Whack loop Nancy - Bemis

[Dalraida]

I'm sure that this has been done, but can anyone supply any beta on whacking from Bemis to Nancy or vice-versa to make a loop. I've been up to the old tower wreck on Bemis and it's a really nice hike for an abandoned FW trail.

TomW

 

[swamp]

Several of us did this very hike during Post'r Boy's Whackfest this past fall. In the season's first snow, we hiked the old firewardens' trail to the tower site. Outside of the occasional blowdown, the trail was well-defined and easy to follow.From the tower site we whacked over to the true summit of Bemis and then shot an azimuth to Nancy. The going was relatively easy with a few spruce obstacles here and there. We encountered a picturesque little pond in the col between the two hills and then began the ascent to Nancy. A little more steep this time and a few more spruce struggles, but eventually we came upon the Nancy herd path just below the cannister.After logging in, we followed the herd path to Norcross Pond and out.
I hope this brief narrative is some help.

 

[forestgnome]

Swamp,

How's the view from the old fire tower site?

(BTW, I grew up in Wickford, RI)

 

[Dalraida]

Limited

I can answer this one since I have been up there too. On the eastern side of the collapsed tower someone has arranged the old boards to provide a nice place to sit and look east. THe area around the old wooden tower is quite grown up with only limited peeks of peaks through the trees to the east. Nothing else. Of interest, just before reaching the tower site there are about six old full concrete (cement) bags that were stacked and left. They are now just hard as concrete. Also, there are quite a number of the old telegraph poles still standing beside the trail in places. IMHO this old trail and a possible new trail over to Nancy down to Norcross would be a good candidate for "new trail" status as a nice loop. Anyone know how this might be approached as a suggestion to the USFS? Maybe this is the organizational project that some VFTT participants have been thinking about.

 

[peakbagger]

My memory from a few years back is that there is no view at the fire tower site. There was a view at a small subsidiary summit roughly at the end of the well defined fire road. We did it in late spring and I remember several blow down patches that were a challenge. The pond is defintely a nice remote one and worth swinging by.

I dont know if the old tower is an "artifact" but there was lots of nice heavy duty cable hardware of recent vintage hanging from it. It looked like they had rebuilt the tower relatively close by the time it was cut down.

 

[swamp]

"IMHO this old trail and a possible new trail over to Nancy down to Norcross would be a good candidate for "new trail" status as a nice loop. Anyone know how this might be approached as a suggestion to the USFS?"

I spoke with woman who lives near the Nancy Pond trailhead (and who has run afoul of the law in the past for cutting her own bootleg trails in the area). She wanted to reopen the Firewardens trail but was shot down by forest service officials. The reason they gave is that they suspect Bemis is the habitat of some endangered beast. I think she mentioned a lynx or a bobcat or something similar.


( Forestnome: I used to live right outside of Wickford myself)

 

[Eric Savage]

I did this trip in 1993 back when the Nancy Path was much harder to find (even from the top) but the Bemis firewarden's trail had just been re-opened (the trees were all freshly cut!) and there was even a sign for "Bemis Meadow" which presumably was the area of low vegetation about a half mile below the summit. The view was nice and had a unique perspective on the surrounding peaks. At that point, the trail stopped at a huge blowdown; on the other side we picked up the remnants of the upper part of the firewarden's trail past the concrete "pillows." From the Bemis tower (no view) over the true peak and down to the pond, the blowdown was so bad that I don't remember ever setting foot on the ground itself. We took a bearing up to Nancy through a stand of new spruce (probably mature by now ). Lost the path heading down off of Nancy so we just took off down through open woods until we hit the Nancy Pond trail about 3 miles from the road.
But this was 1993 so who knows what it all looks like now.

 

[Dalraida]

Bemis Trail

Back in 93 this was a nice mtn bike trail, but not all the way to the tower. It still would be if it were cleared again.