BillDC
New member
Number five mountain is southwest of Jackman and can be accessed via RT 201. We took the Spencer road west from RT 201 for about 16.5 mi. The intersection of Spencer road with 201 is well marked with a street sign, various realty signs and a sign for Bulldog Camps. At about 16.5 mi, there is a logging road on the right with a sign on an old birch tree that reads "NO 5 MTN". Take this road (most cars should have no problem) for about .4 mi to an open area which looks like an old logging yard. We parked here. The current trail begins at the back of the clearing as an old jeep road that is currently grassy and muddy in spots. The trail eventually becomes more rocky and wet. It’s obvious that the trail is a river during wet times based on the erosion, piles of leaves, washouts and other debris on the trail. The trail is also used by snowmobiles and ATVs as their tracks are all over this trail.
In 2008, this trail had literally hundreds of blowdowns on it most of the way up. There may have been some sort of weather event that contributed to this condition. In 2009, it was reported that the Nature Conservancy cleaned up the trail. From our trip today, we can see that the trail is in significantly better shape. The trail is generally clear of blocking blowdowns, but in many areas the cut brush was left on the trail. In most cases, you can walk over it and is only a minor nuisance. In a few cases a re-route was necessary due to larger blowdowns. The trail is also pretty muddy in spots. At about 1.1, pass the site of an old camp on the left which is at times called the old watchman's camp (more on that later). The trail continues in this condition and is still the general width of a jeep road until you reach the end in about 1.9 mi. Here is an open, boggy area with some trash and an old 55 gallon drum. The narrower trail continues to the left and the opening is flagged.
The trail becomes a bit more steep and still many blowdowns have been cleared through here, though lots of cut limbs are still in the trail. There are a few re-routes for larger blowdowns along the way. Toward the top, the trail gets much tighter through spruce and in some cases the trail cannot be seen easily. In this general area, phone line appears on the current trail as it comes in from the old obscured watchman's trail that came in from the west. Just before you pop out onto ledge, there is a small clearing on the left which was the site of the old watchman's lightning shack. Some old artifacts can still be found there. Once you pop out above tree line, you bank left for the final approach to the summit.
At the summit is a 47 foot fire tower built in 1933. The tower was retired at the end of the 1968 fire season and has been abandoned since. This is an all-steel tower and still has a cab but the roof and portions of walls and floor have blown off. The stair treads and general steelwork are still in ok shape and allow a climb to even better views. The summit is fairly open and provides fantastic views of the area. Being so hot and humid today, we had limited views, but the hike was well worth the effort anyways.
This trail is often referred to as the Watchman's trail, and this is where the mystery begins. The last known watchman's trail began 2 miles to the west of the current NO 5 road, just off the Spencer road. Just over the bridge at Baker Stream, the trail began on the right as an old jeep road and followed the stream for much of the way to the watchman's camp, which sat in the saddle between #5 and #6. Phone line was present along the trail much of the way. The old trail connects with the current trail near the top and continues to the summit. The presence of the old camp site on the current trail is a mystery as it looks much like watchman's camp ruins, but it doesn't fit the timeline.
If anyone has any further info to help solve the mystery as to what the camp site may have been and/or when the current NO 5 road system was cut, it would be appreciated!
Some photos of the trip are here -
http://picasaweb.google.com/BillDC3/Number5MountainME792010?feat=directlink
Bill
In 2008, this trail had literally hundreds of blowdowns on it most of the way up. There may have been some sort of weather event that contributed to this condition. In 2009, it was reported that the Nature Conservancy cleaned up the trail. From our trip today, we can see that the trail is in significantly better shape. The trail is generally clear of blocking blowdowns, but in many areas the cut brush was left on the trail. In most cases, you can walk over it and is only a minor nuisance. In a few cases a re-route was necessary due to larger blowdowns. The trail is also pretty muddy in spots. At about 1.1, pass the site of an old camp on the left which is at times called the old watchman's camp (more on that later). The trail continues in this condition and is still the general width of a jeep road until you reach the end in about 1.9 mi. Here is an open, boggy area with some trash and an old 55 gallon drum. The narrower trail continues to the left and the opening is flagged.
The trail becomes a bit more steep and still many blowdowns have been cleared through here, though lots of cut limbs are still in the trail. There are a few re-routes for larger blowdowns along the way. Toward the top, the trail gets much tighter through spruce and in some cases the trail cannot be seen easily. In this general area, phone line appears on the current trail as it comes in from the old obscured watchman's trail that came in from the west. Just before you pop out onto ledge, there is a small clearing on the left which was the site of the old watchman's lightning shack. Some old artifacts can still be found there. Once you pop out above tree line, you bank left for the final approach to the summit.
At the summit is a 47 foot fire tower built in 1933. The tower was retired at the end of the 1968 fire season and has been abandoned since. This is an all-steel tower and still has a cab but the roof and portions of walls and floor have blown off. The stair treads and general steelwork are still in ok shape and allow a climb to even better views. The summit is fairly open and provides fantastic views of the area. Being so hot and humid today, we had limited views, but the hike was well worth the effort anyways.
This trail is often referred to as the Watchman's trail, and this is where the mystery begins. The last known watchman's trail began 2 miles to the west of the current NO 5 road, just off the Spencer road. Just over the bridge at Baker Stream, the trail began on the right as an old jeep road and followed the stream for much of the way to the watchman's camp, which sat in the saddle between #5 and #6. Phone line was present along the trail much of the way. The old trail connects with the current trail near the top and continues to the summit. The presence of the old camp site on the current trail is a mystery as it looks much like watchman's camp ruins, but it doesn't fit the timeline.
If anyone has any further info to help solve the mystery as to what the camp site may have been and/or when the current NO 5 road system was cut, it would be appreciated!
Some photos of the trip are here -
http://picasaweb.google.com/BillDC3/Number5MountainME792010?feat=directlink
Bill
