NeoAkela
Active member
Date of Hike: 7/25/2012
Trail Conditions: Route taken: Wild River Trail-Moriah Brook Trail-Carter/Moriah Trail-Kenduskeag Trail-Shelburne Trail-Highwater Trail.
Moriah Brook Trail and Shelburne Trail are both mostly within the Wild River Wilderness, which means that hikers can expect primitive conditions and trails hard to follow. That being said....
Wild River Trail in good shape until junction with suspension bridge - huge washouts here.
Moriah Brook Trail beautiful and wild, but with numerous blowdowns, muddy patches, encroaching hobblebush and other flora. Parts of trail are being taken over by the underbrush and would be nearly impossible to follow by headlamp; by day pushing through reveals the trail ahead. Blowdowns are numerous, but all can be ducked under, crawled over, or walked around.
Carter-Morah trail in good shape.
Kenduskeag trail in sporadic condition - parts are great, parts are way overgrown and in need of serious brushing. Lots of mud, some blowdowns, all easily navigated.
Shelburne Trail goes back into wilderness area and is in similar condition to Moriah Brook - at times overgrown and hard to follow, undergrowth taking over the trail. Numerous blowdowns and mud. All easily navigated by experienced hikers, but this is another trail I would not want to do by headlamp - there would be no sign of the trail in spots if followed in low or no daylight. Big washout at lower Wilderness boundary - trail goes across the gully and up the embankment, but this is not readily apparent as there are a few herd paths in different directions. Fortunately, lower half of trail follows old road so is easier to follow than upper trail.
Highwater Trail and Shelburne Trail at lower intersection: Someone needs to put a sign here! Both trails vanish into a section of serious washouts. Shelburne Trail descending from the intersection ends at a washed-out embankment of a rocky-strewn mess. Followed a trail of yellow ribbons for a while before they stopped. Rocks and debris were everywhere, so it was impossible to tell where the trail used to be. Went back to take Highwater trail to junction, only to find it vanishes at a debris-strewn crossing of Bull Brook. Walking up and down the brook bed revealed nothing. Finally bushwhacked along the side of Wild River until I picked up Highwater again (yellow blazes). Highwater follows the side of Wild River closely, so every few hundred yards or so it vanishes into thin air off the edge of the river bank. Bushwhacking through the woods allowed me to pick it up again, only to lose it again a bit later. Continued on until I found an easy crossing of the river adjacent to the campground and took it, climbing the embankment back to the car.
Special Equipment Required: Wednesday was a perfect, sunny, low humidity day on the summit ledges of the Moriahs. No special equipment needed - just a good set of eyes to watch for the trail!
Comments: Optional - The "Grand Loop" of the Moriah summits from Wild River is one of my ultimate favorite loop hikes, but it has been a few years since I did it last. The wildness and beauty of Moriah Brook is a destination in itself. Though Wilderness rules state that trails will be somewhat "wild", I was a bit concerned about how wild they had become. Not too long until parts of these trails may become very difficult to follow. Hopefully, some mild brushing will be done sometime over the next year, as well as some cleanup of blowdowns - I stopped counting after 30 or so. The demise of the northern Highwater trail (and lower Shelburne) was also saddening, especially since I did not see it on any of the trail closing lists. With a map and compass and/or GPS, it is easy enough to hit the river and cross it to the road, but curiosity made me attempt to follow the trail as closely as I could. I could imagine someone partially inexperienced descending this route, perhaps at the end of the day with limited light, and having great difficulty where the trail just vanishes into a pile of blowdowns and rocks. Someone needs to flag a route or otherwise mark or put signage up about this section. The Wild River and Bull Brook made an absolutely amazing wasteland out of this area. The piles of trees stacked on top of each other are an awesome contrast to the little trickle of water between the rocks amongst them - what a scene this must have been last year.
In closing, despite all the negatives, I cannot recommend this loop enough for a wild, beautiful route to Moriah. A tad over 15 miles, you have beautiful birch woods, carved gorges, and miles of open ledgy ridge walking with unbeatable views. The Moriah Brook trail rises gradually for 5 miles and almost never gets steep. Most of the trail you will have to yourself in quiet seclusion, and Moriah Brook begs to be explored as it passes over pools, ledges, and cascades for miles. Absolutely recommended.
Trail Conditions: Route taken: Wild River Trail-Moriah Brook Trail-Carter/Moriah Trail-Kenduskeag Trail-Shelburne Trail-Highwater Trail.
Moriah Brook Trail and Shelburne Trail are both mostly within the Wild River Wilderness, which means that hikers can expect primitive conditions and trails hard to follow. That being said....
Wild River Trail in good shape until junction with suspension bridge - huge washouts here.
Moriah Brook Trail beautiful and wild, but with numerous blowdowns, muddy patches, encroaching hobblebush and other flora. Parts of trail are being taken over by the underbrush and would be nearly impossible to follow by headlamp; by day pushing through reveals the trail ahead. Blowdowns are numerous, but all can be ducked under, crawled over, or walked around.
Carter-Morah trail in good shape.
Kenduskeag trail in sporadic condition - parts are great, parts are way overgrown and in need of serious brushing. Lots of mud, some blowdowns, all easily navigated.
Shelburne Trail goes back into wilderness area and is in similar condition to Moriah Brook - at times overgrown and hard to follow, undergrowth taking over the trail. Numerous blowdowns and mud. All easily navigated by experienced hikers, but this is another trail I would not want to do by headlamp - there would be no sign of the trail in spots if followed in low or no daylight. Big washout at lower Wilderness boundary - trail goes across the gully and up the embankment, but this is not readily apparent as there are a few herd paths in different directions. Fortunately, lower half of trail follows old road so is easier to follow than upper trail.
Highwater Trail and Shelburne Trail at lower intersection: Someone needs to put a sign here! Both trails vanish into a section of serious washouts. Shelburne Trail descending from the intersection ends at a washed-out embankment of a rocky-strewn mess. Followed a trail of yellow ribbons for a while before they stopped. Rocks and debris were everywhere, so it was impossible to tell where the trail used to be. Went back to take Highwater trail to junction, only to find it vanishes at a debris-strewn crossing of Bull Brook. Walking up and down the brook bed revealed nothing. Finally bushwhacked along the side of Wild River until I picked up Highwater again (yellow blazes). Highwater follows the side of Wild River closely, so every few hundred yards or so it vanishes into thin air off the edge of the river bank. Bushwhacking through the woods allowed me to pick it up again, only to lose it again a bit later. Continued on until I found an easy crossing of the river adjacent to the campground and took it, climbing the embankment back to the car.
Special Equipment Required: Wednesday was a perfect, sunny, low humidity day on the summit ledges of the Moriahs. No special equipment needed - just a good set of eyes to watch for the trail!
Comments: Optional - The "Grand Loop" of the Moriah summits from Wild River is one of my ultimate favorite loop hikes, but it has been a few years since I did it last. The wildness and beauty of Moriah Brook is a destination in itself. Though Wilderness rules state that trails will be somewhat "wild", I was a bit concerned about how wild they had become. Not too long until parts of these trails may become very difficult to follow. Hopefully, some mild brushing will be done sometime over the next year, as well as some cleanup of blowdowns - I stopped counting after 30 or so. The demise of the northern Highwater trail (and lower Shelburne) was also saddening, especially since I did not see it on any of the trail closing lists. With a map and compass and/or GPS, it is easy enough to hit the river and cross it to the road, but curiosity made me attempt to follow the trail as closely as I could. I could imagine someone partially inexperienced descending this route, perhaps at the end of the day with limited light, and having great difficulty where the trail just vanishes into a pile of blowdowns and rocks. Someone needs to flag a route or otherwise mark or put signage up about this section. The Wild River and Bull Brook made an absolutely amazing wasteland out of this area. The piles of trees stacked on top of each other are an awesome contrast to the little trickle of water between the rocks amongst them - what a scene this must have been last year.
In closing, despite all the negatives, I cannot recommend this loop enough for a wild, beautiful route to Moriah. A tad over 15 miles, you have beautiful birch woods, carved gorges, and miles of open ledgy ridge walking with unbeatable views. The Moriah Brook trail rises gradually for 5 miles and almost never gets steep. Most of the trail you will have to yourself in quiet seclusion, and Moriah Brook begs to be explored as it passes over pools, ledges, and cascades for miles. Absolutely recommended.
