Old Speck - 12/26/2013

With the crazy weather on the winter solstice, and the passing of Christmas, I was ready to get into the madness of my winter hiking goals and plans.  I was all packed in advance for my departure on the day after Christmas for a week-long adventure in Maine, my year-end vacation time.  The first hikes on my radar were Old Speck and both Saddlebacks on 12/26, before meeting my brother the next day in Millinocket for a planned North Brother trip.  I arrived in Grafton Notch shortly after sunrise on the 26th to a wintry scene.

Old Speck Trail in winter

Old Speck as seen from the Old Speck Trail

As has been the case in my two summer hikes of Old Speck, it was just as beautiful in the winter.  The familiar waterfall now frozen solid and the tall green pines in snow all looked amazing.  There were signs of some previous travel, but there was around an inch over everything.  Beneath, there was an icy surface.

On the ascent, and in the area where the col is, my snowshoe got caught on a root that was protruding from the snow and I took a pretty nasty fall, falling head first on a down slope, almost hitting the back of my neck on a tree pretty hard, but I did whack my knee so hard on some ice, that I'm still feeling it every hike after I do several miles.  Come to find out several days later, I should have checked the dullness of my snowshoes before setting off on my winter plans.  There were no longer any teeth on my snowshoes, and they eventually broke two weeks later on the Bigelows. 

Old Speck fire tower

Old Speck summit

Despite the pain that left me wondering what the color of my knee would be after the hike, I reached the summit of Old Speck for my first New England 4000 footer in winter outside of the White Mountains, #49.  There was no view, and therefore no need to endanger myself by climbing the tower with snowshoes on.  I quickly descended, got in my car, and drove through horrible driving conditions to the Saddleback Mountain Ski area to take on my 2nd hike of the day.  So here we go with the rest of the New England 4000's in winter.

Hike Stats

Trails: Old Speck Trail, Mahoosuc Trail

Distance: 6.9 miles

Elevation Gain: 3,189 ft.

Actual Book Time: 3:55
GPS Track: Garmin Adventures

Old Speck Mountain - July 4th, 2013

With 2013's Independence Day falling on a mid-week day, I was able to accompany my friend Mike as he continues his quest for the New England 4000 footers with a hike to Old Speck Mountain in Maine. Having climbed only Katahdin (with me in 2012) outside of NH, this hike officially got his remaining quest for the New England 4000 Footers moving in the right direction. Good luck Mike!

The Eyebrow and small ridge to Old Speck from the parking lot

We started with a fun ascent of the Eyebrow Trail. I had only come down this trail once before, and its recommended for ascent only (although its not as tricky as some other similarly described trails in the whites). It was definitely a lot of fun going up it this time. It adds some elevation gain to the hike, but very little. As long the trail conditions are dry, I highly recommend anyone hiking Old Speck to go up the Eyebrow, and down the Old Speck Trail (AT). It makes the hike a tiny bit more challenging and fun.

Use only the climbing aides provided!

The Cables

The railings...the ladder....

...and the rungs!

It was really hot and humid, so the ascent was a definite work out. It was a perfect little warm-up 2 days before my planned Great Range Traverse. As with my previous times to Old Speck, I really enjoyed the surrounding scenery on the mountain. The wet, moss and fern covered land really makes it a pretty hike that most will enjoy.

Top section of the Eyebrow Trail 

View from the Eyebrow 

A web we saw about eye-level on the trail 

Fern covered forest 

Wet mossy rocks

Next, we continued on, and shortly after hitting the junction we reached the summit of Old Speck and climbed to the top of the observation tower. We took in the great views for a few short minutes before the bugs caught on and started eating us. Unbelievably, it was my 3rd time to Old Speck.

Look at that calf muscle at work after 183 days of no mountains!

Mahoosuc Trail takes you to the summit

Mike climbs the tower! 

As Mike was getting into my car in the morning, I couldn't help notice (and I had no idea) that I had bought the same pack as he, the Gregory Z30 pack. Nothing like going up the trail with copy-cat backpacks it was hilarious and made for a lot of fun on the hike. By the way, this pack is sweet and has become my favorite so far, so I'm hoping it works well this winter too for shorter winter day hikes and climbs.

DMOutdoors & The Outhouse sporting matching Gregory Z30 packs!

On the way down, we were treated to the beautiful water features found along the Old Speck Trail, which is the part that is by-passed when taking the Eyebrow Trail. I've seen these falls at only much smaller levels before, so it was nice to see them with a different effect. You have to love summer hiking for when there's a cool stream to cool off in every so often along the way.

After a solid hike with an ascent of 2,850 feet, we were pretty beat, but that didn't stop us from adding one more quick stop on the way out, and that was a quick walk to check out Screw Auger Falls, just a few minutes from the trail head. The place was loaded with people (rightfully so in this heat) so a it was just a quick peek and off we were (see photos below). Mike has hiked two more NE 4000 footers since this hike, and is going New England 4000 footer crazy trying to finish them up! He's actually sticking to his word, so to see if he finishes Maine and VT this summer, I guess we'll have to check out The Outhouse (that's if he can keep up with the blogging too!)

Screw Auger Falls geology 

Screw Auger Falls, Maine 

Screw Auger Falls, Maine 

Hike Stats
Trails: Eyebrow Trail, Old Speck Trail (AT)

Distance: 7.8 miles

Elevation Gain: 2,850 ft.

Actual Book Time: 5:21