| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
South Branch Mountain, Black Cat Mountain, ME |
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 | Trails: |
South Branch Mtn Trail, South Branch Remote Campsite Spur, Upper South Branch Campsite Spur, Pogy Notch Trail, Howe Brook Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, July 8, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
You do not need a reservation to park at the South Branch Pond day use site. Plenty of spots still available at 7:45am. $17/day for non-ME residents I believe or you can get a season pass for $45 or so. The Park Tote Rd is kept in good enough shape for low clearance vehicles. I think it’s roughly 7mi down the road from Matagaman Gate to the left turn for the campground, then another 2mi slot this road to the campground. At 20min, this takes awhile… |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All crossings on Pogy Notch Trail and Howe Brook Trail were rock hopable. Now I’m not so sure that would be the case. The crossing of the outlet of Lower South Branch Pond was a submerged rock hop. Your feet could stay dry if you had waterproof boots that were mid or high cut probably. Otherwise it would be a shallow wade. I’m sure it’s higher now. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
All three main trails (it sure about the spur trails) were blazed in blue. I don’t really recall the frequency but I didn’t find them hard to follow other than perhaps in a spot or two coming down off the north side of Black Cat. I have to imagine that there were some blowdowns along these trails but my memory is entirely failing me here, sorry. Trail signs were intact except I’m not recalling one at the start of South Branch Pond Trail…you may just need to know where to go here; I could also be misremembering this. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Dogs are not allowed in BSP. |
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 | Bugs: |
Yup. At least there’s no ticks this far north though! |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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 | Comments: |
Fourth full day staying in Houlton a met up with a friend to hike the loop over South Branch Mtn and Black Cat and then do an OAB on Howe Brook Trail. After our very shallow wade or submerged rock hop across the ponds outlet, we did the OAB remote camping sites along Lower South Branch Pond. It felt like an awfully long climb up South Branch Mtn with some very steep pitches higher up but no real scrambling and some very nice woods as well. In addition to the mid, the rocks were also very slick through here. The true summit is not at the small cairn and summit sign but JUST behind the small cairn where there is a much larger cairn hidden in the woods. We thought this sort of interesting. No views here but some nice views along the way. The decent off of South Branch and up to Black Cat was pretty easy. There are some views from the summit and especially coming down the northern ridge of Black Cat but it is FAR from being an open summit and having 360 degree views as if evidently did not long ago according to the guidebook.
The decent off of Black Cat was rough as it descends through a minor talus field and has some rocky footing. Even once firmly below tree line, there is an awkward contour around the side of the mountain where the footing continues to be quite rough. We were happy to finally reach easier going and the short spur trail to the lean-to at Upper South Branch Pond. The walk along Pogy Notch Trail from its jct with South Branch Mtn Trail to Center Ridge Trail actually had some rougher parts with a bit of scrambling and elevation. Upon reaching Howe Brook Trail, I dropped my back and we hiked a very quick-paced OAB along Howe Brook Trail to its end at the falls. The trail has generally easy grades with a few steeper pitches and it’s footing isn’t too bad. Some great swimming holes and the falls at the top of was nice. My friend took a dip and said the water was FREEZING so much so that she guessed there was still snow higher up in the drainage!
The walk out Pogy Notch Trail is still very slick and muddy in places and I don’t anticipate that changing anytime soon! Gaia had me at just under 12mi, about 2600ft of gain, 6.25hrs. Another hot day but not quite as brutal and we finished before the thunderstorms occurred (though they never really seemed to precipitate this day…). |
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 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
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 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-07-11 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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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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