RoySwkr
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- Sep 4, 2003
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I am used to hiking alone and hence doing all the planning, driving, and navigating by myself so by comparison this weekend was like a packaged tour. Spencer made the reservations, arranged to leave my car at the gate of Baxter Park, met me at the gate and drove me around the park, led most of the hiking, and even filtered water for me. All I had to do was drive over 7 hours to the park gate. We spent Friday night at one of the new leantos at Nesowadnehunk Campground, where I ate supper while Spencer chatted up the ranger and other campers.
Before 7 on Saturday we were hiking up the old trail to Little Wassataquoik Lake which starts near Nesowadnehunk Lake. I had insisted on this route instead of the longer new trail to have more time for the Pogys bushwhack. The route is a former logging road which now is becoming overgrown with many blowdowns but much of it was still fast walking. There was one set of recent human footprints heading out. Nearing Trout Brook it became wetter and more overgrown. The bridge is gone but Spencer found a fallen tree a short way upstream which made an easy crossing. After walking on mossy puncheon awhile we finally lost the trail and bushwhacked a short distance to the new trail. It was maybe 2.5 hours to here and another hour to Little Wassataquoik Leanto where we left our camping gear.
Spencer was able to find a faint path which we followed up to the S ridge of South Pogy in open hardwoods. He was able to identify former log landings by the vegetation and at one we found some old crosscut saws and other tools. We then headed up to the summit passing some talus areas and some scrub. No sign of the former fire tower. There was both scrub and birch in the col and some minor cliffs going up North Pogy. The register showed no visits since being placed in 2001. Headed SW off the peak and even found some grassy open areas on ridge, cross brook and find path we came up. About 5.5 hours for the loop so the peaks could be done in a long day from the road. While I relaxed and ate supper, Spencer visited a minor bump nearby that turned out to have a new spur trail to a viewpoint on top.
Sunday morning Spencer took off for Lord Mountain while I made the loop around Little Wassataquoik Lake using the overgrown abandoned trail on the E and the new trail on the W, with a side trip to the viewpoint peak. We had decided to hike out the new trail for trail-bagging purposes so I started off that way, and Spencer caught up in about an hour having had easy going to Lord. The trail does some uninspired wandering over the divide and I understood the negative reports I'd heard. There is a canoe at Center Pond but the life jackets are locked up. Spencer went ahead from there to allow time to fetch the car while I relaxed with several rests - once a caterpillar climbed on me apparently feeling I'd been there long enough I must be a tree. Much of the next section of trail was a corridor cut through thick spruce with no views and bakingly hot. Instead of following its former easy route on the N side of Little Nesowadnehunk Stream to the N end of the campground, the trail now crosses and goes over 3 ridges to come out at the S end. Spencer had been waiting a long time having decided to jog for the car then being picked up right away.
He dropped me at my car and to catch up with him on peaks I next climbed Black Cat Mountain. I found a woods road blocked by boulders that I hiked all the way to the summit, where I found a small radio building but not the survey marker or the 50-foot steel firetower which was there in 1927.
http://www.geocities.com/rainforest/vines/5923/blackcat.jpg
I needed PB with his metal detector. I followed the power line down and saw some suspicious buildings which I verified from the Lost Ski Areas website were used in the 50s and 60s.
Monday morning I was able to drive my Ford Escort to a log landing just over a mile E of the summit of East Turner Mtn. Nobody has ever said that climbing this peak was worthwhile but of course its reputation was why I was there. It was so humid that I was sweating even before I started hiking. I started up the best skid road but it swung L and finally I just bushwhacked uphill. Lower down there were hardwoods growing among talus boulders but it turned into softwoods higher up. I knew I had plenty of time but wanted to avoid heatstroke so rested every 10 minutes until I cooled down. Every time I thought about the things I could do if I was home already I decided to rest another couple minutes. It finally took about 3 hours to get to the summit of which maybe half was resting. Then I went down to the W until I could see South Turner and be sure I was on the right bump, no I had no desire to go over there.
Going up I had just followed the easiest route without paying attention to direction and I had come out on the SE ridge and followed it R. Going down was harder as I wanted to hit the log landing so I followed a compass bearing which seemed to stay in spruce longer. The skid road I came out on was very overgrown and full of piles of old branches and worse walking than the woods, then I took a lateral R back to my car for about 2 hours down. This hike was not thick by Northeast standards as I got plenty of spruce needles in my hair but none in my belly button. And just over 8 hours later I was home again.
My photos are at the beginning of a roll so don't expect anything soon, and even with ASA 400 may not come out. Spencer sure made the Pogys easy and while he is apparently booked for the rest of the Baxter season you can go to New Zealand with him in February.
Before 7 on Saturday we were hiking up the old trail to Little Wassataquoik Lake which starts near Nesowadnehunk Lake. I had insisted on this route instead of the longer new trail to have more time for the Pogys bushwhack. The route is a former logging road which now is becoming overgrown with many blowdowns but much of it was still fast walking. There was one set of recent human footprints heading out. Nearing Trout Brook it became wetter and more overgrown. The bridge is gone but Spencer found a fallen tree a short way upstream which made an easy crossing. After walking on mossy puncheon awhile we finally lost the trail and bushwhacked a short distance to the new trail. It was maybe 2.5 hours to here and another hour to Little Wassataquoik Leanto where we left our camping gear.
Spencer was able to find a faint path which we followed up to the S ridge of South Pogy in open hardwoods. He was able to identify former log landings by the vegetation and at one we found some old crosscut saws and other tools. We then headed up to the summit passing some talus areas and some scrub. No sign of the former fire tower. There was both scrub and birch in the col and some minor cliffs going up North Pogy. The register showed no visits since being placed in 2001. Headed SW off the peak and even found some grassy open areas on ridge, cross brook and find path we came up. About 5.5 hours for the loop so the peaks could be done in a long day from the road. While I relaxed and ate supper, Spencer visited a minor bump nearby that turned out to have a new spur trail to a viewpoint on top.
Sunday morning Spencer took off for Lord Mountain while I made the loop around Little Wassataquoik Lake using the overgrown abandoned trail on the E and the new trail on the W, with a side trip to the viewpoint peak. We had decided to hike out the new trail for trail-bagging purposes so I started off that way, and Spencer caught up in about an hour having had easy going to Lord. The trail does some uninspired wandering over the divide and I understood the negative reports I'd heard. There is a canoe at Center Pond but the life jackets are locked up. Spencer went ahead from there to allow time to fetch the car while I relaxed with several rests - once a caterpillar climbed on me apparently feeling I'd been there long enough I must be a tree. Much of the next section of trail was a corridor cut through thick spruce with no views and bakingly hot. Instead of following its former easy route on the N side of Little Nesowadnehunk Stream to the N end of the campground, the trail now crosses and goes over 3 ridges to come out at the S end. Spencer had been waiting a long time having decided to jog for the car then being picked up right away.
He dropped me at my car and to catch up with him on peaks I next climbed Black Cat Mountain. I found a woods road blocked by boulders that I hiked all the way to the summit, where I found a small radio building but not the survey marker or the 50-foot steel firetower which was there in 1927.
http://www.geocities.com/rainforest/vines/5923/blackcat.jpg
I needed PB with his metal detector. I followed the power line down and saw some suspicious buildings which I verified from the Lost Ski Areas website were used in the 50s and 60s.
Monday morning I was able to drive my Ford Escort to a log landing just over a mile E of the summit of East Turner Mtn. Nobody has ever said that climbing this peak was worthwhile but of course its reputation was why I was there. It was so humid that I was sweating even before I started hiking. I started up the best skid road but it swung L and finally I just bushwhacked uphill. Lower down there were hardwoods growing among talus boulders but it turned into softwoods higher up. I knew I had plenty of time but wanted to avoid heatstroke so rested every 10 minutes until I cooled down. Every time I thought about the things I could do if I was home already I decided to rest another couple minutes. It finally took about 3 hours to get to the summit of which maybe half was resting. Then I went down to the W until I could see South Turner and be sure I was on the right bump, no I had no desire to go over there.
Going up I had just followed the easiest route without paying attention to direction and I had come out on the SE ridge and followed it R. Going down was harder as I wanted to hit the log landing so I followed a compass bearing which seemed to stay in spruce longer. The skid road I came out on was very overgrown and full of piles of old branches and worse walking than the woods, then I took a lateral R back to my car for about 2 hours down. This hike was not thick by Northeast standards as I got plenty of spruce needles in my hair but none in my belly button. And just over 8 hours later I was home again.
My photos are at the beginning of a roll so don't expect anything soon, and even with ASA 400 may not come out. Spencer sure made the Pogys easy and while he is apparently booked for the rest of the Baxter season you can go to New Zealand with him in February.
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