2. New England 4000+ ft Mountains

Old Speck Mtn. 2.11.2019

With a weekend up in northern NH and Mondays off from work, it seemed like a good time to hike Old Speck Mountain in Maine. I had the mountain to myself today and took the Old Speck Trail to the summit and back. I knew it was going to be cold today, but was surprised at the summit when I check my weather-meter and found it to be -17 degrees. Add in the wind and it felt like -34 degrees. While the sky was clear and the views were great, this meant I didn't spend as much time on the summit as I would have liked since I wanted to stay warm. That is also why I didn't take as many pictures as normal today. The hike was a total of 7.13 miles with 3,502 feet of total elevation gain
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The first and only real water crossing was solidly frozen over
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The first and only real water crossing was solidly frozen over

OldSpeckMtn1816

  • The first and only real water crossing was solidly frozen over
  • Looking up the brook at the crossing
  • The first mile of trail has a few switchbacks in it as the terrain can be pretty steep. Here the rocky ledge of the Eyebrow can be seen through the trees
  • The trail comes back next to the brook it crossed lower down a couple of times. In the summer there are some nice cascades through here, but today it was solid ice
  • The trail goes past a couple small view points as you ascend
  • Looking down into Grafton Notch
  • Looking up towards the summit from the trail
  • Down low the trail was a bit of a tench and was easy to follow, which is probably good since I didn't notice a lot a blazes when I was looking for them
  • Another small opening in the trees reveals a bit of a view over to Baldpate Mountain
  • Another view to the southwest
  • A closer look shows the Percy Peaks off in the distance
  • Closer to the summit the trail was as much of a trench and in places wasn't as well packed down
  • Normally the white blazes of the AT are around chest to head height off the ground, not knee level like it is today
  • Finally up at to the summit
  • There is an old fire tower at the summit that you can climb up by ladder to have great views in all directions
  • The top of the tower has a nice railing around it and closing gate to help you stay where you want
  • Baldpate Mountain to the northeast on the other side of Grafton Notch
  • Looking southeast down the notch
  • Looking southeast with Sunday River ski area in sight
  • Sunday River Resort
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