We parked at Scutt road PA, and headed down North Lake Road to Spruce Creek. From there we bushwhacked up the edge of Spruce Creek. This time we stayed a little east of the creek to miss the conifer forest. I had assumed that it would be easier. But, it wasn't. It was rocky and wet with a lot of slash on the forest floor. As we approached the head of Spruce Creek and he cirque, we moved up on the bottom shoulder of North mtn. We move down until we got to a point where it was fairly easy to climb up to the top of North Mtn. If you find the right place it isn't that steep.
Once we reached the top of North Mtn on the north side, the top of rich with Balsam Fir and quite thick in places. We weaved and fought our way along the west rim. In a few places we found some mini-bogs that were black from decay. About half way across the west rim, we broke into a section that just had yellow birch. Nice easy hiking in the birches. But, as we rounded to the south east rim, the balsam firs returned.
As we approached the spot we believed where we would find the bog, we found a section that was devoid of trees and brush. At first I thought that I had found the bog, and it was turning out to be a false bog. I was quite disappointed. It was a lot of work to get there. But, as I wondered around, I suddenly found the bog. My guess is that it is about 150-200' in diameter. It is quite large. A hidden gem for sure. I was going to try and measure it, but due to the dense balsam firs on one side, we abandon that attempt.
We then headed along the southeast rim at a very slow pace. The balsam firs were quite thick in places. Moving forward was quite difficult. Lots of weaving and forcing our way through the firs. We finally reached the hidden campsite and knew that the trail was close by. We then hiked down to Lookout #2 and took a quick break for pics. We then moved down to North Point (Lookout #1). We stopped to eat lunch (5pm) and enjoy the view. from there we descended down the mountain towards our car. By this time we both were quite tired. We only hiked 5.78 miles. But, some of those miles were quite difficult. Here are some pics:
Spring is here, and they were popping up everywhere
Trillium were just starting to bloom
Strange clearing we found part way up Spruce Creek.
Devoid section near the bog
View of the bog from the balsam fir forest
The new bog
View of North-South lake - near the bog
We thought that we were alone. But, apparently not!
View from Lookout #2
Yummy looking bear scat
North-South Lake
North-South Lake
