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Post by arfcomhkr on Feb 9, 2015 16:12:34 GMT -5
As some of you may or may not know, I have a place on Cave Mountain. So, the dog and I took a drive through Smoke Hole and Up North Fork Mountain to where the spring is supposed to be. We found it.
Sad to say that I don't think it's useable. I couldn't see any water in it and It was full of leaves.
I'll post some pics when I get back to Ohio later in the week.
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vdeal
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Post by vdeal on Feb 9, 2015 19:53:40 GMT -5
Maybe it's seasonal and will flow well after the spring rains.
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Post by arfcomhkr on Feb 9, 2015 20:30:58 GMT -5
Maybe it's seasonal and will flow well after the spring rains. it looks iffy. From what I saw, it's just fed from a ditch that drains across the road up there that comes by the camp. There's a stagnant pond below the spring site. I'll post pics and GPS #'s this weekend. FWIW, I might be able to do water drops up there once in a while this summer if I'm around. It's 3 miles as the crow flies, but 13 miles up there by road. The road sucks, btw. You'll have to contact me here to see if I'll be up there though. |
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vdeal
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Post by vdeal on Feb 10, 2015 8:44:58 GMT -5
Arf, Is this what the spring you found looked like?  This is the spring on North Fork Mt. |
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Post by arfcomhkr on Feb 10, 2015 10:13:59 GMT -5
Yeah, that's it. Doesn't look that good today. If there was any water in it, I sure couldn't see it.
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rpcv
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Post by rpcv on Feb 10, 2015 10:57:33 GMT -5
That's good to know. Thanks for checking it out.
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Post by jnk556 on Feb 12, 2015 11:46:51 GMT -5
I'd say in the middle of summer that thing would be drier than a popcorn fart. Hell, ain't much on that mountain in summer that isn't dry. It's like a desert up there. Now spring, after the snow melt (what little it does get) might be another story.
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Post by arfcomhkr on Feb 12, 2015 14:10:30 GMT -5
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Post by arfcomhkr on Feb 12, 2015 14:14:10 GMT -5
Here's the cairn that points the way to it. It's right behind the campsite.  |
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vdeal
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Post by vdeal on Feb 12, 2015 14:29:56 GMT -5
Did you actually dig down into the leaves to see if there was water. Seems to me that it would naturally fill with leaves in the fall but could still have water. I still believe spring and early summer are when it would run best. I hiked the entire North Fork Mt. trail years ago and we got water from depressions in the rocks on the cliffs edge and from rutted tracks near the radio tower.
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Post by jnk556 on Feb 12, 2015 17:36:23 GMT -5
Did you actually dig down into the leaves to see if there was water. Seems to me that it would naturally fill with leaves in the fall but could still have water. I still believe spring and early summer are when it would run best. I hiked the entire North Fork Mt. trail years ago and we got water from depressions in the rocks on the cliffs edge and from rutted tracks near the radio tower. Those rutted tracks last time we were up there was a very nice 4x4 mud bog  |
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Post by arfcomhkr on Feb 14, 2015 11:43:40 GMT -5
BTW, here is the surface water catchment up there. It's also behind the campsite and below the spring. Personally, I wouldn't use this without adding something like aquamira on top of filtering. The heavily used campsite is right above it.  |
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Post by arfcomhkr on Mar 15, 2015 17:23:01 GMT -5
3/15 update. jnk556 and I drove up there on the 14th. Much snow melt and there was actually water in the spring box (for now). There's more water in the little catchment along with little frogs. FR79 is naturally a bit muddy right now due to the thaw. Camp site is in pretty good shape,pretty clean, but a bit soggy. Found shells of the elusive North Fork Mountain Oyster. . Will post pics when I return to the land of unlimited data later in the week. I feel sorry for anyone who spent last night on the mountain. Wind gusted to 50 mph up here where I'm at. |
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Post by jnk556 on Mar 19, 2015 9:47:13 GMT -5
Ah the north fork mountain oyster  |
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Post by countryroads on Apr 9, 2015 14:10:29 GMT -5
Two friends are I are headed to NFM this weekend. We were planning on 3 days, but are limited to 2 days. I usually don't plan treks of over 8 miles this early, but what the heck. Will report back next week on the spring, but I do expect it to have water, with all of the rain we have been getting this week.
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vdeal
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Post by vdeal on Apr 10, 2015 7:37:35 GMT -5
CR,
I see that you moved the trip up quite a bit. I still prefer May, especially up high but anytime out is a good time. Enjoy the trip. Are you going south to north? Oh, and I would also expect water in the spring. Have a good hang.
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Post by arfcomhkr on Apr 11, 2015 8:43:33 GMT -5
Two friends are I are headed to NFM this weekend. We were planning on 3 days, but are limited to 2 days. I usually don't plan treks of over 8 miles this early, but what the heck. Will report back next week on the spring, but I do expect it to have water, with all of the rain we have been getting this week. Wish I would have seen this earlier as I'm on Cave Mountain right now. Could drive up if you were camping by the spring Saturday night. |
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Post by countryroads on Apr 13, 2015 8:49:51 GMT -5
Yeah, the planning happened pretty fast. We met at the Smokehole Caverns visitor center and then dropped my Jeep off at the north trailhead and then drove to the US33 trailhead. We got on trail around 0930. It was quite windy. Weather was spot-on perfect! We did bite off a bit more than we should have this early, so lots of sore muscles. We arrived at the FS79 campsite around 1700. Wind was starting to calm down by then, so that we could safely have a fire. The spring itself was still full of leaves, but there was a nice flow from a pipe about 25 or so feet below and to the right of the spring & about the same distance above the pond. It was flowing very well & was cold and clear! So, no water issues. Had several Human visitors in the night: Bear dog guys around 1800, a man & woman around 1930, the bear dog guys again at 2200 and lastly a car at 0300 Sunday morning. Sunday was cold, but not too much, about 37 degrees with no wind. Sunday warmed up nicely and we had a very nice walk in the woods. The down at the end is what I would imagine hell to be; never ending. We had a great time and are already planning another trip, but as a 3 day instead. Three days is less fatiguing and gives more time to just sit and stare at the beauty.
We would have enjoyed having company. Next time, I will try to give more notice.
All in all, this was a great trip with two great friends.
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Post by countryroads on Apr 13, 2015 9:02:17 GMT -5
There did seem to be good water in the spring, just lots of leaves. We could have gotten water from it. It is a ways to reach down and clean the leaves out and did water. We did make sure to put the screen back over it to keep any more leaves out. We saw the pipe as we were heading down to the pond to get water (water in the pond looked great since there was good flow into it). It was hard to get a water bladder under the pipe, as there was a root in the way, but you could get the bladder almost full and then use a dip cup to top it off. The water from the pipe was practically gushing and it was very clear and very cold.
As an aside, when we were approaching the old Kimble Trail intersection, we could actually hear water flowing, but we did not go down to find it. It seemed to be coming from a VERY large flat rock down in a ravin. There did seam to be a lot of potential underground feeder streams that might empty into this area. Might be something we will check out on another trip, but we were pressed for time so did not check it out this time.
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vdeal
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Post by vdeal on Apr 13, 2015 9:02:23 GMT -5
CR,
Glad you had a good time. Yeah, I like that as a 3 day trip and yes, the downhill at the end is hard. I would imagine that with all of the rain we've had lately that some seasonal springs are running. Thanks for the report.
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