View Full Version : Major Fords on AT OUTSIDE of Maine
Are there any?
Not really, but a MAJOR meteorological event could make stream crossings in several states a bit sketchy.
I don't remember a one before getting to Maine but there were a few stream crossings on logs south of Maine. I am a member of the Maine Applichian Trail Club and a Trail Maintainer and unless you witness a Maine spring runnoff you can never appreciate how many bridges we have built and had washed out. This year I couldn't even get to my section in the early spring because one bridge was buried under rotting snow and whitewater. In August that crossing is just a minor trickle. I remember coming upon a spot in the 100 mile wilderness where someone had built a nice rope bridge in the spring and the stream had almost no water in it in September. The club builds bridges and Mother Nature often takes them back in a year or so. Some places it is just necessary to ford because nothing short of a stone or concrete and steel bridge built high above the high water mark is all that could survive and that would be out of place on the AT. The Maine AT Club works hard and we care but we just can't compete with the Maine Spring weather when it comes to perminent bridges.
:welcome To Maine, the way the trail should be.
Ford Prefect
05-26-2005, 11:26
Not really, but a MAJOR meteorological event could make stream crossings in several states a bit sketchy.
Wonder what MOWGLI knows that the rest of us don't ... :-?
hmmm ... :D
Footslogger
05-26-2005, 12:16
As earlier said ...it's sort of a weather dependant question. In 2003 we had a lot of rain. Many of the water crossings that would normally have been narrow enough to hop over were wide, deep and running fast. I remember one such crossing coming out of Cornwall Bridge in Connecticut. The Handbook described it as a narrow brook but it was quite the raging stream. Had to take off my hiking shoes and walk up and down a bit to find a suitable place to cross.
'Slogger
AT 2003
Wonder what MOWGLI knows that the rest of us don't ... :-?
hmmm ... :D
Can you say Hurricane Opal, or Fran, or Floyd, or Ivan......
peakbagger
05-26-2005, 13:15
This spring has not been kind to bridges in the whites, the forest serives has reported numerous large permanent bridges as being damaged or destroyed. Later in the season it shouldnt be an issue but early hikers may be in for some challenging crossings
Footslogger,
That stream crossing just north of Cornwall Bridge is still a challege. This past April it was an extra 1/2 hour for me to negotiate a crossing.
Footslogger
05-26-2005, 14:02
Footslogger,
That stream crossing just north of Cornwall Bridge is still a challege. This past April it was an extra 1/2 hour for me to negotiate a crossing.==============================
I remember it vividly. I had gotten into that area late the night before and grabbed a room at the motor lodge. Got a ride back out to the trail crossing from the motel owner. It was raining and had been raining all night. I climbed over the railing and slid down the bank. Water was a tad on the cold side and came darn near to my waist. So much surge/white water that I couldn't see the bottom for good foot placement. It was touch & go for a while but I made it. Just one of those little surprises the AT and mother nature throw your way now and then that you just never forget.
'Slogger
walkin' wally
05-26-2005, 18:57
I don't remember a one before getting to Maine but there were a few stream crossings on logs south of Maine. I am a member of the Maine Applichian Trail Club and a Trail Maintainer and unless you witness a Maine spring runnoff you can never appreciate how many bridges we have built and had washed out. This year I couldn't even get to my section in the early spring because one bridge was buried under rotting snow and whitewater. In August that crossing is just a minor trickle. :welcome To Maine, the way the trail should be.
I am still trying to get to my section as the little bridge over Rainbow stream is long gone. When I was up there a few days ago the stream was very high but the high water mark on the opposite bank was an additional 20 inches higher at least. We have had supposedly three official sunny days so far in May. We have had a lot of rain this spring to say the least. It is strange to see so much water in that stream when it can be so bony in August. I am trying hard to get those blowdowns cut but the weather has been so bad. It is raining very hard right now.
The year I did CT/MA/VT, the ford of Sages Ravine near the CT/MA border was tough. Raging whitewater, waist-high, slippery rocks. It had rained nearly 5 inches in the previous 36 hours. I've also heard second-hand that during drier times this ford is a non-issue.
If it's been raining a lot, the dozen or so fords of Little Wolf Creek in VA south of Bland can be very trying. That's why they offer a blue-blazed high water route.
Thumper 2006
05-26-2005, 22:19
Leaving for Maine in the morning to start southbound thru hike. Are there going to be any fords that will be impossible in the 100 mile wilderness? Please let me know.
Tramper Al
05-26-2005, 22:29
Leaving for Maine in the morning to start southbound thru hike. Are there going to be any fords that will be impossible in the 100 mile wilderness? Please let me know.
Quite possibly.
I just hiked Flagstaff Lake to Monson last weekend, and after two days of rain, one of the fords (West Branch Piscataquis) was getting fairly dicey. Now it has continued to rain for several more days, so yes, you may run into some very high water.
Real time gages - Maine. (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/me/nwis/rt)
We ran into a SOBO at Caratunk who had left the 100 Mile near White Cap due to excessive snow and ice at elevation, but that was a week ago now.
RedneckRye
05-27-2005, 03:33
I sat in Gorham, chilling out , watching Braveheart over and over and over again at The Barn, and also watching Hurricane Floyd coming north on the Weather Channel for 2 and a half days. Finally we got tired of sitting in town and headed back out for the hills. Once Floyd caught up to us, wow! Ma Nature sure will show you who is in charge. Crossings that had been rock hops just days before (according to shelter logs) were waist deep and LOTS of fun.
Hooray for Maine. Who needs bridges?
Cookerhiker
05-27-2005, 13:11
Are there any?
How far "outside" Maine - are you thruhiking? In early April, I section-hiked SOBO from Craig Creek Valley to Pearisburg in Virginia. The bridge was out crossing over Stony Creek just south of Bailey Gap Shelter. The creek was about 40-50 feet wide, cold, swift-flowing, and strewn with rounded rocks which were easy to slip between. Fortunately I had my Keen sandals which I used to ford. Where my foot slipped between rocks to the bottom, I was about mid-thigh.
If you're hiking NOBO, you'll come to a sign at the road after you've left Pine Swamp Shelter advising you of the bridge outage and directing you - if you want - to a road walk. If you take the road walk, you'll not have to worry about the ford and also avoid some small PUDs.
Don't know if the bridge has been repaired but perhaps you could look at some NOBO thruhikers' journals. Happy hiking!
Cookerhiker
05-27-2005, 13:14
The year I did CT/MA/VT, the ford of Sages Ravine near the CT/MA border was tough. Raging whitewater, waist-high, slippery rocks. It had rained nearly 5 inches in the previous 36 hours. I've also heard second-hand that during drier times this ford is a non-issue.
If it's been raining a lot, the dozen or so fords of Little Wolf Creek in VA south of Bland can be very trying. That's why they offer a blue-blazed high water route.I section-hiked the southern half of Massachusetts in mid-April including Sages Ravine (beautiful place!). The weather was dry and the fords were not an issue.
And I also section hiked along Wolf Creek May 12 (I've been around alot this year) and found the Wolf Creek crossings manageable but the muck/mud in the first 1/4 mile was a pain. In addition to the 12 Wolf Creek crossings, there are numerous tributary streams to cross.
Cookerhiker
05-27-2005, 13:21
Don't know if the bridge has been repaired but perhaps you could look at some NOBO thruhikers' journals. Happy hiking!
I just read Captain Patagonia's trail journal - the Stony Creek bridge was still out as of May 14.
icemanat95
05-27-2005, 14:14
I just read Captain Patagonia's trail journal - the Stony Creek bridge was still out as of May 14.
The Northeast is just coming out of a prolonged nor'easter. Lots of water got dumped on these states and the rivers and streams (which were just starting to get down to normal levels, are back up to the tops of their banks. It's gonna be dicey on the stream crossings.
And I also section hiked along Wolf Creek May 12 (I've been around alot this year) and found the Wolf Creek crossings manageable but the muck/mud in the first 1/4 mile was a pain. In addition to the 12 Wolf Creek crossings, there are numerous tributary streams to cross.
Wolf Creek like several other places has an alternate blue blazed high water route. If an area is in flood, don't try and play the hero in order to walk past every white blaze. Take the alternate route. It was put there for your safety.
Kerosene
06-05-2005, 15:32
How far "outside" Maine - are you thruhiking? In early April, I section-hiked SOBO from Craig Creek Valley to Pearisburg in Virginia. The bridge was out crossing over Stony Creek just south of Bailey Gap Shelter. The creek was about 40-50 feet wide, cold, swift-flowing, and strewn with rounded rocks which were easy to slip between. Fortunately I had my Keen sandals which I used to ford. Where my foot slipped between rocks to the bottom, I was about mid-thigh.
If you're hiking NOBO, you'll come to a sign at the road after you've left Pine Swamp Shelter advising you of the bridge outage and directing you - if you want - to a road walk. If you take the road walk, you'll not have to worry about the ford and also avoid some small PUDs.
Don't know if the bridge has been repaired but perhaps you could look at some NOBO thruhikers' journals. Happy hiking!I forded Stony Creek with some trepidation just last week. The old bridge, which was at least 6 feet above water level, was washed out in a hurricane last Fall. A woman's journal entry at the shelter just to the north said it was waist high when she went through a week earlier, so I was planning to take the alternate road walk. On the way down, I met 4 NOBOs who had just forded; one of them with water to the middle of his shorts.
I took a look and decided to go for it. I did all the stuff I had read about: put on my sandals (with rubber bands to hold them to my feet since I didn't bring Crocs with heel straps!), tied my boots around my neck, loosened all my pack straps, packed away my glasses and hat, and made sure everything was secure. I gave myself 10 minutes to cross, but it only took 3 and my route only got water to my knees. Thank goodness for trekking poles.
BTW, since this was only the third day of my hike, the cold water was great for my feet!
Kerosene
06-05-2005, 15:35
I crossed Sages Ravine in late March 1975, with the creek swollen by snowmelt. This wasn't actually a ford, since we crossed on a slippery, bent tree trunk, but it was certainly exciting and with all the ingredients for disaster.
We all got across fine, but then I slipped on the icy trail and slid down the icy stream bank like an upside-down turtle, stopping myself by planting a foot on a sapling a few feet before I would have become an icicle. My buddies pulled my back up.