The great irony of today is that we traded one logging cut for another. Before the rain came in, we had planned to travel to Maine and cross off some NE100 highest peaks- mostly long bushwhacks. However, in favor of enjoying ourselves and my college move-in, Liz & I pivoted to a shorter trip to Gorham.
With limited potential for views, the low-Mahoosucs trail network was an excellent bet. We opted to travel up Peabody Brook and down Austin, which was favorable towards sketchier parts, wetness, and redundant logging swaths.
The beginning of Peabody Brook was smooth, wide, and nearly flat. Once we passed the Middle Mountain trail, the terrain ramped up slightly, climbing steadily to Giant Falls. Despite increasing wetness and rain tempo, the footing remained terrific. The only poor footing on the ascent was the last bit approaching Giant Falls, soft from rain and eroded from years of iron-rich water blasting.
The Giant Falls were incredible and booming. Despite an aggressive slope map, getting down to the falls was a breeze. As we ascended further, we crossed the rock slide mentioned in the guide, which was a breeze as well. There were a few sections to take slowly given the rain, but nothing held us up for long.
After passing the slide, there is a stunning ladder up an interesting rock face before the trail grade eases. The one downfall in easier grades, however, was standing water. We crossed dozens of slippery and rickety bog bridges after returning from a short and pleasant visit to the Bald Cap Ledges, where we didn’t see much due to the clouds.
Similarly, we didn’t see anything at Dream (spooky) Lake either. I was somewhat disappointed by this as I understood the view was typically delightful over the large alpine lake. Though I could hear people above us, on the AT, we didn’t see anyone until well after crossing Dryad Falls Trail.
This trail followed three distinct sections- wet stream follow, smooth old logging road, and logging swath bear territory. The wet section was a pain, we were often straddling either side of the stream while searching for the next piece of flagging tape. On the contrary, the wide part immediately resembled an old road, especially with some miscellaneous artifacts. Finally, the last section is marked with the spur to Dryad Falls. The falls are worth a quick out and back, as they are exceptionally high and fully charged by recent storms.
The next section of the trail is a cut that takes up the last half mile. It was full of sharp raspberry bushes, washed-out banks, and a bear. The footing was poor due to loose rocks, but this section was fairly fast with the looming threat of a bear. Thankfully, the following road/cut making up Austin Brook Trail was far less overgrown, and the only difficulty it presented was occasional culverts. Curiously, though this is listed as a road in Gaia it is not drivable from Gentian Falls to where we took a right for Gates Brook.
For whatever reason, I was expecting this trail to be far more enjoyable, but the cuts on Gates Brook Trail were even worse. It was at times redundant to hike around the logging roads, but the careful trek over a logging slash was oddly fun in its sense of adventure.
When we stopped sidehilling and began truly descending, the rest of Gates Brooks Trail went quickly. For some reason, we happened upon a group of ~25 on Gates Brook, it was unclear where they were heading at 3 pm but there appeared to be a group leader who provided some relief.
As we came down to the road, there was no apparent parking spot at the end of Gates Brook, a common theme in this area. From here, we walked back to our single parking spot at Austin Brook and enjoyed a much-needed sock and shoe change after all the rain!
Final Stats:
9.71 Miles
3,370 Gain
The driving situation on Mill Brook Road (the road that Austin Brook Trail follows in its middle section) has changed significantly in the past few years. In the summer of 2022, Mill Brook Road had a solid logging bridge over Austin/Mill Brook, allowing vehicles to be driven up Mill Brook Road all the way to (and in fact past) the point where Austin Brook Trail diverges from the road, 2.1 miles from the Austin Brook trailhead. In the summer of 2023, that bridge was gone, so vehicles could only be driven on Mill Brook Road up to that point, but there was a two-log footbridge across the river. I returned there in December 2023, only a week after that huge…