We finally reached the point where the stream started branching, marking the spot where we would start the climb up to the Appalachian Trail. Most of the reports that I've heard from people that have done this trek indicate that they cut out to the west of the stream to climb the ridgeline on up to a point near Guyot Springs. I remembered cutting to the east, towards the Pinnacle Lead, so not far beyond the point in the lower photo, we climbed a steep grassy bank and entered the dark spruce/fir forest that blankets the high peaks of Mt. Guyot and Old Black. The 7.5 minute topo shows the stream splitting into 2 distinct branches at the bottom of the final climb, but it seems to me that it actually splits into many little trickles of water that appear and disappear on their course down the mountainside. The split is less than a half mile from the AT and the move away from the tangled boulder field of the streambed is a welcome relief.

After I took the bottom photo, I wrapped the camera and put it away. I was spending so much time crawling over and under logs and through the matted, tangled brush that it was really taking a beating.