North Brother

North Brother is located in Baxter State Park, Maine.
Flanked to the northeast by Fort Mountain and to the southwest by South Brother; collectively the two are called "The Brothers."
The Appalachian Trail reaches its northern terminus on the summit of Mount Katahdin, 5 miles to the southeast of The Brothers.

Routes

Marston Trail to N. Brother trail

14 summits • 13.6 mi • 4,444 ft gain • 9 hr 25 min

North Brother Trail

6 summits • 8.5 mi • 2,984 ft gain • 3 hr 46 min

North Brother 10.2 mi route

1 summit • 10.2 mi • 3,342 ft gain • 6 hr 28 min

Latest summits

see all summits

"Great hike and our first in Baxter State Park. Quite a long drive to this one. The hike was pretty easy until the last half mile, which was quite steep and rocky, but nothing we hadn't experienced a number of times along our journey. " — ne4kclimber • Aug 25, 2018

"After the Katahdin attempt yesterday, we hit the road walk at 6am and made it up the trail to North Brother with winds at 60 mph sustained and gusts close to 90mph. Our group of 9 was down to 5 and everyone else wanted to turn around so I didn't get to go for Fort which was my goal....big bummer." — shay-shay • Feb 19, 2018

"Oh What a day.... After hiking Pamola, Baxter and Hamlin yesterday...I had to grab North Brother for the NE67. I decided that I would snag others along the way towards the 100 highest....I was solo... It had rained a bit the day before and I knew it was steep...but I didnt realize it was that steep. With the rain it was slippery and a lot of loose rocks and dirt were falling around me. It was definitely a treacherous hike and I don't recommend it for solo hikers or anyone who is not a strong hiker. Once I summited, I then headed for South Brother. Large boulders and quite a bit of work to get up there. The Maine mountains are definitely tougher than NH! After South Brother, I went to the meeting spot where I was supposed to meet my hiking friends but they didnt show and after waiting close to an hour I decided to summit North Brother solo as well since the rain was soon to come. North Brother was very eroded for the last mile of the trail. Lots of water! After summiting, I finally returned to the meeting spot that my friends were just now reaching. They were under 1mph pace for the day and I was glad I didnt wait for them. " — shay-shay • Sep 9, 2017

"As I was heading up N. Brother, the rest of my hiking group was coming down. I stayed 10 min on the summit. It had gotten colder and the wind stronger. I also wanted to catch up to my hiking group. I had to move fast but I did catch up to them further down the Marston Tr. " — newenglandwarrior • Oct 8, 2016

"Solo. Headed up to Maine to join Kim for her AT Thru Hike finish. I slack packed her from Abol Bridge to Katahdin Stream campsite, so while she was doing that I decided to get a quick hike in to North Brother. If I had more time I would have added Fort, South Brother and Coe, but I will be back here to hike again probably when I'm working on the NEHH list. Nice trail and hike up to this summit. It was a little bit windy when I got up above treeline, but the views were well worth it. 360 degree views from the summit on a bluebird day. Quick hike down from the summit and made it back to Katahdin Stream before Kim arrived from her slack pack. " — LGH-Tom • Sep 29, 2016

"Could not image this hike in the spring when the water is high. Could not decide weather I liked this hike or not. Starts off steep, levels off and steep again for the last 6/10th of a mile. It was hot and humid this day and even with an early start I felt the effects. " — mary.wright.35977 • Jul 27, 2016

"A great day for a hike. We got on the rail at 5 a.m. in hopes of beating the heat. The last .8 miles spur trail up to the summit is in poor condition. The trail should be trimmed back and the erosion is pretty bad in places. At one point I lost my favorite water bottle down a crack between several large rocks. The crack was just wide enough to get my right arm in, but my arm was three inches too short. I managed to fish it out with a hiking pole (no Klean Kanteen left behind on my watch). This must happen often at this spot in the trail, because I found 3 other water bottles at this same spot. We were a group of three, the oldest being twenty years older than the youngest. We hiked the 9 miles in just under nine hours, and that included the 30 minutes it took me to retrieve my bottle from the mountain, lunch, and time at the top to rest and take pictures. It was 85 degrees when we got back to the car. Happy Trails." — bwright • Jul 27, 2016

"I did a loop hike of N. Brother, S. Brother and Coe from the Marston Trail. See my trip report at: http://www.offonadventure.com/2013/09/north-south-brother-mount-coe-baxter.html" — Telemarkmike • Sep 14, 2013