poison ivy
Well-known member
By luck of the draw, really, North Brother became my final peak on the New England Fours list. The day didn’t start out too well -- with thunderstorms predicted in the afternoon and Dave deciding not to hike because his ankle was still sore from Saturday’s trip up Hamlin. I really wanted to do the Brothers-Fort-Coe loop, but wasn’t up for bushwhacking by myself and had concerns about the weather -- so I decided to just head up North Brother and back via the Marston Trail and save the loop for another trip next year.
Dave dropped me off at the Marston Trail at 7:15 a.m. and wished me well for my hike. I zipped off into the woods and was surprised how quickly the trail started uphill fairly steeply. And then I nearly ended my hike after less than a mile after tripping and landing my knee square on a rock. It was a roll around on the ground crying kind of pain… and I thought there’s no way I’m finishing this hike. But 10 minutes later, my knee stopped throbbing so much, and I headed on up the trail.
Despite the issues with my knee, I reached the junction with the Mt. Coe Trail pretty quickly and had to decide once and for all whether to hike the loop or not. Actually, my fall kind of helped seal the issue so I took a left and headed toward North Brother. The trail kind of abated a bit and I cruised along, admiring the yellow leaves in the birch groves. The really easy grades ended in a small bog, which was just surrounded by moose prints. I looked in vain for a moose in the water, but even without the moose, the bog had nice views so it was good little rest stop.
Once I got around the bog, the trail really started climbing uphill. I like scrambling and didn’t mind pulling myself up big gaps in the trail using whatever rocks or roots are handy. I was a little concerned, however, when I got my first views and realized I was still a long way beneath the summit of South Brother -- and North Brother, which I couldn’t see is even higher.
I kept a slow and steady pace, though and soon found myself atop the ridge with a lovely little walk through a tunnel of trees. The ground was mostly flat and I was surprised at how little I had ascended when I reached the junction with the north end of the Mt. Coe Trail. However, with a quick peak around the corner, I could see how much more I needed to climb in order to reach the top of North Brother. It was only .8 of a mile, but I knew that the way had to be very steep. It was actually really fun -- lots of big boulders to pull myself over as the wind blasted hard enough to make me stumble a little. However, I soon could make out the summit sign and only had a short walk up to the finish.
The views were terrific, even though the sun was in and out of the clouds, and I found a small pocket of boulders that protected me from the wind. I had the summit to myself for about 15 minutes and celebrated reaching my 67th peak on the NE67 list, mostly by gazing over at Katahdin, where my hiking days got their start. It was fun to reminisce but the wind was chilly, so I got ready to head back down the trail… not without glancing over to Fort once or twice. It looked so tantalizingly close, but my bushwhacking skills are definitely not good enough for me to be wandering off alone on trailless peaks, so I passed once again.
I was about half-way down the scrambles and back into the trees when I passed the first other hikers out for the day. I quickly crossed paths with about a half-dozen others enjoying the day before hitting the junction with the Mt. Coe loop again. As I bypassed the loop, the sun broke out of the clouds and the skies started to turn blue… though later the gray clouds would start moving in.
I was glad I had already decided to skip the loop because my knee was really bothering me on the downhills. Fortunately, there was plenty of flat, sandy areas interspersed with the steep stuff, so I was able to take it slow for most of the way down. I reached the trailhead at 12:30 p.m., where Dave was napping while waiting for my return.
I was surprised about how much I enjoyed North Brother -- scrambling and ridges are both way up on the favorites list -- so this peak had a lot to offer. It was really a great place to end my adventures on the New England Fours list.
Pictures can be found here.
-Ivy
Dave dropped me off at the Marston Trail at 7:15 a.m. and wished me well for my hike. I zipped off into the woods and was surprised how quickly the trail started uphill fairly steeply. And then I nearly ended my hike after less than a mile after tripping and landing my knee square on a rock. It was a roll around on the ground crying kind of pain… and I thought there’s no way I’m finishing this hike. But 10 minutes later, my knee stopped throbbing so much, and I headed on up the trail.
Despite the issues with my knee, I reached the junction with the Mt. Coe Trail pretty quickly and had to decide once and for all whether to hike the loop or not. Actually, my fall kind of helped seal the issue so I took a left and headed toward North Brother. The trail kind of abated a bit and I cruised along, admiring the yellow leaves in the birch groves. The really easy grades ended in a small bog, which was just surrounded by moose prints. I looked in vain for a moose in the water, but even without the moose, the bog had nice views so it was good little rest stop.
Once I got around the bog, the trail really started climbing uphill. I like scrambling and didn’t mind pulling myself up big gaps in the trail using whatever rocks or roots are handy. I was a little concerned, however, when I got my first views and realized I was still a long way beneath the summit of South Brother -- and North Brother, which I couldn’t see is even higher.
I kept a slow and steady pace, though and soon found myself atop the ridge with a lovely little walk through a tunnel of trees. The ground was mostly flat and I was surprised at how little I had ascended when I reached the junction with the north end of the Mt. Coe Trail. However, with a quick peak around the corner, I could see how much more I needed to climb in order to reach the top of North Brother. It was only .8 of a mile, but I knew that the way had to be very steep. It was actually really fun -- lots of big boulders to pull myself over as the wind blasted hard enough to make me stumble a little. However, I soon could make out the summit sign and only had a short walk up to the finish.
The views were terrific, even though the sun was in and out of the clouds, and I found a small pocket of boulders that protected me from the wind. I had the summit to myself for about 15 minutes and celebrated reaching my 67th peak on the NE67 list, mostly by gazing over at Katahdin, where my hiking days got their start. It was fun to reminisce but the wind was chilly, so I got ready to head back down the trail… not without glancing over to Fort once or twice. It looked so tantalizingly close, but my bushwhacking skills are definitely not good enough for me to be wandering off alone on trailless peaks, so I passed once again.
I was about half-way down the scrambles and back into the trees when I passed the first other hikers out for the day. I quickly crossed paths with about a half-dozen others enjoying the day before hitting the junction with the Mt. Coe loop again. As I bypassed the loop, the sun broke out of the clouds and the skies started to turn blue… though later the gray clouds would start moving in.
I was glad I had already decided to skip the loop because my knee was really bothering me on the downhills. Fortunately, there was plenty of flat, sandy areas interspersed with the steep stuff, so I was able to take it slow for most of the way down. I reached the trailhead at 12:30 p.m., where Dave was napping while waiting for my return.
I was surprised about how much I enjoyed North Brother -- scrambling and ridges are both way up on the favorites list -- so this peak had a lot to offer. It was really a great place to end my adventures on the New England Fours list.
Pictures can be found here.
-Ivy
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