Brother, Fort, & Coe loop?

[injektilo]

JohnL:
No need to go to that much trouble... especially since skiguy just posted a pic for me. Thanks for the offer though!

skiguy:
Thanks for posting the pic. That slide looks like fun!

 

[Gamehiker]

Also headed to Baxter soon, Am about convinced to do this clockwise and do the whack early. Correct me if I'm wrong but it looks like the Slide is not as difficult as the Hunt Trail.

 

[JohnL]

Google Earth v4 has some good images of the slides:
Marston 45 56 46.19N 69 00 26.98W
Coe 45 55 57.78N 69 00 40.41W

Parking lot for the hike is at 45 56 20.77N and 69 02 28.23W.

JohnL

 

[dms]

A hiker fell to his death on the Marston slide in August of 1985. I remember being on the slide in September of 1985 seeing hand written signs posted by the park saying to use extreme caution as there recently been a fatality, I think that they officially closed that part of the trail shortly thereafter. But it is quite easy to find both ends of it even today.

 

[MichaelJ]

Looking down and looking up the Mt. Coe slide. I'd go counter-clockwise if there's any chance it might be wet. Otherwise, Fort first might work well.

You *might* be able to filter water in the saddle between North Brother and the Marston Trail, definitely able to filter lower down the Marston Trail and a little way before the Coe Slide "begins" in the still-slide-ish area going up the trail in the tiny ravine before turning left.

 

[SherpaKroto]

A fair amount of water on this route. Just filter as you pass it. The Pond is a bit brown colored, but the water is fine. We had luck finding water on the North Brother spur (is that still the Marston Trail?)

Here is what I do when I need to find pics:
Webshot Search of "Coe Slide"
I know, you are saying "why didn't I think of that?"

 

[Stan]

I didn't find the slide (going down) an obstacle to taking the clockwise route unless conditions were really wet. The prospect of bad weather is why we went clockwise, to bag Fort as early as possible and then decide at South Brother whether to complete the loop, which we did.

Had we been unable to finish the loop we would have come back on a nice day and did a more direct hike to Coe, one entailing out and back on two significant slides, neither of which I think would intimidate most people who are careful and choose their steps wisely.

Be careful taking a compass bearing to Fort from North Bro'. The heading is thrown off by the iron in the mountain. On a clear day the navigation is no problem but be wary of poor visibility if you're relying on your compass, you could be drawn off in the direction of the Klondike.

I videotaped our adventure on this loop and one of the highlights is a moose in the bushes about 10 yards off the Marston Trail. It is well camouflaged and impossible to pick out in the video until it wiggles it's ear, then the whole mass takes shape. Also saw a pileated woodpecker on the stretch between the pond and the junction in the col between the brothers. You may see the handiwork of this creature about the time that Doubletop comes into view.

Resist the impulse to rush through this ambitious hike and you'll be rewarded with all kinds of delights.

 

[sweeper]

We did the slide on O-J-I over Coe, So Bro, fought though a massive blowdown in the col to No. Bro from the first tropical strom of the year,(Bob(?)) the day before. When it came time to do Fort the weather took a turn for the worst. We dropped down the Marston and hitched back.

DON'T GO THAT WAY.

 

[JohnL]

Marston Slide photos are here.

JohnL

 

[injektilo]

Marston Slide photos are here.

JohnL

Thanks!

 

[Tom Rankin]

Resist the impulse to rush through this ambitious hike and you'll be rewarded with all kinds of delights.

I was alone briefly up there a few years ago, (after taking a nature break), and a hummingbird stopped for a moment about 4 feet in front of me. It looked at me for a few seconds, then flew away. Pretty cool!

 

[The Sikes]

We did Coe first and then headed over. I'd rather go up a slide than down. It was a long day and my husband didn't appreciate looking over to Fort and realizing we had to go there and then back and then down. It was a long day but manageable. Bring enough water. We did it on a very hot day and found a place to pump just before climing up North Brother.

 

[Raymond]

JohnL says that the Marston Slide is on North Brother, but I would swear that skiguy's photo shows a slide on South Brother. North Brother is the mountain farther left, hidden back in the clouds, isn't it?

So is that actually the Marston Slide in that photo, or is that some different slide and Marston Slide is unseen? I'm having trouble figuring out where Marston Slide would be if it is really on North Brother. I don't recall seeing any slides at all on North Brother when I was actually on the mountain.

If that slide in the photo is on South Brother and is Marston Slide, did the old trail follow the present trail but take a right turn somewhere (like near that little pond that I recall passing in that real wet stretch of trail) to head for the slide, or was the old route completely different from the present one?

I just looked again at JohnL's photo, and I can now read that the middle sign in his first picture says clearly "South Brother Slide," and his photo album is called Marston Slide, so I guess that answers my question about which mountain the slide is on. I can't figure out where the signs themselves are located, however. Are they right near the Perimeter Road?

 

[skiguy]

JohnL says that the Marston Slide is on North Brother, but I would swear that skiguy's photo shows a slide on South Brother. North Brother is the mountain farther left, hidden back in the clouds, isn't it?

So is that actually the Marston Slide in that photo, or is that some different slide and Marston Slide is unseen? I'm having trouble figuring out where Marston Slide would be if it is really on North Brother. I don't recall seeing any slides at all on North Brother when I was actually on the mountain.

If that slide in the photo is on South Brother and is Marston Slide, did the old trail follow the present trail but take a right turn somewhere (like near that little pond that I recall passing in that real wet stretch of trail) to head for the slide, or was the old route completely different from the present one?

I just looked again at JohnL's photo, and I can now read that the middle sign in his first picture says clearly "South Brother Slide," and his photo album is called Marston Slide, so I guess that answers my question about which mountain the slide is on. I can't figure out where the signs themselves are located, however. Are they right near the Perimeter Road?

Raymond...the slide definetly climbs to below the Summit of South Brother. The old trail didnot go near the little pond you are mentioning. If you Look at Bob and Geri's trip report check out their GPS track. They have overlayed it on an older map that actually shows the old trail. You can see where it diverges from the new relocated trail. Thanks Bob and Geri for your ever thorough information.

 

[JohnL]

I suppose the reason I say the Marston Slide is on North Brother is that when I hiked up it in 1985, I was doing a climb of North Brother. I would have to look at my old map to confirm this but I do not believe there was a trail over to South Brother at that time. After looking at the photo of the trail sign I could be wrong. The slide is physically on the west slope of South Brother as you can see on this photo from Google Earth. I’ve noted the peaks, slide and parking area which is on the Park Tote Rd. (at least that is what Google Earth calls it).

Sorry for any confusion. Hope this clears it up.

JohnL

 

[skiguy]

I suppose the reason I say the Marston Slide is on North Brother is that when I hiked up it in 1985, I was doing a climb of North Brother. I would have to look at my old map to confirm this but I do not believe there was a trail over to South Brother at that time. After looking at the photo of the trail sign I could be wrong. The slide is physically on the west slope of South Brother as you can see on this photo from Google Earth. I’ve noted the peaks, slide and parking area which is on the Park Tote Rd. (at least that is what Google Earth calls it).

Sorry for any confusion. Hope this clears it up.

JohnL

As I mentioned earlier in this thread I climbed in this area in 1986. I did all four peaks in one day and there was a trail up South Brother at the time. I also have a 1976 edition map of the area and it shows no trail to South Brother. So all I can say is that it had to be cut between 1976 and 1986. The Marston Trail when it did follow the slide added a different twist than today as far as which direction to go. First you had no choice(unless you Bushwacked) of going up or down a slide because there were two slides (Marston and Coe Slides) and that was the trail. I actually went up Coe Slide, did Coe,went past South Brother over to North Brother, over and back to Fort, back over North Brother, and then did South Brother last. I knew that Fort would be the farthest out point and wanted to tag that figuring that if I was running late I could always come back for South Brother, being if I missed Fort instead I would have to do North Brother again to get Fort. In those days my hiking was all about bagging the peaks..so why gamble with having to do North Brother twice. This rational was also more feasible in those days because when the trail followed the Marston Slide it came out not far from the spur trail to South Brother. Now the Marston Trail is farther over towards North Brother when it gains the ridge and you would have more of a backtrack to do these four peaks the way I did....unless you did what I did and down climb on the Marston Slide rather than following todays Marston Trail.

 

[Eric Savage]

My recollection of the herd path to Fort is that once you followed the cairns and found the starting point at the edge of the scub on North Brother it was very easy to follow if you keep your eye on the treadway at your feet whenever the brush gets thick. I didn't notice a lot of alternate paths except around a couple of downed trees but who knows where people have wandered in the past five years.
The only tricky part is just below the summit of Fort when you get to all the jumbled boulders in the scrub. Make a careful note of where you emerge into this area and you should be able to find the way back pretty easily.
Almost all of the plane wreckage is scattered at the south end of the ridge which is a half mile bushwhack from the summit. A herd path goes about half way but then it gets really thick. If you're trying to do all four peaks in a day you probably won't have time (or energy) for the extra bushwhacking.