Upper Pine Brook Preserve

There isn’t much parking on the shoulder of Chestnut Hill Road, but thankfully it seems pretty quiet.  The trail starts steeply descending on a series of tight switchbacks towards the brook.  Once off the worst of the slope the trail forks into the loop.

I chose to head right and take the upper portion leaving the brook for the second half. The trail is less often used through easy to follow.  Heavy rains over the past couple months have taken a toll, but it is a well selected route.  I startled off a few deer further down the slope, sending them bounding off among the trees.

The trail curves at the property boundary and meets Upper Pine Brook.  Those heavy rains have swelled the brook to river status making islands at the center.  It made me wonder what the average water level is here, if the brook slows to a trickle in the summer.

Following the brook down stream for the second half I came across the ruins of an old mill with heavy stone walls lining the brook.  This area was apparently a popular stretch for mills in the 1800s and some light research suggests that this could have been a paper mill.  More digging is required here.

Past the ruins the trail begins to gradually climb again to meet the original fork.