fort mountain

[bryan]

planning a baxter trip with the intention of hiking the brothers/coe area. was hoping to make a trip out to fort as well. the maine mountain guide seems to refer to a "trail" of some type from north brother to fort. it says it is unmarked, rough, lots of blowdowns, etc. just wondering what others have made of this route. is there a herd path to follow or would it be easier to just follow a bearing and make ones own way.
thanks.

bryan

 

[Peaks]

I call it a faint herd path at best.

 

[RoySwkr]

We were looking for a faint herd path off N Brother and it wound up petering out in some awful scrub. So went back to summit and followed the obvious herd path instead

Don't expect it to be like Gulfside, but there are a lot of official trails in the White Mtns that are worse

 

[albee]

I did a quick search of the forums here (it's easy - click on that "search" feature up above!) and turned up these appropriate threads... the first one is about as accurate as any firsthand advice I would give you. Only thing I would add is NOT to take a compass bearing and try to bushwhack it. People get beat up enough just trying to follow the herdpath - truly 'whacking it would be a needlessly painful exercise. Don't get me wrong, it is always good to take general bearings and know where your objective is, but that herd path is there if you are looking hard enough for it - and you shouldn't have to look too hard.

http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=8928&highlight=fort

http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=14066&highlight=fort

http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=13180&highlight=fort

http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=9296&highlight=fort

Oh, and for your reference, I bushwhacked back from the plane wreck to the herdpath in the Fort/N. Brother col and it took twice as long as going back to the summit and following the herdpath would have taken. I was surfing blowdowns 4' off the ground at one point! It's a wee bit thick.

 

[Amicus]

Oh, and for your reference, I bushwhacked back from the plane wreck to the herdpath in the Fort/N. Brother col and it took twice as long as going back to the summit and following the herdpath would have taken. I was surfing blowdowns 4' off the ground at one point! It's a wee bit thick.

I had a very similar experience when I went to the wreck last October. There was a flagged, faint herd path to the wreck from the "summit ridge" herd path that made it easy to reach the wreck, but I lost it going back, decided to 'whack instead of backtrack, and rued my decision. "Thick" is grossly inadequate for what I had to push through.

I also managed to lose the herd path from No. Brother to the Fort summit in both directions. I recently completed the last of my NEHH 'whacks and for me, this was easily the most difficult, probably even if I disregarded the wreck. Great fun, though, since I avoided permanent injury!

 

[weatherman]

Funny, the more I read about the various popular bushwhacks, the more I am struck by how incredibly variable people's experiences are. So, "YMWV". Fort, described to me as a "wicked easy" bushwhack, was doable mainly because of the faint herdpath when we hiked it two years ago. Look for very faint red paint spots, but most importantly, look at your feet. The herdpath is easiest to spot from 6 inches off the ground. Of course, snow and leaves render this null and void. And "thick" is the operative word. Not evergreens, but "puckerbrush"- that tough, dense, shrubby stuff. Enjoy.

Weatherman