Elevation: 2,773 ft (overall) 3,502 ft (total)
Time: 2:40 (Summit) 4:36 (Total)
Trails: Old Speck Trail
With a weekend in northern NH and Mondays off from work right now, it seemed like a great time to bag a winter peak. The closest 4K peak to where I was staying was Old Speck Mountain, so I decided to bring my gear with me and hike up. The last forecast I saw before heading up north was for temps on the summit around 0, but not a lot of wind and only some clouds. That turned out to be partly correct in the end.
I got to the trail head around 9am and found it plowed well, but narrower than in summer. Still room for a number of cars, but not as many as normal. There were also a couple other vehicles with hikers, but they all hiked across the street as I didn't see anyone else after leaving the parking lot. So after picking out my gear and putting it all together I headed up the trail.
The trail was smooth and hard at the start which also made it easy to follow. I started off with my microspikes and ended up leaving them on until I got back to my truck. After a short flat section, the trail starts the steady climb to the summit. The lower section includes one well frozen over brook crossing followed by a series of switchbacks before leaving the lower hardwoods near the upper junction of the Eyebrow Trail.
The only real water crossing, frozen over
Around this same part of the trail you will also come past your first view point with has a nice view down through Grafton Notch. You can also see up towards the summit as well. After this the trail stayed mostly in the spruce which was a bit thicker, but had some more open sections of forest. These open sections could be tricky to navigate after a fresh snow as I didn't notice lots of blazes and they are also getting closer to knee and hip level instead of head height. During the summer there are also some nice sections of exposed ledge that they trail follows through here. I love sections like that, but today the rocks was deeply covered in snow. There still were some views from these sections of trail though.
From the first view point
A brief open section of trail
As the trail got closer to the summit, it also got a bit rougher and was no longer the smooth trench in the snow. The trail at times turned into some spots of less consolidated snowshoe prints/holes. It also appeared to deviate from the summer route as there was at least one feature I remember from the summer that the trail didn't go by today. At a couple points the tracks in the snow would split as previous hikers appeared unsure about the trail. The tracks either stopped quickly, or shortly met back up with the main path. In all instances today, the path to the left was the correct one to follow.
Those blazes are getting a bit low
Where the AT turns off and the trail continues to the summit it was easy to follow through the trees. The snow wasn't deep enough that branches were in your face and this section doesn't gain much elevation so it was pretty easy going. There was only one fallen tree that was easy to walk right around. Once at the summit I added on my outer layer now that I wasn't hiking. I then headed up the tower with my camera and weather meter. At the top I first checked out the 360 degrees views, then checked the wind speeds and temperature. While I knew it was supposed to be cold today, I was surprised when my weather meter claimed it was -17 degrees. I checked the other temperature reading and saw the same thing, guess it was right. No wonder I didn't stop as much to take pictures, I needed to stay warm. The wind was also blowing pretty well which made it feel like a balmy -34 degrees. My coldest summit yet, beating Mt. Hale 7 years ago which was -13.
I stayed up on the tower as long as I could taking pictures and enjoying the views, but dang it was cold and I eventually needed to head back down the tower so I at least had the trees to block the wind. So after a bit longer at the summit, I grabbed my gear and headed back down. I could feel my feet getting a bit cold and thought it best to get moving and warm them back up. Had I known it was going to be this cold, I would have had on a different pair of socks.
The tower at the summit
View northeast over the notch
Looking southwest over the Mahoosuc Notch
Summit view to the southeast
Gray Jay waiting for a snack
The hike back down went smoothly. I knew which tracks to follow and knew that the trail would be in good shape. I moved quick enough to stay warm and only stopped a few more times for pictures or to adjust my gear. The hardest part of the trail today was one ice flow over some exposed rock which had a nice path around it just into the trees. In what seemed like little time, I was back to the parking lot and my truck. I took off my spikes and got my gear ready to go into the truck. Normally I would change some of my layers into dry clothing, but today I wanted to just get in the truck and run the heater. I'd change into another set of clothes later after I was warm.
The trickiest part of the trail today
All in all the hike went very well today with making good time and having great views. It was a bit colder and windier than expected, but I had limited access to forecasts leading up to the hike, which is why I brought lots of options to put into my pack. It was nice to get back to this peak and also check off another 4K in the winter.
Google Earth representation of the hike
For all the pictures from the hike, just go to my gallery on SmugMug
