bryan
New member
date: 9/3/12
trails: sawyer river trail, hancock notch trail, livermore road (fr86), herd paths, bushwack
conditions: parking is tight in the lot at sawyer river trail, but a good shoulder on the side of the road allows for overflow. sawyer river trail was mostly dry with some wet spots and mud where the trail runs through an area of swamps. we were only briefly on the hancock notch trail, but the irene signs just in that short bit were evident. as soon as the trail got close to the river we made the crossing and picked up a footpath on the other side (near a prominent bootleg camping area) that took us to the livermore road. we followed the road staying straight where there is a turn left over a bridge and it slowly deteriorated becoming a herdpath leading through a number of clearings some with excellent views to the captain, carrigain and back towards the sandwich range. the herd path eventually became harder to follow often right in a rocky drainage until we finally hit the clearing at the base of a prominent slide (some use this as an approach to the captain to gain elevation without fighting the woods). this clearing is marked with a fire ring and stone chair. from there we continued towards the captain picking up a drainage running towards the col between the captain and carrigain. soon the drainage split, we stayed right and continued the ascent eventually leaving the drainage up onto a bluff. this gave us a good view and we realized we were to far east (should have followed the left fork). at this point we slabbed, with some steep ascending as well, back towards the col encountering a long steep slab of ledge which we stayed under until finding a seam to climb up through. just above this we encountered the infamous discarded tent and were soon up in the col. from there we headed straight up the very steep slope weaving around and through a couple of ledges and cliffs to the recognized high point. we also went a bit further to the large boulder that could also be a possible high point. we hoped to be able to find a route to the top of one of the cliffs to get some views, but didn't find any safe route to do so and headed back down roughly the same route, but once out of the col went more directly down the slope eventually getting into the drainage we had intended to follow on our ascent. the woods were often ok, with some thick sections and blowdown encountered as well.
the crossings of the swift and sawyer rivers were both dry rock hops today, but could be very difficult in times of high water. numerous smaller water crossings on the way to the captain ok as well.
equipment: navigational tools of your choice.
comments: what a great day for a hike to the captain. decent temps and dry woods made for nice bushwacking. some great views on the hike in and from various points on the bushwack including a look down to carrigain pond. good to run into teo and jeff, who were following roughly the same route, and joining forces for the final push up to the col and summit. certainly a summit that doesn't give itself up easily, but a pretty neat place visit. even if you have no interest in the summit the walk in to the various clearings along the old road are worth it for the views. thanks to jeremy for a great hike. i'm glad we finally got a good day for it (and didn't compromise and go the last time we had it planned......)
bryan
[email protected]
trails: sawyer river trail, hancock notch trail, livermore road (fr86), herd paths, bushwack
conditions: parking is tight in the lot at sawyer river trail, but a good shoulder on the side of the road allows for overflow. sawyer river trail was mostly dry with some wet spots and mud where the trail runs through an area of swamps. we were only briefly on the hancock notch trail, but the irene signs just in that short bit were evident. as soon as the trail got close to the river we made the crossing and picked up a footpath on the other side (near a prominent bootleg camping area) that took us to the livermore road. we followed the road staying straight where there is a turn left over a bridge and it slowly deteriorated becoming a herdpath leading through a number of clearings some with excellent views to the captain, carrigain and back towards the sandwich range. the herd path eventually became harder to follow often right in a rocky drainage until we finally hit the clearing at the base of a prominent slide (some use this as an approach to the captain to gain elevation without fighting the woods). this clearing is marked with a fire ring and stone chair. from there we continued towards the captain picking up a drainage running towards the col between the captain and carrigain. soon the drainage split, we stayed right and continued the ascent eventually leaving the drainage up onto a bluff. this gave us a good view and we realized we were to far east (should have followed the left fork). at this point we slabbed, with some steep ascending as well, back towards the col encountering a long steep slab of ledge which we stayed under until finding a seam to climb up through. just above this we encountered the infamous discarded tent and were soon up in the col. from there we headed straight up the very steep slope weaving around and through a couple of ledges and cliffs to the recognized high point. we also went a bit further to the large boulder that could also be a possible high point. we hoped to be able to find a route to the top of one of the cliffs to get some views, but didn't find any safe route to do so and headed back down roughly the same route, but once out of the col went more directly down the slope eventually getting into the drainage we had intended to follow on our ascent. the woods were often ok, with some thick sections and blowdown encountered as well.
the crossings of the swift and sawyer rivers were both dry rock hops today, but could be very difficult in times of high water. numerous smaller water crossings on the way to the captain ok as well.
equipment: navigational tools of your choice.
comments: what a great day for a hike to the captain. decent temps and dry woods made for nice bushwacking. some great views on the hike in and from various points on the bushwack including a look down to carrigain pond. good to run into teo and jeff, who were following roughly the same route, and joining forces for the final push up to the col and summit. certainly a summit that doesn't give itself up easily, but a pretty neat place visit. even if you have no interest in the summit the walk in to the various clearings along the old road are worth it for the views. thanks to jeremy for a great hike. i'm glad we finally got a good day for it (and didn't compromise and go the last time we had it planned......)
bryan
[email protected]
