Old Speck Mtn (4,170 ft) 2-11-19

Distance: 7.13 mi.
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

Old Speck Mtn (4,170 ft) 8-10-14

Distance: 6.325 mi.
Elevation: 2,716 ft (overall) 3,038 ft (total)
Time: 3:27 (Summit) 5:18 (total)
Trails: Eyebrow Trail Trail, Old Speck Trail

Today's hike would be hike number 2 of the weekend. After picking up my tent early and having breakfast, I left the campground to hike Old Speck Mountain on the way home. Before I was even really out of town, I noticed a man holding a big camera lens standing next to his car a ways off the road. Sure enough, there was a moose. Not wanting to disturb another photographer, I kept going. For this, I was rewarded with my own moose right next to the road. I was able to turn around and get a couple of shots before she walked off, but nothing special. Two moose in the first 10 minutes, hopefully this would mean a good day. The funny part is that Route 16 between Rangeley and Stratton becomes an almost steady stream of traffic in the evening with people looking for moose. And here I am just getting an early start (without looking for moose) and I see two of them easily.

Roadside moose

At the trail head you can see the first obstacle I was planning on today, The Eyebrow. It's a pretty big rock face, luckily the trail leads around it. Things start off gentle and you take a right at the first intersection just after the start of the trail. After a bit more distance, the trail hits the steep portions. Right off you are presented with a section with posts and a cable for a hand hold to help you climb up. With the dry conditions today, I didn't need them.

Cables

Further up you come to an open rock slab you must cross. Metal rungs help you up the left side to more metal rungs you can hold on to in order to walk across. Then there are even more rungs to come down the far side a bit to reach the ladder which leads you into the woods. Again, with dry conditions this wasn't any real issue. A bit of water on the far side just meant a couple cautious steps. Back into the woods you soon come to more rungs that are placed well to be used as steps to go up over a steep section of rock. Before long the trail levels out some and works across the top area of the eyebrow to come to a view point at the far end. This provides a nice view down into Grafton Notch and up to the summit.

Crossing the open rock

Hazy view into Grafton Notch

The only bad thing about this portion of trail is that it turns down to the left after the viewpoint and drops nearly 100 feet in elevation before it comes back to the main trail. I was almost starting to think I missed the intersection and was headed the wrong way. It's nothing big, only some extra effort after you just climbed a steep trail. Steadily gaining elevation, the trail is pretty nice without any major difficulties. For portions it goes over some of my favorite type of terrain... exposed open rock that is still in the trees. Further up, the trail gets back to being rocks and dirt like you would expect. There are a few small humps in the trail that make for small PUDs, but they don't add up to much at the end of the day.

One of my favorite types of trail

Getting higher up the mountain, the trail seems to get a bit steeper, but still not to a difficult degree. I think it was mostly that I had hiked the day before and today was on the humid side with rain storms possibly developing. After a couple short breaks and a small view point, I was at the intersection near the summit. Only 0.3 miles left of easy mostly level trail. At the summit, there is a small opening with a partial view. To get the best views though, simply climb the fire tower which is in real nice condition. At the top, you can see for miles in all directions.

Summit fire tower

The view to the west shows a rain storm

Baldplate Mtns to the north

Presidential Range in sight

From the fire tower I could see that there was a small rain storm to the west near the state line. Possibly coming this way some, this made a few hikers staying at the Speck Pond Campsite nervous as they had left their tents open. After a short chat with them, they headed quickly down the trail to beat the rain. While more clear to the north, another storm appeared to be in that direction. It was still a distance away, but that seemed to be the direction the clouds were coming from today. So after enough time to enjoy the views and take it all in, I headed down the trail to try and keep from getting too wet. Shortly after leaving the summit, it sprinkled briefly, then the sun came back out. But further down the mountain, it started to rain again and didn't let up until the trail head. I didn't take many pictures on the bottom half of the hike down due to this. But after being so humid today, the rain felt nice and it wasn't hard enough to really get you too wet. After changing into dry non-hiking clothes at the car, I did hear a rumble of thunder and the rain picked up significantly while I was driving home. Hopefully all the hikers I saw headed up were prepared for this.

The Old Speck Trail section bypassing the Eyebrow Trail wasn't too difficult. Some rocky sections, but generally good footing. Only a couple small brooks to cross through here. Definitely an easier route while also being 0.1 miles shorter.

For all the pictures from the hike, just go HERE