BIGEarl
Well-known member
August 4, 2010: Mount O.J.I.
Trails: Marston Trail, Mt. Coe Trail, O.J.I. Link Trail
Summits: Mount O.J.I.
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), Gary, Bob, Wendy, Karen, and me
For Sue and me, this is our first day of hiking at Baxter Bash 2010. The original plan was to hike a loop that included Coe, Fort, North Brother, and South Brother with Bob, Laurie and Mike. The weather conditions all night were very bad with heavy rain. The rain was still falling in the morning and some of us decided to look at a smaller hike for the day. Mount O.J.I. became the target. Gary, Bob, Wendy, and Karen were all ready to go and took off from the campground ahead of Sue and me. We had a plan to catch them somewhere along the way.
After nearly an hour drive to the Marston Trailhead we were on-trail. The trails were generally in great shape for the full hike with only a small amount of mud in one area and some slippery conditions on the lower Coe Slide. The early part of our hike was on Marston Trail where we gained approximately 1100 feet in the 1.3 miles leading to the junction with the Mount Coe Trail. We reached the trails junction, unable to catch the others, made the turn and kept working our way to Mount O.J.I. but now we’re hiking the Mount Coe Trail.
The mount Coe Trail had a relatively consistent rate of gain, which wasn’t any sort of test. The trail follows the valley between Coe and O.J.I. eventually starting up the Coe slide. The portion of Coe Slide that we climbed was very interesting. There were a good number of places where a steady flow of water across the slabs left a slippery condition that made the slide a potentially dangerous place. We needed to watch our steps and the route we took in climbing the slide. A few hundred feet of elevation up from the bottom of Coe slide the O.J.I. Link splits to the south and we were on the final climb to the summit. Still, there was no sight of the others.
A short distance from the trail split we came to the section of mud pits for this hike. It was an easy place to get real dirty but we were careful and made it through without any problems. Soon we were on final approach to O.J.I. and the others.
A short distance away from the actual summit is an outcropping of rocks that offers pretty nice views in all directions. This is where we finally found the others. They were relaxing on the viewpoint and waited while Sue and I headed for the summit and returned. Finally together, we all enjoyed the area and visited for a while before heading back out on our exit hike.
The reverse hike was completely uneventful, even on Coe Slide. We made it through the mud, the slide, and the return hike on Mount Coe Trail and Marston Trail with no problems at all. Once we arrived to the trailhead we all quickly packed and headed back to the campground to relax and enjoy the midweek potluck dinner.
The day was a little less than originally planned but what a great start to our Baxter Bash activities.
Thanks Sue, Wendy, Karen, Gary, and Bob – fun day.
Pictures will follow.
Trails: Marston Trail, Mt. Coe Trail, O.J.I. Link Trail
Summits: Mount O.J.I.
Hikers: Trail Trotter (Sue), Gary, Bob, Wendy, Karen, and me
For Sue and me, this is our first day of hiking at Baxter Bash 2010. The original plan was to hike a loop that included Coe, Fort, North Brother, and South Brother with Bob, Laurie and Mike. The weather conditions all night were very bad with heavy rain. The rain was still falling in the morning and some of us decided to look at a smaller hike for the day. Mount O.J.I. became the target. Gary, Bob, Wendy, and Karen were all ready to go and took off from the campground ahead of Sue and me. We had a plan to catch them somewhere along the way.
After nearly an hour drive to the Marston Trailhead we were on-trail. The trails were generally in great shape for the full hike with only a small amount of mud in one area and some slippery conditions on the lower Coe Slide. The early part of our hike was on Marston Trail where we gained approximately 1100 feet in the 1.3 miles leading to the junction with the Mount Coe Trail. We reached the trails junction, unable to catch the others, made the turn and kept working our way to Mount O.J.I. but now we’re hiking the Mount Coe Trail.
The mount Coe Trail had a relatively consistent rate of gain, which wasn’t any sort of test. The trail follows the valley between Coe and O.J.I. eventually starting up the Coe slide. The portion of Coe Slide that we climbed was very interesting. There were a good number of places where a steady flow of water across the slabs left a slippery condition that made the slide a potentially dangerous place. We needed to watch our steps and the route we took in climbing the slide. A few hundred feet of elevation up from the bottom of Coe slide the O.J.I. Link splits to the south and we were on the final climb to the summit. Still, there was no sight of the others.
A short distance from the trail split we came to the section of mud pits for this hike. It was an easy place to get real dirty but we were careful and made it through without any problems. Soon we were on final approach to O.J.I. and the others.
A short distance away from the actual summit is an outcropping of rocks that offers pretty nice views in all directions. This is where we finally found the others. They were relaxing on the viewpoint and waited while Sue and I headed for the summit and returned. Finally together, we all enjoyed the area and visited for a while before heading back out on our exit hike.
The reverse hike was completely uneventful, even on Coe Slide. We made it through the mud, the slide, and the return hike on Mount Coe Trail and Marston Trail with no problems at all. Once we arrived to the trailhead we all quickly packed and headed back to the campground to relax and enjoy the midweek potluck dinner.
The day was a little less than originally planned but what a great start to our Baxter Bash activities.
Thanks Sue, Wendy, Karen, Gary, and Bob – fun day.
Pictures will follow.
