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View Full Version : Has anyone been up Sages Ravine from the unmarked Rt 41 access trail?



Traveler
06-15-2015, 11:38
Curious to see if anyone has ever been up Sages Ravine starting from a teeny parking area just south of the Rt 41 bridge crossing. This is a very small, nearly invisible trail just south of the crossing, having some remnants of old blue blazed markings. We hiked in and started a pretty substantial and difficult climb up around the water falls on the south side of the ravine, eventually running out of trail and having to jump across to the north side and scramble to the top to find the old woods road that comes up from the Autistic Center compound on Rt 41.

The only other way I know of to hike up to Sages camping area is to take the woods road from private property up a very steep vertical climb to the intersection of the AT and that woods road (woods road and AT run together for a short time on the north side.

Has anyone done this old trail, or whats left of it?

linus72
06-15-2015, 15:10
hey there - thanks for the info re parking for our trip last weekend - sages was beautiful! there's an unmarked trail that comes in from mount washington road just north of bear and just south of paradise lane that i believe you can park at for a few days. i was planning on doing that to continue the section without climbing back up from 41. the caretaker also mentioned a trail that follows the brook up to east street with parking too, and just south of plantain mountain and its not on the maps cause it leads to the amc nw cabin. im not sure if there are actually these two paths, but i did see the one just before paradise lane but i thought THAT went to the cabin, which i thought was in CT< not over the border. i don't know if this answer helps except to say that i believe there is at least one easy, short walk in from the west. lmk if you find out anything more about those as I'd like to confirm too when we go on northbound.

Traveler
06-15-2015, 15:43
You are welcome for the info, anytime! The parking areas you are talking about are pretty secure on Mt Washington road. Those trails you are talking about I am familiar with. What I was looking for was the climbing route coming up Sages from Rt 41 that follows the ravine up I believe the south side to the AT crossing. It peters out after a short time, but does have some faded blue blazes which makes me think theres a less difficult and dangerous way to climb up alongside the ravine but theres a turn or jog that I missed.

Thanks for the information though. It took me a number of years to find all these trails the meander around the Plateau. Another mystery is the trail that leads off the red blazed trail heading up to Round Mountain. Where that trail turns a sharp left (south), the unblazed trail goes straight. Its a little over grown now, but I have followed that about a half mile and have no idea where it ends up. Lots of mysteries up there!

linus72
06-15-2015, 16:49
cool thanks! any idea which of the two from that road west is preferable?

sounds like the trail you are talking about would be if the AT continued down that south side of sages its on until it crosses to the state line signs. a lovely walk. i even see an old trailhead marker on this map there http://images.summitpost.org/original/227101.jpg

i also noticed coming down undermountain that there was an A.T silver pipe/marker on the lower section before paradise lane - so this was probably the trail before it went up over lions head at one point...i'd love some old maps of the AT like that but can't find any that old...

Cosmo
06-16-2015, 18:43
The unmarked "trail" on the east side up from Rt 41 you refer to crosses private land. That's one reason why it's been abandoned and not maintained or marked. Over the years local EMS teams has had several rescues of hikers injured on this extremely rugged slope. It would be best for the relationship that the CT and Mass clubs have with the local rescue squads and our trail neighbors if people only used the marked and maintained trails.

Thanks for your cooperation,

Cosmo

Traveler
06-17-2015, 08:13
Apparently the maps are incorrect then, the south side of Sages from Rt 41 to approximately half way up the ravine shows as public land, "Mt Riga State Park Scenic Reserve". This was the area of land we were curious about.

Another Kevin
06-19-2015, 12:52
The unmarked "trail" on the east side up from Rt 41 you refer to crosses private land. That's one reason why it's been abandoned and not maintained or marked. Over the years local EMS teams has had several rescues of hikers injured on this extremely rugged slope. It would be best for the relationship that the CT and Mass clubs have with the local rescue squads and our trail neighbors if people only used the marked and maintained trails.

Thanks for your cooperation,

Cosmo

I'm just curious: does that include the old roads on the comparatively newly acquired state land near Jug End? Is bushwhacking poor practice there, or is it just trespassing (possibly on closed/abandoned trails) that you're criticizing?

I ask because land management practices do vary. About a third of my hikes involve some bushwhacking, but where I most often hike, that's accepted practice. It even seems to be encouraged in spots: peakbagging is a recognized pastime, and 20 of the Adirondack 46 and 14 of the Catskill 35 lack maintained trails. In other places, such as the NY State Parks (the Catskill and Adirondack Parks are not State Parks, paradoxically) the rule is a quite strict, "stay on the trail, and camp at designated sites only," I've seen the whole spectrum in between.

I've done the whack from the A-T near Mt Undine, down the old road to the trail on the west side of Fenton Brook, across the abandoned golf course, over the Mt Whitbeck ridge (avoiding the private land near the radio towers, down to Mount Washington Road, and then up to the South Taconic trail south of Catamount (again avoiding the private inholdings). The ranger I talked to didn't seem to have a problem with it, and in fact when I mentioned the possibility of running out of time and having to stealth-camp (technically illegal), he said, "you ain't gonna hurt the snow none." But of course he's not the ultimate authority on the management practices there. Did I err?

Another Kevin
06-19-2015, 13:05
Apparently the maps are incorrect then, the south side of Sages from Rt 41 to approximately half way up the ravine shows as public land, "Mt Riga State Park Scenic Reserve". This was the area of land we were curious about.

Above Mt Riga State Park, but below the Trail corridor, there's a narrow strip of land right along the cliffs that connects to a much larger parcel to the south belonging to the Mount Riga Corporation, a private land trust. The State owns a conservation easement but not a right of public access; the easement simply prevents the landowners from developing the property. Since the Mount Riga Corporation is kind enough to allow the A-T to be routed over their land and to allow hikers to use Paradise Lane and Bear Mountain Road as access trails, it would help to preserve good relations with them.

Farther south, you can get up to the A-T between Brassie Brook shelter and Bear Mountain on the Undermountain Trail; that one is maintained the last I checked.

Cosmo
06-20-2015, 09:23
Hi Kevin,
I think the land at Jug End is all open for public access. Most is DCR, some is water department (Egremont, I think). Down by Sages, much of the land west of the AT is now owned by the Nature Conservancy. While technically in private ownership, it is open to "passive" recreation (that is to say no motorized use--'tho this is not always respected by some locals). On the east, much is publicly owned, but as mentioned, the Riga Corp has a piece, and they prefer not to allow public access.

Cosmo


I'm just curious: does that include the old roads on the comparatively newly acquired state land near Jug End? Is bushwhacking poor practice there, or is it just trespassing (possibly on closed/abandoned trails) that you're criticizing?

I ask because land management practices do vary. About a third of my hikes involve some bushwhacking, but where I most often hike, that's accepted practice. It even seems to be encouraged in spots: peakbagging is a recognized pastime, and 20 of the Adirondack 46 and 14 of the Catskill 35 lack maintained trails. In other places, such as the NY State Parks (the Catskill and Adirondack Parks are not State Parks, paradoxically) the rule is a quite strict, "stay on the trail, and camp at designated sites only," I've seen the whole spectrum in between.

I've done the whack from the A-T near Mt Undine, down the old road to the trail on the west side of Fenton Brook, across the abandoned golf course, over the Mt Whitbeck ridge (avoiding the private land near the radio towers, down to Mount Washington Road, and then up to the South Taconic trail south of Catamount (again avoiding the private inholdings). The ranger I talked to didn't seem to have a problem with it, and in fact when I mentioned the possibility of running out of time and having to stealth-camp (technically illegal), he said, "you ain't gonna hurt the snow none." But of course he's not the ultimate authority on the management practices there. Did I err?

Cosmo
06-20-2015, 09:23
Hi Kevin,
I think the land at Jug End is all open for public access. Most is DCR, some is water department (Egremont, I think). Down by Sages, much of the land west of the AT is now owned by the Nature Conservancy. While technically in private ownership, it is open to "passive" recreation (that is to say no motorized use--'tho this is not always respected by some locals). On the east, much is publicly owned, but as mentioned, the Riga Corp has a piece, and they prefer not to allow public access.

Cosmo


I'm just curious: does that include the old roads on the comparatively newly acquired state land near Jug End? Is bushwhacking poor practice there, or is it just trespassing (possibly on closed/abandoned trails) that you're criticizing?

I ask because land management practices do vary. About a third of my hikes involve some bushwhacking, but where I most often hike, that's accepted practice. It even seems to be encouraged in spots: peakbagging is a recognized pastime, and 20 of the Adirondack 46 and 14 of the Catskill 35 lack maintained trails. In other places, such as the NY State Parks (the Catskill and Adirondack Parks are not State Parks, paradoxically) the rule is a quite strict, "stay on the trail, and camp at designated sites only," I've seen the whole spectrum in between.

I've done the whack from the A-T near Mt Undine, down the old road to the trail on the west side of Fenton Brook, across the abandoned golf course, over the Mt Whitbeck ridge (avoiding the private land near the radio towers, down to Mount Washington Road, and then up to the South Taconic trail south of Catamount (again avoiding the private inholdings). The ranger I talked to didn't seem to have a problem with it, and in fact when I mentioned the possibility of running out of time and having to stealth-camp (technically illegal), he said, "you ain't gonna hurt the snow none." But of course he's not the ultimate authority on the management practices there. Did I err?

Traveler
06-20-2015, 09:37
Above Mt Riga State Park, but below the Trail corridor, there's a narrow strip of land right along the cliffs that connects to a much larger parcel to the south belonging to the Mount Riga Corporation, a private land trust. The State owns a conservation easement but not a right of public access; the easement simply prevents the landowners from developing the property. Since the Mount Riga Corporation is kind enough to allow the A-T to be routed over their land and to allow hikers to use Paradise Lane and Bear Mountain Road as access trails, it would help to preserve good relations with them.

Farther south, you can get up to the A-T between Brassie Brook shelter and Bear Mountain on the Undermountain Trail; that one is maintained the last I checked.

Gotcha, thanks. The map I have just shows it as "Public Lands" along with various parcels around the region. I've seen people park down at that trail head and figured it might be an adventure. And it was, but it ended at the AT Easement boundary markers where it stopped. I don't disagree with the relationship aspect.