I needed to head into the West Canadas to check on the Colvin Brook lean-to and clear part of the NPT. I decided to go in via the Pillsbury trailhead to Cedar Lake, then day trip the 6 miles (there and back) to the Colvin Brook lean-to and clear trail along the way.
A few cars in the lot when I arrived. Two more as I was putting on my pack. I greeted the other hikers; they were headed in the same direction as I. Noticed another lean-to adopter had signed in earlier that day, he was planning on his second night to be at the Beaver Pond lean-to where I was staying. I am hoping to run into him as we have never met.
The familiar trail was covered in the fallen leaves which crunched loudly as I made my way up the old military road trail. It will be only about 2 hours to reach the lake so I was not in any hurry. Muddy parts of the trail were mostly dry, like play-doh. The old boardwalks in the swampy parts are really starting to deteriorate to the point they are now a safety issue. More on this later.
Soon before the trail made its final descent to the old dam, I spotted an obvious path heading off the trail to my left. I noted the spot on my map with hope to explore later, perhaps on my way out. I wondered if this was the old path I had seen on some of the historic usgs maps? The yellow beech leaves paved the way like the brick road in the Wizard of Oz. The trail dropped elevation (slightly, it is not a hilly trail) then wound around to the old dam and bridge to cross the Cedar River.
I signed in at the register, as well as a note in the Cedar #1 shelter. My home for the night was a bit less than a mile further. I arrived to sn empty lean-to, did my adopter checks which went quickly as the site was clean and I was here back in July. I gathered some wood and checked on the old spring; it was mostly mud.
Afternoon turned to evening, sun sets earlier now especially with the clocks changing back to standard time. I was in bed before 7pm.
Morning came and I packed up supplies for my day trip to Colvin Brook. I stopped at Cedar #1 and chatted with the guys whom I met in the parking lot. They recognized my name from the NPT fB page. They were hiking the whole loop, planning to stay at Sampson Tuesday night. Great guys, hope to run into them again.
The trail to "woodstove" went quickly, no real maintenance to do. Between the work I have done over the years and the DEC coming through in the spring, thd trail is in great shape. Cleared a couple drainages of the newly fallen leaves and cut some smaller blowdown. Took a short break at the campsite and washed the sweat from my head and brow. Only a mile and a half to the junction.
Spent 20 minutes on a blowdown, not huge just a lot of branches to cut and move off trail. The latter part of the work is often the most time consuming. After turning down the Sucker Brook trail I recalled the ranger report from Aug which a lost group was directed down this trail to Colvin Brook to await extraction at the lean-to. I cut another blowdown along the way. A very light rain came and went as I traversed the red marked trail.
I was pleased to be able to rock-hop across the river instead of requiring me to switch to water shoes. My pleasure quickly waned when I saw the condition of the lean-to. Not the structure; we know it is in need of repair and is on the list. The trash and gear left behind, including the previous occupants having moved the firepit up against the lean-to. There was trash every where; in the fire pit and all around the lean-to.
I spent time cleaning up, moving the firepit back. Brushing out the spot to hide the fact it was ever moved. I packed up the trash and gear to carry out. I took photos to send in to the DEC to report the situation. The previous occupants had the presence of mind to sign the shelter log with their last names. I suppose they forgot that fact before they left after 5 days of trashing the place.
Colvin Brook trash and gear cleanup
With my pack loaded up, I headed back to Cedar Lake. The short rain had now quieted the leaves underfoot. I was back at camp a little before 3pm. Plenty of time to clean up and make dinner before the early sun set. The fellow adopter, Chuck was there. He had also run into the same gentleman I spoke with in the morning so knew I was in the area. He set up in the lean-to as well. Was great to talk with him. I gave him my contact info so we could coordinate future trips in the area. I showed him the photos of the trash and the gear I pulled out of my pack. We started the fire and chatted through dinner and into the evening.
Chuck was up and out before me. I turned over to get some more sleep. When the sky turned pink, I got up to grab a photo. Chuck was over at the bench near the bridge watching the sunrise. He came back after seeing I was up.
We started a morning fire and had coffee and breakfast. Neither of us were in a hurry to leave. Probably close to ten AM by the time we started hiking out. I mentioned to Chuck I might check out the path I saw on the way in. He was interested too. As we headed up the trail I could not find it. Strange how obvious it was just two days ago. I need to comd back and explore more. As we reached the height of land I mentioned there was cellular coverage. Our phones were switched out of airplane mode and the texts/emails from the past couple days started pouring in.
The hike out went quickly as we chatted through the miles. The small rocks under the leaves were a bit hazardous on the downhills. Chuck mentioned he heard the boardwalks were scheduled to be replaced soon. Back at the car and register we signed out, changed clothes and reiterated our plans to let each other know about our future trips into the area.
