Today's reasonably low-key hike was back to one of out favorite spots in the Wilcox Lake Wild Forest; Baldwin Springs. The cloudy/misty weather today precluded a mountain climbing adventure; mother nature always gets a vote. However, since last September, Tredhed and I wanted to explore the North bend area after our not-so-flawless trip down the Bartman Trail (http://ift.tt/ZpUpr3). Today was a perfect day to check out the area some more, visit North Bend and see where the mysterious hunter's trail on Harrington Mt. led.
The eight mile trek down West Stony Creek Rd. took us a little under thirty minutes. There were plenty of rocks, ruts and one flooded area near Madison Cr. that kept us honest. Definitely a high clearance vehicle type of road. Arriving at the snowmobile bridge over the East Stony Creek, we quickly set out on the short walk to the trail hub at Baldwin Springs (photo 1).
We tried to sign in at the trail register, as all good hikers should, but the log book was torn in half and all the pages, save one, were missing. Slightly confused as to who would do that, we headed North on the old Oregon Trail. The first thing we noticed, besides the fresh truck tire ruts in the mud, were an even fresher set of moose tracks walking right down the middle of the trail. We never saw the majestic moose, but it was nice to know they're around.
While the moose tracks continued on the old road, there was evidence that the truck turned around after the first half-mile. The wet and rocky trail soon came a neat old beaver swamp and the road climbed away, well graded, through some beautiful big pines which provided a cushion of soft needles underfoot. (photo 2). While the trail wasn't marked very well, but it was easy to follow. In less than an hour, we came to the clearing and trail junction just south of Stewart Creek. One hundred yards more brought us to the large bridge at North Bend (photo 3).
Now it was time to get creative. As we discovered last year, a red disked hunter's trail headed from the Bartman Trail connector up the slopes of Harrington Mt. At the time, we weren't ready to explore this area and pressed on along Stewart Creek. As we approached the Oregon Trail, we cut the red disked hunter's trail again, Today was the day to close the loop on the Harrington Mt. trail.
We quickly found the red disked trail just a little north of the bridge over Stewart Creek. We followed the light foot tread up the slopes of Harrington Mt. pasty some huge erratics and were surprised to find several trail junctions on the hill. Whoever laid out and maintained these trails was very serious about their business. Soon enough, we headed down the main trail to Stewart Creek (photo 4). A short up hill brought us to the Bartman Trail connector and closure on the mystery from last year.
The mile back to North Bend went by quickly as the connector trail was very obvious, although sparsely marked. Taking a lunch break at the Stewart Creek bridge, Tredhed and I congratulated ourselves for closing the book on the Mystery of the Harrington Mt. Hunter's Path. The misty/humid air did little to dampen our spirits or the beauty of the area (photo 5). Some may not think this is the most glamorous part of the Adirondacks; maybe even a little boring. However, that was not the case today as both of us thanked out lucky stars to be out in the woods and enjoying the sights and smells of our hapy place.
The eight mile trek down West Stony Creek Rd. took us a little under thirty minutes. There were plenty of rocks, ruts and one flooded area near Madison Cr. that kept us honest. Definitely a high clearance vehicle type of road. Arriving at the snowmobile bridge over the East Stony Creek, we quickly set out on the short walk to the trail hub at Baldwin Springs (photo 1).
We tried to sign in at the trail register, as all good hikers should, but the log book was torn in half and all the pages, save one, were missing. Slightly confused as to who would do that, we headed North on the old Oregon Trail. The first thing we noticed, besides the fresh truck tire ruts in the mud, were an even fresher set of moose tracks walking right down the middle of the trail. We never saw the majestic moose, but it was nice to know they're around.
While the moose tracks continued on the old road, there was evidence that the truck turned around after the first half-mile. The wet and rocky trail soon came a neat old beaver swamp and the road climbed away, well graded, through some beautiful big pines which provided a cushion of soft needles underfoot. (photo 2). While the trail wasn't marked very well, but it was easy to follow. In less than an hour, we came to the clearing and trail junction just south of Stewart Creek. One hundred yards more brought us to the large bridge at North Bend (photo 3).
Now it was time to get creative. As we discovered last year, a red disked hunter's trail headed from the Bartman Trail connector up the slopes of Harrington Mt. At the time, we weren't ready to explore this area and pressed on along Stewart Creek. As we approached the Oregon Trail, we cut the red disked hunter's trail again, Today was the day to close the loop on the Harrington Mt. trail.
We quickly found the red disked trail just a little north of the bridge over Stewart Creek. We followed the light foot tread up the slopes of Harrington Mt. pasty some huge erratics and were surprised to find several trail junctions on the hill. Whoever laid out and maintained these trails was very serious about their business. Soon enough, we headed down the main trail to Stewart Creek (photo 4). A short up hill brought us to the Bartman Trail connector and closure on the mystery from last year.
The mile back to North Bend went by quickly as the connector trail was very obvious, although sparsely marked. Taking a lunch break at the Stewart Creek bridge, Tredhed and I congratulated ourselves for closing the book on the Mystery of the Harrington Mt. Hunter's Path. The misty/humid air did little to dampen our spirits or the beauty of the area (photo 5). Some may not think this is the most glamorous part of the Adirondacks; maybe even a little boring. However, that was not the case today as both of us thanked out lucky stars to be out in the woods and enjoying the sights and smells of our hapy place.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire