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Ski
Hiking Trail Conditions Report
Peaks
Peaks Mt. Coe, South Brother, North Brother, Fort Mountain, ME
Trails
Trails: Marston Trail, Mt. Coe Trail, South Brother Spur, herd path
Date of Hike
Date of Hike: Saturday, August 2, 2014
Parking/Access Road Notes
Parking/Access Road Notes: Sufficient parking at the Marston Trailhead. I've never seen this lot full. 
Surface Conditions
Surface Conditions: Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Mud - Minor/Avoidable 
Recommended Equipment
Recommended Equipment:  
Water Crossing Notes
Water Crossing Notes: Easy crossings though the pond outlet below North Brother is as usual flooding out the trail for a short ways. 
Trail Maintenance Notes
Trail Maintenance Notes: The trails were easy to follow and in decent but not great shape. In particular, the Marston Trail up to North Brother is very badly eroded, though at least it has been brushed out since I was there 2 years ago. It is also very wet in the lower stretch. The pond outlet below North Brother is flooding out the trail without sufficient stepping stones/bog bridges. We noted a bunch of planks ready to become bog bridges in the woods near the upper Marston/Coe trail junction. 
Dog-Related Notes
Dog-Related Notes: No dogs allowed in Baxter, sorry. 
Bugs
Bugs: Some black flies and plenty of mosquitoes down low. 
Lost and Found
Lost and Found:  
 
Comments
Comments: 4 of us set out for the 4-peak loop, as we all needed a few of the peaks (and all different ones) and one needed all 4. The Coe slide was damp down low and along the sides, and in many places covered with the black slime that is slipperier than most any substance known to man. Blueberries ripening along its length meant we ate our way up the slide! No major issues along the ridge trail, though the South Brother Spur was as scrambly and obnoxious in one stretch as we had heard. The stretch up to North Brother has been brushed out since 2012, but is now much more eroded (from Hurricanes Irene/Sandy perhaps?) and is very stream-like in the lower stretch.

The herd path to Fort was a little easier than in 2012 to follow, but just as brushy, with numerous rather thick spots. Some herd paths have formed around the major blowdowns, and some cutting has occurred here and there. In one spot as you come off North Brother, you enter the trees than re-emerge into the scrub briefly. Here, the main path continues to the left a few dozen yards before turning right and back into the trees. You can go straight on a fainter path instead of taking the left turn, but there are a few drops with holes that are tricky, and the left path is more open (as we discovered coming back). We met one fellow on the summit of Fort who had been looking for the plane and he said that the herd path braided and ended before he found it. We pulled a lot of fairly new orange flagging out of the herd path, most of it was at completely obvious stretches of the herd path :\

My #100 of the NEHH on South Brother, woohoo! Thanks Pam, Chris, and Trey for coming along on the fun!  
Name
Name: madmattd 
E-Mail
E-Mail:  
Date Submitted
Date Submitted: 2014-08-06 
Link
Link: https://mattshikes.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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