Day Hike Notes – Old Speck Mountain

Trailside brook

On Monday, the first full day of my trip, I went up Blueberry Mountain. Since my route was almost the same as one I took last year (the 2nd hike described in Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness) I will not add another post about it now. Three differences this year though: I did the loop the other way around (counterclockwise), the rain did not hold off until I was finished, and I skipped the summit of Speckled Mountain.

There are three mountains and one pond in this part of Maine called Speckled or Speck. The subject of this post is Old Speck, at 4,170 feet Maine’s fourth highest peak and apparently speckled in appearance by virtue of the contrast between trees and bare rock when seen from a distance. I cannot say I noticed this. Old Speck lies 20 straight-line miles due north of Speckled, but 40 miles by car from my base in Evans Notch.

DATE: Tuesday, August 31st.
START & FINISH: Grafton Notch, North Oxford, Maine (trailhead parking at GPS 44.589823, -70.947237).
ROUTE: Old Speck Trail to Old Speck summit and back. Old Speck Trail, barring the final 0.3 miles to the summit, is also the Appalachian Trail.
DISTANCE: 7.6 miles roundtrip.
TIME: 7¼ hours (8:45am to 4:00pm).
TERRAIN: You might think that a climb of 2,720 feet pretty steadily achieved over 3.8 miles would not be too tough. But this was a strenuous trek, mainly on account of footing—rocks and roots, of course, but also short steep pitches, high or slanted ledges, and assorted other pace-slowers. Recent rain added slickness here and there.
MAP: Not really necessary for navigation. I used GPS to check my progress.

WEATHER: Sunny, high maybe about 70 (later in the afternoon at lower elevation).
WILDLIFE: Some wee birdies hopped and flitted on Old Speck’s summit.

BREAKFAST: Tailgate oatmeal at the trailhead.
LUNCH: Peanut butter on tortillas, plus other stuff, at the summit.
UPS: Nice weather and occasional big views; just being out.
DOWNS: I just could not make myself climb all the way up the ladder of the summit fire tower. I am fine with cliff edges and ladders leaning against walls, but there is something about ladders that seem to rise into thin air that unnerve me.
KIT: On their third use, I was still pleased with my new boots (Lowas after a long line of Salomons).
COMPANY: I chatted a couple of times with a very friendly young woman from Arizona who had flown in to join an AT thru-hiker friend for a few days. They rarely seemed to be together though. He told me this was because of her slower pace. He would lag behind, then catch up at his pace, then repeat. Her pace appeared quite adequate to me, so this seemed a little uncompromising on his part. But maybe I didn’t have the full picture.

THE HIKE IN PICTURES:

At the trailhead

Trailside cascade

Old Speck Mountain (with clouds) looking far off

An unusually smooth section of trail

Luxuriant ledge approaching the summit

Summit fire tower and its intimidating ladder

Looking NE from near the summit

Kicking back on the way down

 GPS TRACK:

New England Mountains—Again

SUNDAY: Looking south from Evans Notch (Laughing Lion Trail)—Maine, left; New Hampshire, right.

Last year, in August, I spent a week in the mountains of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. This year, I did the same, with the minor difference that my week straddled August and September.

Unusually for me, there had been no hiking trips between these two visits to northern New England 53 weeks apart. There were a couple of long weekends in Vermont that each embraced a hike, but no full week away. This had less to do with COVID than with moving home—the long, time-consuming process of selling up, moving into temporary accommodation, then searching for, buying, and moving into a new place.

I moved into my new home on August 13th and, with all my stuff under one roof again, finally felt able to get away, even if my boxes remained accusingly un-emptied. I had not had time to plan a new, different trip either, so I returned to Cold River Campground by Evans Notch and figured I’d take it from there.

Just like last year, I will post about my hikes gradually, probably not finishing until Christmas once again. Here, for now, is a photograph for each hiking day (Friday and Saturday were not hiking days, unless you count Vermont’s Mount Philo). Unlike last year though, I already have another short trip planned 😉

MONDAY: Mist in Evans Notch from near the summit of Blueberry Mountain.

TUESDAY: Falls beside Appalachian Trail between Grafton Notch and Old Speck Mountain.

WEDNESDAY: Mount Meader (left) and Ragged Jacket from Basin Rim Trail

THURSDAY: Doublehead from Mountain Pond

SUNDAY: On VT’s Long Trail en route to Sterling Pond.

Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness

1ST HIKE – Hermit Falls, Basin Trail

It is now over a month since I returned from my New England Mountains trip. During this period, I have found it difficult to make time to think and post about the trip. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing, and delay will provide perspective about what’s actually worth recording about the hikes I took. This post is titled “Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness”, a convenient catch-all for three hikes I took between Sunday, August 23rd and Tuesday 25th. Two of them were in the Wilderness for most of their distance; one—the first—was entirely outside, but in the neighborhood.

That first hike was an evening dash from Basin Pond to the ridge above it. It was a dash because, in spite of my meticulous approach to gear-packing, I realized just ahead of the hike that I’d left my headlamp at home. It was in my mind that sunset would occur at 7pm, and now I’d have to be done by not much after that. The hike would involve 2.5 miles and 1,300 feet of up or down each way, so when I set out a little before 4:00, I didn’t hang about; and I set myself a turnaround time of 5:35 latest. In the end, it was comfortable. I reached a ledge just south of Rim Junction in 90 minutes and there was rewarded with the view in the first photo in the set below. Back down near Basin Pond, I remembered that sunset would actually happen at 7:30!

2ND HIKE – SPECKLED MOUNTAIN, MONDAY AUGUST 24TH

Yesterday’s opening climb had been sweaty, and today promised more of the same. Further, afternoon storms were in the forecast. Not wanting to be caught on bare summits in thunder and lightning, I set off for Speckled Mountain right after breakfast. There was no drive to the trailhead; my hike began at Cold River Campground, my base from Sunday afternoon to Wednesday morning. I walked out of the campground, over the state line into Maine, past the Brickett Place (a historic farmstead), and soon entered the Wilderness. As federally-designated wildernesses go, Caribou-Speckled Mountain is small (11,236 acres/17.5 square miles), but it is wrapped in wider wild lands and civilization feels remote. For those unfamiliar, in designated wildernesses, nature is mostly left untrammeled and hiker conveniences are fewer than in, for example, a national park. This wilderness, however, did not feel much different to me than the surrounding National Forest. Good, well-marked trail took me to Speckled Mountain summit and its superb views west to the White Mountains and north deeper into Maine. This could have been the day’s highlight but, on balance, the stunted forest on the ledges of Blueberry Ridge on the return leg was more atmospheric, and its views just as good. There was a post-hike highlight too—a sweat-cleansing dunk in Basin Pond!

START & FINISH: Cold River Campground, Chatham, NH (GPS 44.265615, -71.010624).
ROUTE: Route 113 to the Brickett Place; Bickford Brook Trail to Speckled Mountain summit; Bickford Brook and Blueberry Ridge trails back to Brickett Place and home.
DISTANCE: 9.5 miles.
TIME: 6 hours (7:45am to 1:45pm)
TERRAIN: I recall the ascent (2,300 feet of elevation gain) as sweaty but steady. On the way down, the last half-mile of the Blueberry Ridge Trail was steep and required caution.
GPS TRACK:

3RD HIKE – CARIBOU MOUNTAIN, TUESDAY AUGUST 25TH

I had planned a bigger, higher climb for today, but afternoon storms were again in the forecast, this time more emphatically. The forecast was palpable too, the morning air thick beneath an oppressive overcast, and all the more so in the dense hardwood forest. There was a breeze on top of Caribou Mountain but only barely refreshing, and the views were as grand as the day would allow. Just beyond the summit, I paused on a substantial ledge with a view (eastward, I think) of gray sky and green hills. Down from the mountain, against expectations, the day brightened. It was only when I was back at my campsite that the storms came through, and brought with them the comforting pattering of rain on my tent as I rested. It was a cold front arriving and it meant that Wednesday would be a very different sort of day.

START & FINISH: Caribou and Mud Brook trails-head, Maine Route 113, (GPS 44.335940, -70.976233).
ROUTE: Caribou Trail to Mud Brook Trail; Mud Brook over Caribou Mountain and back to start.
DISTANCE: 6.8 miles.
TIME: 4.5 hours (8:00am to 12:30pm)
TERRAIN: 1,900 feet of ascent/descent, the steepest section being coming off Caribou summit.
GPS TRACK:

PHOTOS:

SUNDAY – Basin Pond from Basin Rim Trail

MONDAY – Walking into Maine

MONDAY – Looking into Maine from Speckled Mountain

MONDAY – Looking into NH from Blueberry Ridge Trail

MONDAY – Cold River after a dry summer

MONDAY – Walking back into NH

TUESDAY – Carter-Moriah Range from Caribou Mountain

TUESDAY – Selfie on Caribou Mountain

TUESDAY – Evans Notch (center) from Caribou Mtn

TUESDAY – Ledge on Caribou Mtn

New England Mountains

SUNDAY – Basin Pond: I took an evening hike to the ridge that wraps around it

On Sunday, I returned from a week in the mountains of northern New England. My plan had been a hike every day that was also a climb, and I made a list of five summits to aim for. In the end, I climbed only one of them. No worries, I scaled five that were not on the list!

For my first three nights I stayed at Cold River Campground (rustic, tranquil) south of Evans Notch on the Maine-New Hampshire line. I set out from Cold River for Speckled Mountain (Monday) and Caribou Mountain (Tuesday). These modest summits are the highest in Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness, a federally designated wilds on the Maine side of the line.

On Wednesday, I moved west to Crawford Notch, taking in mounts Eisenhower and Franklin on the way. These are Presidential Range summits and not modest at all, at least not on a New England scale. (Ben Franklin, of course, was never President but who would begrudge him a Presidential peak?)

The Presidential Range trails were not crowded exactly, but they were trafficked, and the following day I headed to a little visited part of the White Mountains, following deserted trails to a ledge named Owls Cliff.

On the final day of a hiking trip, I would not normally leave the White Mountains to drive 100 miles west to a mountain in Vermont. But since my plan for the weekend was to see my youngest in Burlington, Mount Hunger was conveniently located and involved a conveniently short—if quite steep—trek to its summit. So Mount Hunger is where my hiking week ended. I couldn’t really have chosen a better place—the Green Mountains all around, the Adirondacks visible off to the west, the Whites far away in the east.

Over the coming weeks, I will post about these New England mountain hikes in greater detail. For now, this post contains a photograph for each day, Sunday (top) to Friday.

MONDAY – On Speckled Mountain: Mt Washington faintly visible (far distance, just left of center)

TUESDAY – Entering the Wilderness

WEDNESDAY – Presidential Range from Mt Eisenhower (right to left in/touching cloud, Washington, Adams, Jefferson)

THURSDAY – Swift River, start and finish of the hike to Owls Cliff

FRIDAY – Mount Mansfield (right of picture, with ski runs) from Mount Hunger

Baxter State Park – Two Short Hikes

Before and between my longer Baxter hikes (Traveler loop, Pogy backpack, and The Owl), I took a couple of shorter walks, both about five miles.

SOUTH BRANCH MOUNTAIN TRAIL to Black Cat Mountain (2,611′) and back was mainly notable for a high ledge with fine views over Upper South Branch Pond to The Traveler and the other summits I planned to climb the next day. Black Cat summit, like most of the rest of the hike, was wooded in.

Between my Traveler hike and Pogy backpack, I took it easy on FOWLER BROOK TRAIL and its extensions to Middle Fowler Pond. These were gentle trails leading to two scenic ponds, popular with brook trout fishermen and inhabited by outsized tadpoles.

Before I wrap up my Baxter posts, my latest “Taking a Hike” column was of course about the trip. Click for “Endurance and Delight in Baxter State Park” in The Norwalk Hour and Hersam Acorn Newspapers. Farewell to Baxter until the next time!

Summits of The Traveler loop seen from South Branch Mtn

On Black Cat Mtn

Lower Fowler Pond, overcast

Middle Fowler Pond

Falls on Fowler Brook

Lower Fowler Pond, sun out

Day Hike Notes – Baxter State Park, The Owl

Katahdin seen later in the day from across Daicey Pond, The Owl looking small to its left

I had walked over 45 miles in Baxter State Park since arriving late on Sunday morning. Leg-weariness from those miles was one reason I wasn’t sure about climbing Mount Katahdin on my final day in the Park. The other was crowds. Friday’s forecast was great, and sun and warmth would draw multitudes to Maine’s highest peak.

If I didn’t climb Katahdin, I told myself, I’d do The Owl; 1,600 feet lower than Katahdin and utterly unfabled, it would surely draw next to no-one. I didn’t need to bag Katahdin either; I’d reached its socked in summit on a climb 12 years ago. I went back and forth about Katahdin v The Owl until the very last minute, at the trail register for both summits. Countless groups had already struck out for Katahdin; for the Owl, there was just one register entry.

DATE: Friday, June 15th.
START & FINISH: Katahdin Stream Campground, Baxter SP, Maine.
ROUTE: Appalachian/Hunt and Owl trails to The Owl summit; return by same route.
DISTANCE: 7 miles.
TIME: 5-6 hours (roughly 8:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.)
TERRAIN: Elevation gain from Start to summit = 2,571 feet; a steady climb growing in rockiness and rootiness, then a little bare-rock clambering, and finally a stroll to the summit.
MAP: AMC Maine Mountains from the AMC Maine Mountain Guide

WEATHER: Sunny and increasingly warm, high in the 70s.
WILDLIFE: Nothing of note.

BREAKFAST: Oatmeal and coffee at my campsite.
LUNCH: Tortillas, cheese, peanut butter atop The Owl.
UPS: Close-up views of Katahdin, huge views across Maine.
DOWNS: None.
KIT: I packed layers for the summit but didn’t need them.
COMPANY: A friendly threesome of Bostonians—dad, middle-aged son, a friend. We met on the way up and again on the summit. Funny men. Otherwise, a few scattered parties, including a couple from London.

Owl cliff and, behind, Katahdin’s Witherle Ravine

Summit of The Owl seen from approach

Looking west from The Owl – Doubletop Mountain just right of center

Katahdin’s Northwest Plateau

You know who with Maine behind (southwest). The prominent lumps off my left shoulder are Big and Little Spencer mountains nearly 30 miles away

Katahdin from Owl Trail

Baxter State Park – Pogy Backpack

THU – The end for me, but an apt warning

Pogy Notch Trail connects Baxter State Park’s less visited north with its Mount Katahdin-dominated south. Pogy is a relatively flat, low-level trail; its highlights are ponds—Lower and Upper South Branch, Pogy, and finally Russell. I had visited Russell 12 years before, hiking north to it from beneath Katahdin. Hiking south to it now gave me the satisfaction of connecting on foot the distinct worlds of Baxter’s north and south. I don’t think it’s a popular activity, particularly in bug season. I chose this trek to see Baxter’s deep woods and hopefully some of their “charismatic megafauna”. I met a lot of utterly charmless microfauna. I would repeat this hike, but in the fall.

DATE: Wednesday and Thursday, June 13-14
START & FINISH: South Branch Pond Campground, Baxter SP, Maine.
ROUTE: Pogy Notch, Grand Falls, and Wassataquoik Stream trails to Wassataquoik Stream lean-tos; return via Wassataquoik Stream and Pogy Notch trails.
DISTANCE: About 24 miles (13 out, 11 back).
TIME: 8:45 a.m. Wednesday to midday Thursday.
TERRAIN: Mostly level or gently up and down; mostly dry underfoot; two thigh-deep streams to wade at Wassataquoik Stream lean-tos.
MAP: AMC Maine Mountains from the AMC Maine Mountain Guide.

WEATHER: Wed—sunny, warm, humid (70s); Thu morning—rainy and cool (upper 40s).
WILDLIFE: Of the bug variety.
MEALS: On Wednesday, oatmeal for breakfast and freeze-dried beef & veg stew for supper; otherwise, the usual trail rations.

UPS: (1) Making good time through the rain on the return leg. (2) The mountain views from pondsides and riverbanks.
DOWNS: After the first hours, I didn’t really enjoy Wednesday. The bugs were a plague and, when they were not, you knew it wouldn’t last.
KIT: I occasionally made use of a head-net that I packed at home at the last minute. Drawback—too hot to wear when actually hiking.
COMPANY: None at all in 27¼ hours.

WED – Howe Brook

WED – Upper South Branch Pond

WED – Somewhere on the Pogy Notch Trail

WED – Pogy Pond

WED – On Russell Pond

Inscription Rock on Wassataquoik Stream

THU – Last night’s home

THU – Stream near Russell Pond

Pogy Pond in the rain

Day Hike Notes – Baxter State Park, The Traveler Loop

Descending from North Traveler Mountain

The first of what I hope will be 3-4 posts covering four hikes plus a short backpack in Baxter State Park, Maine, earlier this month.

DATE: Monday, June 11th.
START & FINISH: South Branch Pond Campground, Baxter SP, Maine.
ROUTE: Pogy Notch, Center Ridge, Traveler Mountain, and North Traveler trails (counterclockwise loop).
DISTANCE: 11.1 miles.
TIME: 8¾ hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)
TERRAIN: Elevation gain from Start to The Traveler = 2,569 feet; total gain on the loop = 3,700’. Ascent from/descent to Lower South Branch Pond are steep and, in places, scrambles. Careful attention required to foot-placement on several stretches.
MAP: AMC Maine Mountains.

WEATHER: Warm and sunny, high in the 60s.
WILDLIFE: Bear scat on Center Ridge.

BREAKFAST: Chickpeas & chorizo (yep, for breakfast!) at my campsite.
LUNCH: Tortillas, cheese, nuts, etc. on Traveler Mountain.
UPS: Feeling strong on the morning climbs of Center Ridge and The Traveler.
DOWNS: The final descent off North Traveler was tough, the bugs and warmth increasing with lower elevation.
KIT: 2.5 liters of water, sunscreen.
COMPANY: All alone all day.

Top: The South Branch ponds from Center Ridge; trailside rock formation. Middle: The Traveler summit; North Traveler summit; Trillium. Bottom: Trail up The Traveler; Mount Katahdin from Center Ridge

Taking a Hike – Bigelow Range Backpack

My June “Taking a Hike” column has been published. The Hour, suffering a few systems issues after acquisition by Hearst, is for now publishing it in print and e-editions only. I am old-fashioned enough to really like the way the column looks in a newspaper. Even so, it will be nice to see it up on thehour.com again soon. Hersam Acorn had their own IT issues recently (an exploding website is what I heard), but “Taking a Hike” is now posted there as Backpacking Bigelow — A Test, Completed.

Pre-hike camp beside Flagstaff Lake, Bigelow Preserve, Maine

Your feelings about a hike change over time. During is always different from before. Right after is usually different from several weeks after. As the column recounts, halfway through the first day my confidence was a little shaky. You start to forget that kind of thing, and remember mostly the upbeat. Three weeks on, one of my best memories is not about breaking out onto a peak or drinking in a fine view. I remember my happiness at reaching Safford Notch just an hour or so into the hike. The air was dry and clean among the pines and boulders, the bugs gone. And there was a cell signal to send a message home after 18 hours incommunicado at my pre-hike camp.

March’s “Taking a Hike” is now available in full on this site. I stayed close to home that month; Redding CT’s Little River.

Bigelow Range Backpack

West Peak from South Horn

This was my first backpacking trip in 20 months. Maybe the hiatus is not such a big deal. Apart from a six-week trek the length of Scotland five years ago, I have been just an occasional backpacker. Recently, I’ve heaved on the big pack just once or twice a year, mostly for 2-3 night outings in New Hampshire’s White Mountains (see In and Out of the Wild River Wilderness and – four posts starting 9/30/13 – The Pemi).

I would backpack more if I had the time. Going out for several days requires greater preparation than a day-hike, and getting to backpackable places takes longer. But it wasn’t time that stopped me last year; it was a bad left knee. This Maine trip was intended to discover if my knee was up to supporting a 35-40 pound pack again. I chose a route that I hoped would be a good test but not knee-suicide. Thus the climb over rough terrain, but only for the one night.

Ten days after returning home, my knee is just fine. Next up, a 2-night backpack!

DATES: June 1st and 2nd.
START & FINISH: East Flagstaff Road at Round Barn Campsite, Bigelow Preserve (just east of Stratton, Maine).
ROUTE & MAP: Safford Brook Trail to Appalachian Trail. AT west to Horns Pond. Back by same route. I used the map that came with the AMC Maine Mountain Guide.
DISTANCE: 16 miles total, plus short side-trails to lookouts.
TIME: A little over one mile per hour including breaks (somewhat faster on the return leg).
TERRAIN: On the “out” leg, a cumulative elevation gain of about 3,750 feet. AT very steep in sections, and awkward underfoot (e.g. angled boulders). Limited scrambles. Safford Trail easy to moderate.
WEATHER: Mostly sunny and warm; but cool, even cold, summit winds.

MEALS: Trail food; Alpineaire Mesquite BBQ Seasoned Chicken with Beans & Rice (dinner); oatmeal and coffee below West Peak (Day 2 breakfast).
PHOTOS: Here.

HIGHLIGHT: The views along the Bigelow Range from the various peaks.
LOWLIGHT: If I must think of something, campsite mosquito activity.
WILDLIFE: A red squirrel; trout splashing in Horns Pond; something large, but unseen, moving in the lower-elevation forest on the second morning (maybe a moose).
WORRIES: That I’d kill my left knee again.
BEST BIT OF KIT: Well, my stove gave me the most happiness, but I’d probably have missed my boots more.

MEMORABLE PEOPLE: Alain from Quebec, who was excellent company at the end of Day 1; Erin, the friendly and diligent Horns Pond Campsite caretaker; the four AT thru-hikers who had set out from Georgia in January!
PEOPLE BEST FORGOTTEN: None.

Mist below Avery Peak