peakbagger
In Rembrance , July 2024
The summits looked tempting this morning but the winds were forecast to be high. Chandler Brook Trail has been on my radar for awhile but it really doesn't fit well into a loop. I decided to hike up it and would make up my mind on my return route when I got to the auto road. It faces north and is quite steep so the time of the year makes a difference as once the sun angle drops I expect it could be quite dark.
After a fast hike in via the Great Gulf trail without meeting many folks I headed up the trail. Chandler Brook lives up to its name for just a short distance, it very rapidly turns into series of cascades, fall, chutes and plunge pools. The sun was at just the right angle that the water falls were back lit. The trail is basically straight up running closely along the brook. There are a couple of crossings and increasing occasional views up the north side of Adams and into the Great Gulf. The trail is quite "soft", it really doesn't appear to get a lot of use. Its mostly dry but footing is a bit slick in spots and decidedly soupy in one stretch. Its a steady steep uphill without a lot of level spots. One of the consistently steeper trails in the whites. Eventually it swings away from the brook and into a small boulder field and then after a patch of short scrub it pops out on the autoroad. It was quite windy and cool at the upper trailhead. I took a quick break and there was a constant stream of tourists pulling into the small pull off. Traffic up the road was quite busy. I was thinking of dropping down to Old Jackson Road via the Autoroad, but the lack of shoulders and a lot of traffic along with the wind made up my mind.
I headed down the trail. I had my two poles and were using them for most steps as what felt steep going up was even steeper heading down. The trail is only 0.9 miles but don't plan on book time. There are only a few spots where I needed to pull myself up but I put a lot of weight into my poles as I climbed and muscles in the back of my legs were feeling it. I saw only one recent blaze and the remnants of some very old blazes. There are a few small cairns in important places but someone who isn't used to following obscure trails might have a challenge. The worse spot is down low just a short distance from the GG trail. The trail looks like it crosses over the stream toward a large boulder but it actually crosses a wet area and stays on the right (west side) of the main brook.
About 6 hours round trip and well worth the hike. Definitely not one to do in wet or icy conditions. I wouldn't be surprised if there is ever major damage to the trail if they just abandoned it as hardening it would be difficult. I am glad that it doesn't really go anywhere and doesn't hook up to the trail network well as if it did I expect more than few accidents would occur.
After a fast hike in via the Great Gulf trail without meeting many folks I headed up the trail. Chandler Brook lives up to its name for just a short distance, it very rapidly turns into series of cascades, fall, chutes and plunge pools. The sun was at just the right angle that the water falls were back lit. The trail is basically straight up running closely along the brook. There are a couple of crossings and increasing occasional views up the north side of Adams and into the Great Gulf. The trail is quite "soft", it really doesn't appear to get a lot of use. Its mostly dry but footing is a bit slick in spots and decidedly soupy in one stretch. Its a steady steep uphill without a lot of level spots. One of the consistently steeper trails in the whites. Eventually it swings away from the brook and into a small boulder field and then after a patch of short scrub it pops out on the autoroad. It was quite windy and cool at the upper trailhead. I took a quick break and there was a constant stream of tourists pulling into the small pull off. Traffic up the road was quite busy. I was thinking of dropping down to Old Jackson Road via the Autoroad, but the lack of shoulders and a lot of traffic along with the wind made up my mind.
I headed down the trail. I had my two poles and were using them for most steps as what felt steep going up was even steeper heading down. The trail is only 0.9 miles but don't plan on book time. There are only a few spots where I needed to pull myself up but I put a lot of weight into my poles as I climbed and muscles in the back of my legs were feeling it. I saw only one recent blaze and the remnants of some very old blazes. There are a few small cairns in important places but someone who isn't used to following obscure trails might have a challenge. The worse spot is down low just a short distance from the GG trail. The trail looks like it crosses over the stream toward a large boulder but it actually crosses a wet area and stays on the right (west side) of the main brook.
About 6 hours round trip and well worth the hike. Definitely not one to do in wet or icy conditions. I wouldn't be surprised if there is ever major damage to the trail if they just abandoned it as hardening it would be difficult. I am glad that it doesn't really go anywhere and doesn't hook up to the trail network well as if it did I expect more than few accidents would occur.
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