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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks North Brother, Fort Mountain, ME
Trails
Trails: Marston Trail, bushwhack
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Friday, October 11, 2013
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Plenty of parking at Marston trailhead, only 3 cars there all day. 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant, Standing/Running Water on Trail 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment:  
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: Some leaps of faith had to be taken, and still resulted in me dunking my left shoe, once on the way in, and once on the way out. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: Some stepovers and a duck under on Marston Trail. Above the upper junction with Mt. Coe Trail, the Marston is a wet, eroded, mess. The bushwhack to Fort was pretty easy, the footbed of the old trail is pretty easy to pick out, and some flagging of various ages marked some turns and questionable areas.  
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: Not allowed. 
Bugs
Bugs: Pretty much none! 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: Finally tagging North Brother after last winters debacle. Met up with a guy named Dave in the lot, who was just going to North Brother, and said he might come to Fort with me if I caught up to him. He said he hiked "very fast", which led me to believe I wouldn't catch him. But catch him I did, just below the pond, and we hiked up to North Brother together. Deciding to go for it, we left North Brother at 11:54, and whacked over to Fort, arriving at 12:37. The going wasn't bad at all, you just need to keep your eyes open, and sometimes take a step in what may or may not be the right direction. The open summit of Fort is now in my top 10, it's simply gorgeous. The radio that used to be on the summit, is now missing, but I did find a small piece of it, on the more easterly of the two western summit knobs. The whack back was more of the same, but I did get off "trail" a couple of times, and had to backtrack. Back to North Brother and on down. Dave was a great hiking companion, and he apparently comes up to BSP the week before Columbus Day every year, and said that I should search him out at Katahdin Stream next year. All in all, the hike took less than 8 hours! A big surprise for me, since I wasn't sure I had it in me after Katahdin the day before. A great way to end a great trip, and knock a couple more off the list!

Blog post soon.  
Name
Name: Bill Robichaud 
E-Mail
E-Mail: bill.robichaud@gmail.com 
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2013-10-13 
Link
Link: https://onapathwithheart.blogspot.com/ 
Bookmark and Share Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense.

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