Chandler Brook Wamsutta Loop In Section Hiker

[DayTrip]

A recent post on Section Hiker highlighted a loop up Chandler Brook Trail and down Wamsutta Trail. I have wanted to do Chandler Brook trail for awhile now but was under the impression hiking the Auto Road was strictly prohibited and it didn't sound like a very good trail to descend as an out and back. The Section Hiker article mentions it is 0.5 miles to Nelson Crag Trail and 1.2 miles to Wamsutta via the road. So:

1) Is walking the Auto Road allowed in this area because of the disconnected trail segments? I seem to recall the stretch of Auto Road between Chandler and Nelson Crag to be extremely narrow (and thus super dangerous to walk as a hiker).

2) The MapBuilder layer on CalTop shows routes that avoid almost all of the road walks (leaving just 0.2 miles from Chandler's end to this path and only 0.4 miles to go downhill to Nelson Crag Trail from this path). Was this just somebodies bushwhack or are there actual foot paths in that area? I seem to recall briefly going down a path in wrong direction when I descended Wamsutta a few years ago and then retracing my steps to trail so I am guessing there is a footpath but far from sure. The Section Hiker article makes no mention of this nor does it discuss the legalities of the road walk.

If anyone has done this loop in some configuration and could shed light on my options it would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[peakbagger]

I haven't done this loop yet but did do Wamsutta last summer (In combination with Nelson Crag and then up to near the summit and down the Great Gulf Headwall and out via GG trail as a day hike (a very long one). The easiest way to visualize this may be to open up Google Earth and zoom in on this area of the autoroad as the resolution is quite high. No need to head over to Nelson Crag trail as the Wamsutta ends at the autoroad with Alpine Garden trail continuing on to Nelson Crag trail. The Wamsutta intersects the winter autoroad cut off about 250 feet short of the autoroad it is quite an obvious route. All you need to do is take a left and follow the winter cutoff down hill going straight at the one intersection until you reach the autoroad again. From there you are about 1000 feet from the Chandler Brook trailhead. The autoroad does not allow folks to hike down it and it has no shoulders so walking along it is to be avoided in clear weather and would be a death wish in cloudy weather (think side view mirror in forehead). Looking at Google the auto road is somewhat wider than normal where the cutoff comes in and there is parking pull out 200 feet down the road. From there the ridge crest looks like it could be followed parallel to the autoroad until you come out across from the Chandler Brook trailhead.

FYI, Chandler Brook used to be somewhat notorious for being under maintained, passable yes but potential for blowdowns and narrowed trailbed due to the woods trying to reclaim the trail along with Wilderness rules . Having not hiked it I can not comment if that is still valid.

 

[Breeze]

If one were to simply call the Auto Road. one would be assured that road walking, hiking, or running is absolutely allowed, although there will be some event days when restricted.
.
603-466-3988

 

[DayTrip]

I haven't done this loop yet but did do Wamsutta last summer (In combination with Nelson Crag and then up to near the summit and down the Great Gulf Headwall and out via GG trail as a day hike (a very long one). The easiest way to visualize this may be to open up Google Earth and zoom in on this area of the autoroad as the resolution is quite high. No need to head over to Nelson Crag trail as the Wamsutta ends at the autoroad with Alpine Garden trail continuing on to Nelson Crag trail. The Wamsutta intersects the winter autoroad cut off about 250 feet short of the autoroad it is quite an obvious route. All you need to do is take a left and follow the winter cutoff down hill going straight at the one intersection until you reach the autoroad again. From there you are about 1000 feet from the Chandler Brook trailhead. The autoroad does not allow folks to hike down it and it has no shoulders so walking along it is to be avoided in clear weather and would be a death wish in cloudy weather (think side view mirror in forehead). Looking at Google the auto road is somewhat wider than normal where the cutoff comes in and there is parking pull out 200 feet down the road. From there the ridge crest looks like it could be followed parallel to the autoroad until you come out across from the Chandler Brook trailhead.

FYI, Chandler Brook used to be somewhat notorious for being under maintained, passable yes but potential for blowdowns and narrowed trailbed due to the woods trying to reclaim the trail along with Wilderness rules . Having not hiked it I can not comment if that is still valid.

I did a little satellite viewing and there are clearings that appear to be service roads that match up with the MapBuilder trail lines. I had read awhile back that a Winter snow cat access route is there but didn't know if it was only used once several feet of snow were on it (where underlying terrain was irrelevant) or if it was an actual road with a passable grade. Seems to be the latter. Section Hiker also mentioned this in a follow up to a comment I left on the blog so it sounds doable.

As far as Nelson Crag, I realize I don't have to go down to it but would like to because I enjoy that area and figured I could work in a section of the Alpine Garden or something before heading back down. If I'm feeling tired or weather doesn't look favorable I can just head straight to Wamsutta and go down. Looks like a downhill, 0.4 mile road walk from where this snow cat road pops out and the Nelson Crag junction and I believe the road is much wider there so that wouldn't be too bad.

Section Hiker mentioned that the entry to Chandler Brook was a little obscured due to blow downs but after that was pretty easy to follow. I just don't want to descend that way because it sounds very rough and rugged. I enjoy Wilderness type trails for that "real" hiking experience when they need a bit of a brushing and you have a few obstacles. Hopefully it won't be an endurance fest crawling under trees for the whole length. Thanks for post. Think I'm gonna put this one on the "list".

 

[peakbagger]

Well I guess I have been on the road when its restricted in the past on a couple of hikes. These occurrences were on summer weekends and therefore there could have some event or another. At least one occurrence was on auto race weekend where the marshalls were quite insistent that it was closed.

Even if it is open I definitely do not recommend it given the traffic volume and lack of shoulders.

 

[Snowflea]

If one were to simply call the Auto Road. one would be assured that road walking, hiking, or running is absolutely allowed, although there will be some event days when restricted.
603-466-3988

On a related note, it always surprises me that people don't go right to the obvious source for information when they need a question answered.

 

[sierra]

Once, in a moment of less then sound wisdom, I thought taking a date up Washington via Tucks was a good idea. You know, make a good impression and all that. She did not turn out to be that hiking girlfriend I wanted, lol. In fact at the summit, she pointed to the road and stated, " If that goes down to the highway, I'm going that way, I hate rocks! " No amount of persuasion, could deter her. So, off we went. It was not fun. I swear the stage vans tried to come as close as they could, in what I inferred was a means to deter using the road. In some places, narrow shoulders left us exposed to traffic. It was a long walk, and a quiet one.

 

[DayTrip]

On a related note, it always surprises me that people don't go right to the obvious source for information when they need a question answered.

Aren't the experts on VFTT the obvious source??

 

[Seeker]

This was already answered, but I've done Wamsutta/Chandler twice, both when camping in the GG. Once in '92 (!!) and the second time 2005ish. No issues with the short amount of time on the Auto Road as I recall. CB was definitely rough--rougher than I had remembered. It was certainly doable, but I was solo the 2nd time and some of the exposure gave me pause here and there. That said, it's a really fun, interesting loop.

 

[DayTrip]

I did this route as part of a Great Gulf loop yesterday and the 0.2 mile section you have to travel on the Auto Rd from Chandler Brook to the Snocat Winter route is paved, pretty wide and comfortable for safe travel purposes.

And as an aside, the Chandler Brook Trail was very easy to follow, had been brushed in spots, no blowdowns (except one at very beginning that Section Hiker blog had referenced obscuring trail so I was ready for that) and I thought was a great little trail. Steep but not rocky until the last little stretch (reminded me of sections of The Link more than a Presidential route) and it had three really attractive river crossings with numerous cascades. Too bad it ends up at a "dead end" and can't be worked into a more practical loop. The Snocat Winter route also had a few odd sections where it abruptly ended in a scrub patch with 8-10' tall trees. One spot was particularly thick and irritating for about 100' or so.