Bennies Brook Slide - Attempt

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  • RonandJon
    Member
    • Dec 2003
    • 207

    #1

    Bennies Brook Slide - Attempt

    Chili Willie and I attempted Bennies Brook Slide up Lower Wolf Jaw, going in
    from the Garden, taking the South Side trail along Johns Brook and
    bushwhacking. As a side note, we got to the Garden on a Saturday morning at 8:10 am, paid our $5 and found both sides of the lot full, and were directed to park in a line down the center, behind an orange traffic cone, third in line.

    Following Mavs00 description, we knew we had missed Bennies Brook when we can to the wooden bridge one brook over, so we backtracked 5 minutes to the last brook and headed up. We did not see any cairns or other markings. We headed up the brook and came out on the left side a hundred yards or so up, keeping the brook to our right. I kept looking for signs of the old ski trail and saplings but never saw the first and saw an incredible number of the second. At some point , maybe 2500 feet, the brook split. Just as Rik did in the thread over on Mavs site, we followed the largest branch - needless to say, we got lost. The brook split a number of times and each time we tried to folow the largest branch. Sometimes we looked for an opening in the woods that might have been the old trail. Don't know if we found the old trail, but we definitely saw footprints. The brook disappeared and appeared again, then disappeared altogether.

    Between 3100 and 3200 feet, we were in some pretty thick stuff and were pretty sure we were above the start of the slide and it had to be left or right of us. ( Wolf Jaw summit is around 4200 feet, its about 200 feet from the summit to the point on the trail where the slide ends and the slide is over 1100 feet, so even allowing for some altimeter error, we figured we were above it) We picked left. Wrong choice. We were in some pretty thick stuff, but started moving laterally and a little down, traversing the hill side, moving towards the light (no - not that "light"!). We soon found out that the light was caused by a clearing in the woods due to a downed tree. We could make out a sharp drop off, a valley of some kind and mountains beyond. Turned out we were on a nose shaped ridge, at about 2900 feet.. We looked at the map and Chili Willie figured out we were between Bennies Brook and Rock Cut Brook. Note - yes, we learned from our last little adventure on Buck, and this time we had the map and compass, and had even taken a bearing and set a line of travel on the compass at the start of the brook - around 120 degrees, I think. Not that it helped us all that much. I know about the trick of aiming a little off when taking a bearing and then knowing which way to correct, but I wasn't sure what to aim off of. I am still pretty new to this bushwacking stuff.

    We went down the side of the "nose", which was a little tricky, found what we think was an old slide, now covered by dirt, ferns and low vegetation, and
    followed in down. We took a bearing and set the diretion of travel for mostly northeast, knowing we would hit the southside trail at some point. We followed the fairly open parts in the woods, staying to the left of any tributaries, but generally following them down. The vegetation was thickest near the water, so we tried to stay left of it. Ferns are your friends - much easier to walk thru, but they do sometimes obscure large rocks, logs or holes. We did this to near the bottom, where we pretty much walked in the creek til we hit the trail.

    It was pretty neat walking where no one had ever been before. We were not worried about being lost, because we knew there was a trail above us, a trail below us and a trail to the right of us, and as long as we kept a constant bearing, we knew we were going to hit a trail. One note about being in the thick woods - the branches wacked at us pretty good, but they also wacked at the black flies and mosquitoes - kind of a super big fly swatter! The black flies around our heads wanted to drink deeply from the pools of our eyes - and I don't mean that in a romantic way! Our arms and legs were covered with cuts, scrapes, black fly and mosquito bites, and something that looks suspiciously like poison ivy the day after the hike.

    Another interesting thing is that if you walk on maintained trails, any branches or trees that are down are likely to be fairly new and thus, solid. Not when you are walking where no one has been. Several times we reached or leaned against a downed branch or tree, thinking it would be solid, only to have it crumble or break away.

    By the way, the flumes and falls towards the bottom of Rock Cut Creek were beautiful, and are worth a short detour off the trail just to see. Pretty refreshing to plunge our heads in the cool waters, too.

    It rained for 3 hours and for the last two hours it was a downpour. I put on my pack cover, but since I was already soaked with sweat, didn't even bother with the poncho. At one point, I am sure we began to see the animals walking two-by-two, coming down the trail.

    We waited under an overhang, near a spot where the trail goes next to the creek, when it started to thunder and lightening, hoping the rain would let up. It didn't. The walk back seemed to take forever, and neither of us was recognizing too much on the trail. Of course, a good chunk of it was now under about 6 inches of water - just enough to go up over my waterproof boots and down inside. Wouldn't want any part of me to be dry, now. We thought we might have overshot the Johns Brook crossing and were resigned to coming out a mile below the Garden and backtracking up the road, but it was just perception.

    When we got to the place where we needed to cross John Brook, - surprise! The water was about a foot higher than when we had crossed it in the morning, and rushing in a torrent. What was an easy rock hop a few hours before was more than a little tricky. But, we made it. Chili Willie said he saw a stain in my pants after I finally made it over, - but that's a lie!

    We made it to the car and DeCesare's in Schroon Lake for ziti and sausage and home without too much more difficulty, but I was really tired and sore. Bushwacking is a lot more tiring than just hiking up a trail, maintained or other wise. I took a little nap in the car in the parking lot across rt 9 while Bill ordered at DeCesare's, which was packed. He called me on the cell phone to wake me up and tell me supper was ready- guess he didn't want to make that long trek across the road to the car to wake me up! We ate outside, which was nice, and the rain even held off for us. Down the road for some excellent ice cream, on Rt 9 just before exit 26, back on the Northway and home.

    It was Chili Willie's 51st birthday. I had a cold beer for him on ice in the car at the Garden after the hike. We had fun. I did not throw up. What more could you ask for?
    Last edited by RonandJon; 07-19-2005, 11:06 AM.
  • Kevin
    **BANNED**
    • Nov 2003
    • 5857

    #2
    Originally posted by RonandJon
    ... We followed the fairly open parts in the woods, staying to the left of any tributaries, but generally following them down. The vegetation was thickest near the water, so we tried to stay left of it... It was pretty neat walking where no one had ever been before... Another interesting thing is that if you walk on maintained trails, any branches or trees that are down are likely to be fairly new and thus, solid. Not when you are walking where no one has been. Several times we reached or leaned against a downed branch or tree, thinking it would be solid, only to have it crumble or break away... Bushwacking is a lot more tiring than just hiking up a trail, maintained or other wise.
    I've had a few bushwacking experiences now and I also made those same observations at some point, and it was interesting to see someone "in my head", so to speak .

    I was bushwacking along a flagged route up Cliff at about the time you guys were heading down. Looks like a lot of us have some stories to tell from Saturday's weather! When you're thinking of trying this again, gimme a shout. I'm interested in doing that slide.

    Comment

    • Mavs00
      I am the sith
      • Nov 2007
      • 46

      #3
      Hmmmmmmm, Time for me to yank my trail report. You're the second group that got lost using my directions in the last couple months. I really do not want anyone getting lost on my account. I really did not think it was very difficult, but perhaps conditions have changed in the last couple years to render my description usless.

      Glad you made it out and managed to have a good time.
      Last edited by Mavs00; 07-18-2005, 10:17 PM.
      "I can feel your anger. It gives you focus. It makes you stronger. " Supreme Chancellor

      Comment

      • RonandJon
        Member
        • Dec 2003
        • 207

        #4
        Your trail report was fine...

        Tim

        Remember, I am new to bushwacking, and I am sure that if I had thougt about it and bushwacked right, I would have picked up the slide, but that's in retrospect.

        We did not "need" the peak, had no particular time or destination constraints, and enjoyed our day together in the woods. With the map and compass and with the trail and topographic features around us, there was no way for us to get lost. With our busy schedules, jobs and family lives, we don't get a chance to do this nearly as often as we would like, and we had a great time. In short, we had an "adventure"!

        Your post enticed us into going, and Chili Willie has said he would like to take another wack at it, so to speak. Me, too. Thanks for the trip description and photos - we enjoyed them immensely. Ron

        Comment

        • Dick
          somewhere out there...
          • Jan 2004
          • 2821

          #5
          Originally posted by Mavs00
          Hmmmmmmm, Time for me to yank my trail report. You're the second group that got lost using directions. I really do not want anyone getting lost on my account. I really did not think it was very difficult, but perhaps conditions have changed in the last couple years to render my description usless.

          Glad you made it out and managed to have a good time.
          Tim, at no time did I ever think to say "Mavs00 got us lost." Our hike was our responsibility. By the way, the "cairn" was there (a few small rocks on top of a large rock), at least when we did the hike, and looked exactly as it did in your picture. Perhaps Ron took the wrong stream? On the other hand, Neil seemed not to have a problem.

          Dick

          Comment

          • Mavs00
            I am the sith
            • Nov 2007
            • 46

            #6
            Thanks everyone..... and Ron, I'm truely glad that you did enjoy your trip, and my pulling it is not "your fault". I get the feeling things have changed just enough in there that it's now throwing people off. Once is a coincidence, twice is not. No worries, It's something I've considered for awhile anyway.

            Bushwhacking is fun and I get an immense amount of pleasure from it, but I would feel just awful if something bad happened to someone that read my report and decided to "give it a go". Thats just my personality and can't help that. I have pulled the report off my site.

            Again, don't feel bad, I think it is the responsible thing to do. I'm always available to answer anyone's question about hiking in the Adirondacks. Just ask
            Last edited by Mavs00; 07-18-2005, 10:29 PM.
            "I can feel your anger. It gives you focus. It makes you stronger. " Supreme Chancellor

            Comment

            • RonandJon
              Member
              • Dec 2003
              • 207

              #7
              Up the creek...

              or, up the wrong brook? Very possible. As I mentioned, we counted the streams and still overshot, got to the bridge and backtracked. I think the creek we started up looked like the one in Mavs picture, but, who knows? With all the rain lately, what once was a trickle could have been large enough to make us think it was a large brook. Certainly on the way out, after the heavy rains, there were solid flowing brooks that were nearly dry when we had passed by on the way in.

              There was also a stream a little farther back, it was kind of in a little draw so that the trail descended to it and then climbed on the other side - We looked at that one on the way in and debated whether that was the correct brook. Maybe - maybe not.

              As I said, I am very new to bushwhacking so is most likely I just made a mistake in path finding. But, like the man said back in the sixties, "Remember, no matter where you go, there you are!"

              Comment

              • Gandalf
                Member
                • Aug 2004
                • 116

                #8
                When I was there in early June, I found Bennies Brook no problem (third major tributory on the Southside Trail) but there was no cairn. I too found the split in the brook at ~2500, and probably by sheer chance followed the correct fork (to the right, I think).

                Oddly, after I had climbed the Wolfjaws and returned to Southside via the official trail, I was proceeding north back to the Garden when I found a very small stream cutting across into John's Brook. I looked right, and there was a cairn! This was probably fifty yards or so (and maybe 50 feet in elevation) above what I had taken to be Bennies Brook. The streams are so close together that maybe they originate at the same place, but the one without the cairn (and I did look fairly carefully for it) was substantially larger. Go figure!
                "Gentlemen! There's no fighting in here, this is the War Room!"

                - from the movie Dr. Strangelove

                Comment

                • Pat T
                  aka "Mother Nature"
                  • Dec 2003
                  • 164

                  #9
                  Bennie's Brook slide

                  My daughter and I hiked in on the southside trail last summer and looked for the cairn marking the start of the bushwack to LWJ. We were on a hike to Saddleback and had no plans to do the slide--just wanted to check it out for a future hike. We found two streams marked with cairns and couldn't decide which was the true beginning of the path. This discussion has really increased my interest in the hike--it will be an adventure, which is what path-finding should be. I hope we get a chance to try it this summer.

                  Thanks, Mavs, for your original post!

                  Pat T

                  Comment

                  • Rik
                    H-E-R-O
                    • Nov 2004
                    • 1000247

                    #10
                    It was Mavs fault! I wasn't even going to do this hike until I saw how easy it was on his site!
                    Die Free and Live

                    Comment

                    • Neil
                      Admin

                      • May 2004
                      • 6129

                      #11
                      Bushwhacking, and more importantly, getting to where you want to go, is more of an art than a science. It takes a fair bit of it to somehow "think you know" which way your foot should fall and to be sensitive to that little voice, that says," hmmm, I don't think this is right". Also, you have to be at ease with not knowing your exact position but trust that at least you can define the area you should be in. On the bushwhacks (without visuals) that I've been on there has always almost been some doubt, sometimes just a tiny bit, sometimes lots.

                      Also its a lot tougher to hit a specific point, like the bottom of a slide, as opposed to just hitting a ridge or a river.

                      Once again, anybody wants coordinates for the bottom of the slide, just let me know. I was teaching my son gps technology and I took a wp last time I went. The only thing is: it'll spoil all your fun!

                      Little anecdote: a few years ago my partner and I were on a bushwhack in Quebec. This guy and I have been doing stuff for a long time together. Anyway, I was in back with the compass, checking and not saying anything, as he gradually made a wide arced 180 degree turn. I got a good chuckle at his expense when I said, "our route is thataway", pointing back over my shoulder.
                      The best, the most successful adventurer, is the one having the most fun.

                      Comment

                      • redhawk
                        Senior Resident Curmudgeon
                        • Jan 2004
                        • 10929

                        #12
                        Tim, by no means ios it your fault that others got "misplaced".

                        I have bushwhacked all my life, it's been the preferred way for me.

                        I can't count the number of times that I have been off enough to have to go back and retrace or search. It's one of the reasons I am so sold on a GPS. Of all the areas of outdoor sports, bushwhacking and paddling on wide expanses of water are where the gps becomes the most useful.

                        Two years ago, even with a GPS, and my buddy tractor (an ex SEAL) leading, we went down the wrong creek in the Silver Lake Wilderness and had to cut across and over a ridge when I finally figured out the creek didin't math the one we wanted on the map.

                        Last year, three of us (with me "leading") ended up at Wilcox lake instead of going to the Pine Orchard because we started on the wrong trail and that was on a trail.

                        There are always risks in bushwhacking, the important thing is to be sure that you have enough water, shelter, food, and firemaking equipment with you for an extra day or so "just in case". And above all, carry a map and compass as well as the gps if you have one. USGS Quads are imperative when you are bushwhacking.
                        "If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them more than the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it." Lyndon B. Johnson

                        Comment

                        • Kevin
                          **BANNED**
                          • Nov 2003
                          • 5857

                          #13
                          Originally posted by redhawk
                          Last year, three of us (with me "leading") ended up at Wilcox lake instead of going to the Pine Orchard because we started on the wrong trail and that was on a trail.
                          We still need to go back and actually hike the Pine Orchard too.

                          Comment

                          • NukedRocket
                            Yeah, buddy!
                            • Jan 2004
                            • 564

                            #14
                            Sorry to get OT here but, since we're talking slides, is it difficult determining where to begin the ascent of the West Slide on Macomb? I recall reading something about looking for streambeds (sometimes wet, sometimes dry), looking out for clearings, etc?
                            Sometimes I think better with my head in the clouds...

                            Comment

                            • Kevin
                              **BANNED**
                              • Nov 2003
                              • 5857

                              #15
                              Originally posted by NukedRocket
                              Sorry to get OT here but, since we're talking slides, is it difficult determining where to begin the ascent of the West Slide on Macomb? I recall reading something about looking for streambeds (sometimes wet, sometimes dry), looking out for clearings, etc?
                              Access to that slide is cake now. Take the trail from elk lake to the first major bridge, then 20 yards past the bridge on the right (east) is a cairn, follow that trail to the slide.

                              Comment

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