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Collier Trail of Greenwood Furnace
Collier Trail of Greenwood Furnace Greenwood Furnace State Park is a hub for many different hiking and biking trails. One of my favorites is the Collier Trail, a wonderfully diverse hike with historical merit. This trail accesses the Greenwood Tower on top of Broad Mountain. The hike is arduous, roughly seven miles roundtrip, climbing over 1300 vertical feet. The trail begins near the Greenwood Furnace Visitors Center. It is blazed in blue and well marked. After wandering through an initially flat area you’ll soon reach a thick stand of mature hemlocks. This section alone is worth experiencing, and it is an easy walk with very little elevation gain. As you leave the hemlocks, however, the trail begins to climb sharply. A series of switchbacks wind their way up the hillside through the middle section of the trail. If they seem steep imagine how difficult it would be without them. In several places you won’t need to imagine it...you’ll experience it firsthand as some sections of the trail do head straight up the mountain. Erosion takes its toll on parts of the Collier Trail and the hiking can be difficult and loose. But the majority of trail is in good condition and very enjoyable to walk. This is remote terrain and only a few trails cut through this section of forest. Colliers were an integral part of the workforce during the iron ore industry. In the late 1800’s Greenwood Furnace was a working community with over 100 buildings and as many as 300 workers and their families. A colliers job was to make charcoal. Along the Collier Trail you’ll find several charcoal flats. These are flat areas where the colliers tended a smoldering mound of timber layered with dirt and leaves. This was slowly burned to produce charcoal. The charcoal was needed in massive quantities as fuel for the iron furnaces at Greenwood. When a layer of charcoal was ready, it was loaded onto carts and taken to the furnace. Sometimes the charcoal would burn through the carts and the ‘crop’ was wasted. The job was considerably more difficult than it sounds. If the fire burns too hot, the charcoal is destroyed. If it burns too slow, charcoal is not created. A collier was constantly tending the flat all day and all night. He did not go home - colliers lived at their flats full time. They had a reputation as being the dirtiest and stinkiest of men, tending a hot fire pit in the summer months with no running water and minimal supplies. As you reach the charcoal flats take a few minutes to rest and think about the men who lived and worked here. I bet they never imagined people would someday hike to their flats purely for recreation. The trail reaches Seeger Road and the climbing stops. An easy walk on the road for a few hundred yards leads to a left hand turn along the old telephone poles. At the end you’ll reach the Greenwood Tower, where you can climb above the trees for spectacular views. If you want to take the easiest approach use a car shuttle. By driving to the tower you can simply descend the trail into Greenwood Furnace State Park, about 3.5 miles all downhill. Be sure to see the Visitors Center which has many historical artifacts on display. On a separate note, this is my last column for the Centre Daily Times. I have accepted a position with the University of Maine and will be relocating north for a few years. Peace, Mike |
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