during the night. Tim got some up-close pictures.

Valerie

[Brad]

Cool pictures and report.

[Charlie]

that was nice

now about the bear if you were to yell at it would it run off ?

[KD Talbot]

Nice TR and great pics! I'm not surprised you found the cairns rebuilt. I'm guessing there is some "Civil Disobediance" going on? The blue things on the tree were the remains of the old arrow which pointed to the "true" summit.

The trip to Lake Colden looks beautiful. The pictures of the water remind me of the view west from the little pond at the Willey House in Crawford Notch. I am absolutely convinced I want to hike the ADK's. I will definitely contact you guys for advice when we do!

KDT

[Tim&Val]

now about the bear if you were to yell at it would it run off ?

I can't speak for this specific incident, since I wasn't there, but Tim said that these same bears went from campsite to campsite. He said you could hear the yelling and banging of pots & pans all around you all night long.

Also, when we were in the John's Brook Lodge area, we heard from a group who lost all their food before they could get it into the trees. This was before the days of mandatory bear barrels, but they arrived at their campsite and were setting up the tents. The bear arrived, took their food, walked across the brook and sat down on his butt to eat. When he finished, he came back for more. Pots & pans did no good. Whistles did no good.

On the one occasion when the bear walked into our campsite near JBL at 530pm, I yelled *pretty loud* for Tim, who was away from camp, and that didn't seem to phase the bear in the slightest.

Tim keeps referring to them as "big chipmunks". He says that these bears really ignore the people and just go for the easy food. He's right about that, but it doesn't make me feel any better when they're right outside the tent in the middle of the night.

It may have changed a lot in the last couple years, as the bear barrels have been mandatory. This was just my earlier experience.

Just to reiterate, we're talking about established campsites where people are camped every day during the summer months. I think that the more remote areas are less likely to see this kind of action.

Valerie

[FisherCat]

Hey Guys, That's a great report! We're putting OH on the roster for next year and each time we read a report it just gets us going. We had a whole group of juvenile minks follow us at length when we were returning from our Bonds trip on the Wilderness Trail. Very friendly, very curious, and pleasure to watch. Some were sporadically playful with one another, while others tried to take the whole encounter seriously.

[Tim&Val]

Hey Guys, That's a great report! We're putting OH on the roster for next year and each time we read a report it just gets us going. We had a whole group of juvenile minks follow us at length when we were returning from our Bonds trip on the Wilderness Trail. Very friendly, very curious, and pleasure to watch. Some were sporadically playful with one another, while others tried to take the whole encounter seriously.

VERY COOL with the minks!! I've not gotten to see much of them... just fleeting glimpses...

Owl's Head was definitely an adventure! I'm still a bit new to the overnight part, but the last few weeks have given me three overnight adventures (Bonds, Isolation and Owl's Head) with no adverse animal encounters. That's definitely helping my confidence.

Valerie

[Tim&Val]

I am absolutely convinced I want to hike the ADK's. I will definitely contact you guys for advice when we do!
KDT

Please do!! As I said previously, Tim's done way more than I have, but he can definitely give you ideas on how to do them, aggressive vs. less aggressive paths, etc. Some are just ugly and you gotta do them "as is".

[Steve M]

Thanks for the trip report and pics. Though you had great views from the slide was it a bit hairy? I don't like loose rocks on steep slopes.

[Bill O]

Did that bear have a collar around his neck?

I'd like to get in the Adirondacks some more as well. For me its closer than the Whites and really close to my parent's property in VT. I did an overnight many years ago up Marcy. I'd like to do the Gothics or maybe something in the winter.