Doug and I had been looking at the Fishing Brooks for some time and came to the conclusion that the best tactic was to approach from the Northville–Placid Trail and to side slope southeast below the ridgeline that runs east-west from Fishing Brook Mountain to the NPT.
This we did with light overnight packs and it went well. Initially we considered doing this as a humungous day trip but decided to break it into 2 separate days and enjoy a night in the woods. This proved to be a very wise choice.
We cut through a col between two bumps on the ridge and descended to the line that demarcates state and private land. We had the line showing on the gps screen but an altimeter would have done the job equally as well.
Once we hit that line we veered NE for a short distance and then dropped down to Roaring Brook which was a whimper on this day. We had a 3½ km easy walk through very open woods along the brook which we followed to it’s head which is a muddy, sulphurous swamp. Someone had hung a blue rubber glove in a tree and written in black felt pen that “they” (I forget their names) were there on June 15, 2007. There were a multitude of animal tracks all around the swamp and we surmised that deer and moose either have very strong immune systems or that they die young from parasites and microbial infections.
We set up camp about 100 yards above the swamp in a tiny flat area. By set up camp I mean we hung our packs in a tree, took a huge drink of water (not directly out of the swamp) and enjoyed the luxury of hiking to the top of FB with nothing on our backs. The weather was unseasonably cool and dry which made water somewhat less of an issue. Better yet, there were no bugs at all, zilch, nada, rien pantoute!
Our route took us through some nice cliffs and offered views of our next objective: FB South. There once was a canister on FB but all that remains is a tangled mess of metal strapping that needs a Philips screwdriver to remove. We hung out on the mountain for some time descending slowly as the sun disappeared behind another mountain. We arrived at “camp” with just enough daylight to filter some of the yummy water, make supper and turn in. We slept under the stars from about 10 until 2 and then were wide-awake listening to the forest murmers and sounds. The nearly full moon lit up the swamp through the trees. We slept from 2 to 4 and then the Thrushes and White throated Sparrows joined in. Then we slept until 7:30 and had hot coffee and cold food before loading up on essentials and heading towards what we now refer to as “Up and Down Ridge” en route to Fishing Brook South. We had all sorts of wonderful views of faraway big lakes and mountains as we walked through mostly open woods along the ridge top. A tiny blue bird flew out of a rock 2 feet in front of Doug. Under a hood of moss we saw 3 speckled eggs nestled within a swirl of dried grasses. I took a picture while being scolded by what must have been a mother Warbler.
FBS had a defunct canister (Philips screwdriver). We returned the way we came and broke camp, meaning we gathered up our already packed overnight stuff. The hike out was long, uneventful, pleasant and physically demanding.
Pictures
This we did with light overnight packs and it went well. Initially we considered doing this as a humungous day trip but decided to break it into 2 separate days and enjoy a night in the woods. This proved to be a very wise choice.
We cut through a col between two bumps on the ridge and descended to the line that demarcates state and private land. We had the line showing on the gps screen but an altimeter would have done the job equally as well.
Once we hit that line we veered NE for a short distance and then dropped down to Roaring Brook which was a whimper on this day. We had a 3½ km easy walk through very open woods along the brook which we followed to it’s head which is a muddy, sulphurous swamp. Someone had hung a blue rubber glove in a tree and written in black felt pen that “they” (I forget their names) were there on June 15, 2007. There were a multitude of animal tracks all around the swamp and we surmised that deer and moose either have very strong immune systems or that they die young from parasites and microbial infections.
We set up camp about 100 yards above the swamp in a tiny flat area. By set up camp I mean we hung our packs in a tree, took a huge drink of water (not directly out of the swamp) and enjoyed the luxury of hiking to the top of FB with nothing on our backs. The weather was unseasonably cool and dry which made water somewhat less of an issue. Better yet, there were no bugs at all, zilch, nada, rien pantoute!
Our route took us through some nice cliffs and offered views of our next objective: FB South. There once was a canister on FB but all that remains is a tangled mess of metal strapping that needs a Philips screwdriver to remove. We hung out on the mountain for some time descending slowly as the sun disappeared behind another mountain. We arrived at “camp” with just enough daylight to filter some of the yummy water, make supper and turn in. We slept under the stars from about 10 until 2 and then were wide-awake listening to the forest murmers and sounds. The nearly full moon lit up the swamp through the trees. We slept from 2 to 4 and then the Thrushes and White throated Sparrows joined in. Then we slept until 7:30 and had hot coffee and cold food before loading up on essentials and heading towards what we now refer to as “Up and Down Ridge” en route to Fishing Brook South. We had all sorts of wonderful views of faraway big lakes and mountains as we walked through mostly open woods along the ridge top. A tiny blue bird flew out of a rock 2 feet in front of Doug. Under a hood of moss we saw 3 speckled eggs nestled within a swirl of dried grasses. I took a picture while being scolded by what must have been a mother Warbler.
FBS had a defunct canister (Philips screwdriver). We returned the way we came and broke camp, meaning we gathered up our already packed overnight stuff. The hike out was long, uneventful, pleasant and physically demanding.
Pictures