Mt. Carrigain Question?

Hi everyone! I'm well on the way to getting in my "48" , (officially the count stands at 30, maybe 34 after this weekend.) But the burning question of the moment is: why do so many people elect to bag Carrigain as the last of the "48"? Is this like the "secret handshake" of the 4'000 footer club or something I'm just not clued into? Also, I have heard there is "another route" up Owl's Head - some sort of bush-whacking route ? Also, what is the consensus on mountain biking on dirt road ways - such as up the Wilderness Trail - toward Owl's Head? Does the AMC frown on this altogether? Does it make the hike "unacceptable" if you partially bike the flat stuff?

Thanks - just curious! :roll:

Hi MARI - Perhaps you've seen this thread, but there's some talk on finishing up on Carrigain starting here:

http://forums.alpinezone.com/viewtopic.php?t=236&start=36

Personally, I'm not much of a peakbagger, and I think biking the Wilderness Trail is fine. Just my opinion. Obviously by reading the above thread, people do or don't bag the 48 for different reasons. I guess the bottom line is a acheiving a sense of accomplishment. If you can get that by biking in, so be it. There are enough 'rules' in the rest of life. Just my opinion...

Greg,you get two demerits

First off hiking on the Wilderness Trail (beyond Franconia Brook) is against Forest Service regulations, it is in a Federally designated Wilderness area.

And second using a mountain bike is an absolute no-no for peakbagging. You drive as far as your car will take you, then you walk (or ski in winter).

Looks like you have a new avatar

MARI,

There is a bushwhacking route up Owlshead from the east, I believe it is most often used in winter. It starts from the Franconia Brook Trail at about the level of the summit and bushwhacks up. The devil is in the details, I seem to remember reading about cliffs somewhere so do not do it until you get good info.

Re: Greg,you get two demerits

Mohamed Ellozy said:

First off hiking on the Wilderness Trail (beyond Franconia Brook) is against Forest Service regulations, it is in a Federally designated Wilderness area.

And second using a mountain bike is an absolute no-no for peakbagging. You drive as far as your car will take you, then you walk (or ski in winter).

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Thanks Mo. You are the authority, after all!

Mohamed Ellozy said:

Looks like you have a new avatar

Click to expand...

Yup. Slow day at work and decided to do a self-portrait. I tried applying a PhotoShop filter that's supposed to make it look like a painting, but it just looks like a blurry pic. :-?

Uh, that'd be biking on the Wilderness Trail that's against wilderness regulations. There's no problem with hiking it.

Hello Mari,

I think the bushwhack you have heard of is from Black Pond to the Lincoln Brook Trail. It saves almost a mile and avoids 2 water crossings. Depending on conditions (it's the way to go in winter) it can save a little time, but unless you love to bushwhack your best bet would be to stay on the trails.

Carrigian is a great one to leave for last because of it's stunning views from the fire tower, but they are all alot of fun (just try to avoid having Zealand as your last one)

Carrigain was an easy choice to make for finishing. It has one of the BEST views of the White's as a whole. Being centrally located, I think that there is only four summits of the 48 that you can not see from Carrigain. (Madison, Moriah, Cannon and Galehead) It's nice to pick out the the scope of your journey from this vantage point. The Signal Ridge trail is pretty straight forward and I loved that birch-lined section in the middle of the hike. Coming out on Signal Ridge though was one of the true highlights of my hiking days. The summit tower comes into view and it's a great feeling of the finish line in sight. Other summits have their own appeal as to finishing on, Isolation for it's remote but truly unique view of the Southern Pressies, Cannon so that family members can join you via the Tram(Outta luck on that one MARI, you did Cannon with me! ) and Bondcliff for its ruggedness and views of the Pemi.
Good Luck and hope you have better weather than we did on the Franconia Ridge :roll:

As others suggested Carrigain is just about geographicallyt in the center of the Whites. Assuming Sawyer River Road is open, the ten mile RT is not too strenuous.

Two different bushwhacks for OH, the one Mo mentions save a ciouple of brook crossings but can be pretty hard to stay on the suggested course as he eluded too. The other has been written up quite a bit lately on the AMC site. It takes the Black Pond trail goes around the pond & then through a hardwood forest joins the regular trail after the hardest crossings. While staying on trails makes navigation easier, the Black Pond Bushwhack when you look at a map looks pretty straightforward & a compass bearing & some comon sense should be all you need.

FWIW, I didn't finish on Carrigain, will not finish round two there nor likely my solo 48 or round 3. It's in the middle but I can think os several other summits that I enjoy more. (Lincoln, Garfield, South Twin, West Bond, South Kinsman, Moosilauke, Moriah, Adams, Madison & Guyot and that one is not even a 4K except for Trailwrights. If I do Trailwrights, I'll do Guyot last.)

Hi there Mari !
Been out there hiking and far away from the internet these last few weeks. Yes, Carrigain has super views from the former firetower. Went there on Oct 3, right after the beautiful snow we had here. To see snow on the peaks and the red, orange, yellows in the valleys adds to the magic.

As wondrous as Carrigain is, one of the favorites of all time are the views from the summit of Bondcliff. Just returned from the journey of a lifetime this week summiting seven 4000 footers in the Pemigewasset Wilderness, including the three Bonds. Trip report coming your way in the next few days.

Others will say that Ike, Franklin, Monroe, Washington, Clay, Jefferson, Adams, Madison, the Mahoosucs, Cherry Mtn, South Twin, Lafayette and Garfield are the best views. Don't even listen to them -- all of them are the best views -- when you are there!
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May all your hikes be spectacular!