bintrepidhiker
New member
Finally got the chance to do the trip I wanted to do last fall that I was forced to turn around on. Trying to do stream crossings in high water and 30 degree temps didn't match too well back then. This day however with low water and temps in the 50's to start, warming to the 70's eventually, made me more at ease in case I did misstep into the water. Nearly a clear blue day on top of that and calm winds, who could pass this up?
Well I got started around 6 AM and the trail of choice was the Sabbaday Brook Trail. Starts off really falt and gradual until the first of many stream crossings. Even with low water, the rocks were slippery and hard to leap onto without fear of slipping. I managed to make it to the 3rd (and last major corssing i believe) before i had a slip and submerged the feet. Wasn't bad though as i felt dry shortly thereafter. I continued on, passing the Sandwich Wilderness sign and enjoying the day. The real climbing didn't happen until 2-3 miles in where it just shot upward. Steep by a lot of people's standards but after walking that long already, i was plenty warmed up and ready for the challenge. It passed quickly and found myself in the saddle between Middle and South peak. I decided to head to Middle and South peak first, thinking there would be a better view on North Peak for lunch. Even though South peak doesn't count in the 4k list, i did it for completeness sake.
After getting to the wooded South peak with a summit shot i climbed back down and up to middle peak. Going up and down was a little on the steep side but managable as its not a long climb and there is great footing and handholds. On Middle peak I took a short breather and shot some pictures since there were some views here looking towards Tecumseh to the west, then headed off to North peak. There wasn't much of a climb in this peak really comapred to the first 2. It went up gradually then had a very brief steep section before hitting the top. I was dissappointed to find there wasn't much of a view here at all. My first visitor of the day, (named Robert from cambridge) arrived via Pine Bend and we chatted for a short time. He mentioned the view from the top of the North Slide was worth checking out if I had the time. He left and continued on to Middle Peak and since it was just after 10, I hopped down to the top of the slide to check it out. Not a bad view, certainly better than staring at trees from the summit. I unpacked my lunch and stared at great views of the Oseolas and Hancocks instead. The slide climb has to be an interesting endeavor. One day I have to try that.
After eating quickly and swatting away a fair abount of black flies I went back up to the summit and climbed back down to the saddle point and rejoined up with the Sabbaday Brook Trail for the trip home. I had to excercise care going down this trail as there is a fair amount of smooth bare rock to contend with. Once that was out of the way, the rest of the trip was literally a walk in the woods. I saw a few couples heading up and exchanged greetings with each. Once I was back at the stream crossings I decided to try bushwacking along the shoreline to avoid them entirely. I'm not one to stray off the trail but since I knew eventually I'd find it again on this side of the stream I wasn't worried and eventually I did with not too much of a hassle. Now down to the last .3 miles there were quite a lot of people checking out the falls, most of which were bikers. Not much of a surprise there with the last weekend of Bike Week taking place.
In the end I covered 13.1 miles in 6.5 hours (including breaks) and got #32 and #33 of the 4k's checked off. Good times!
Well I got started around 6 AM and the trail of choice was the Sabbaday Brook Trail. Starts off really falt and gradual until the first of many stream crossings. Even with low water, the rocks were slippery and hard to leap onto without fear of slipping. I managed to make it to the 3rd (and last major corssing i believe) before i had a slip and submerged the feet. Wasn't bad though as i felt dry shortly thereafter. I continued on, passing the Sandwich Wilderness sign and enjoying the day. The real climbing didn't happen until 2-3 miles in where it just shot upward. Steep by a lot of people's standards but after walking that long already, i was plenty warmed up and ready for the challenge. It passed quickly and found myself in the saddle between Middle and South peak. I decided to head to Middle and South peak first, thinking there would be a better view on North Peak for lunch. Even though South peak doesn't count in the 4k list, i did it for completeness sake.
After getting to the wooded South peak with a summit shot i climbed back down and up to middle peak. Going up and down was a little on the steep side but managable as its not a long climb and there is great footing and handholds. On Middle peak I took a short breather and shot some pictures since there were some views here looking towards Tecumseh to the west, then headed off to North peak. There wasn't much of a climb in this peak really comapred to the first 2. It went up gradually then had a very brief steep section before hitting the top. I was dissappointed to find there wasn't much of a view here at all. My first visitor of the day, (named Robert from cambridge) arrived via Pine Bend and we chatted for a short time. He mentioned the view from the top of the North Slide was worth checking out if I had the time. He left and continued on to Middle Peak and since it was just after 10, I hopped down to the top of the slide to check it out. Not a bad view, certainly better than staring at trees from the summit. I unpacked my lunch and stared at great views of the Oseolas and Hancocks instead. The slide climb has to be an interesting endeavor. One day I have to try that.After eating quickly and swatting away a fair abount of black flies I went back up to the summit and climbed back down to the saddle point and rejoined up with the Sabbaday Brook Trail for the trip home. I had to excercise care going down this trail as there is a fair amount of smooth bare rock to contend with. Once that was out of the way, the rest of the trip was literally a walk in the woods. I saw a few couples heading up and exchanged greetings with each. Once I was back at the stream crossings I decided to try bushwacking along the shoreline to avoid them entirely. I'm not one to stray off the trail but since I knew eventually I'd find it again on this side of the stream I wasn't worried and eventually I did with not too much of a hassle. Now down to the last .3 miles there were quite a lot of people checking out the falls, most of which were bikers. Not much of a surprise there with the last weekend of Bike Week taking place.
In the end I covered 13.1 miles in 6.5 hours (including breaks) and got #32 and #33 of the 4k's checked off. Good times!
