Trails Used

Old Speck Trail : Eyebrow Trail : Mahoosuc Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

Ascended via the Eyebrow Trail and descended on the Old Speck Trail. The ledge surfaces are mostly dry. The moist surfaces in some spots presented no problems. There are some spots at the top of the Eyebrow to view Grafton Notch. There are good views at an open spot on the Old Speck Trail just below its junction with the Mahoosuc Trail. The best views are atop the summit tower. The iron ladder is nearly vertical. This may unnerve some hikers. The 360 degree view from the tower is worth a climb up and down the ladder. The foliage is very colorful in the Grafton Notch area. The cascade has been reduced to a trickle. The cascade is very picturesque during the wet season (Spring thaw). Lots of hikers out today. Two AT thru hikers (NC & GA), one AT section hiker (Fla), and overnight hikers finishing Grafton Loop - western section. Also, non-AT hikers from CO, ID, and WA. As expected, hikers from northern New England.

Parking

Plenty of room in the large lot off route 26. Fee lot except for senior Mainers. Outhouses are available. The lot is used by hikers going to Old Speck and the the Baldpates & Table Rock.

Water Crossings

None. The Cascade Brook crossing on the Old Speck Trail is dry.

Wildlife

None

Trails Used

Appalachian Trail, Mahoosuc Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

Back to Grafton Notch again since I clearly have way too much time on my hands. The trail is in great shape. Dry with some wet sections and some not too terrible mud. The rocks were mostly dry but I still don't trust any of the slanted ones since I fell on them a few years back. I saw only 7 other people today - 5 day hikers and 2 who appeared geared up for the Grafton Loop. They still smelled like laundry so they must have just started today. Another great day in my most favorite place and home in time for lunch and to read my new book. The perfect day. :)

Parking

Today I was the 5th car in the lot and recognized some of them from yesterday. Those folks must be doing the Grafton Loop. Upon my return the lot wasn't even half full with lots of room remaining.

Water Crossings

Easy rock hops

Wildlife

Good grief. In the woods they were not an issue but higher up the heat must have driven them out. The summit was terrible. I took a quick picture and ran for my life. I despise bug spray, but used some behind my ears on my neck to keep them away. It worked.

Trails Used

Appalachian Trail, Mahoosuc Trail

Trail Conditions

Notes

Sometimes you just need to abandon your lists and projects and return home to where your love of hiking began. Today was one of those days. I adore Old Speck and have climbed her more than 150 times now. She is home. The rain yesterday left everything wet. There was plenty of standing water and mud down low. The rocks were all wet for my ascent and my descent but having done this same hike many times in the rain, I have a system that works well to keep me upright. By the time I was almost back to the car, the rocks were drying out nicely so those coming later will have an easier time of it. Footing is excellent on both trails. Just prepare for wet and muddy feet and legs. This was just the loveliest day. I only saw 8 humans and the 1 dog all morning. It felt great to be back in my old stomping grounds.

Parking

Ooodles of parking when I arrived at 6:30am. I think there were 4 other cars in the lot and they looked like they had been there overnight.

Water Crossings

Easy rock ups even for this fun sized human. Water is flowing well though if you need to filter.

Wildlife

None until I was almost back to the car and even then the breeze kept them at bay. No bug spray needed.

Trail Conditions

Notes

Climbed the tower of terror. First Maine 4k to celebrate Brian's 4kECD-366 finish. Group hike. Posting as part of NE67/100Highest challenge.

Trails Used

Appalachian Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Started with a bare trail, but got some flurries along the way. Threw rock spikes on the second eyebrow junct. Some rocks were wet/ slippery without traction & some were ice covered. Black ice when under the fresh coating of snow was fun surprise. Probably got maybe a couple inches in higher elevation, was sticking & the balling up spikes are one way to “keep you on your toes” ❄️👠 There was solid monorail in sections but it was a bit uneven, so a fun balancing act. Probably a good time to get it if you like water crossings you don’t have to drown or wade knee deep in. Oh & this trail dad finally got to get a 4k outside of the NH white mountains, happy to report on my first whites Mainer! Dont forget, New England false spring came & now we’re back to… well, mid-season.. maybe not quite spring? Cold weather today after shorts this weekend, seems a tease. Had a group of us celebrating a big day, for a friends 4kECD - 366 finish, yay!! Thanks for inviting the ole man. Anyways, be WICKED safe bub & happy hiking 🥾 Your loving trail father ❤️

Water Crossings

Rock hop-able

Trails Used

AT

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

Windy, 12° at summit. Snowshoes until last 2 miles. Mostly for televators going up. Post hole potential at higher elevations. Easier walking through barefoot churn with snowshoes. Crampons (K10s) last two miles due to intermittent ice. Microspikes would also work. Fire tower door swinging freely so careful when climbing it doesn’t give you the smack down if windy.

Water Crossings

First still snow/ice bridge. The rest easy.

Trails Used

Eyebrow, Old Speck

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

The hike up Old Speck began with 6 to 8 inches of new snow at the base (0:13, 1:09). While the Eyebrow Trail offered a fun, steep ascent with rungs and handrails (1:00, 2:03), it presented hazards such as icy, steep footing and sections of slidy snow that required extreme caution (2:12, 4:17). The initial approach up this trail was slow going, taking about an hour to cover just the first two-thirds of a mile (3:58, 4:04). Higher up, the snow depth decreased to around 2 inches, but the trail became soft and heavily churned by other hikers (8:40, 14:02).

Parking

The fee for Grafton State Park was covered for the season

Wildlife

Numerous snowshoe hare prints were seen

Trails Used

Old Speck Trail, Eyebrow Trail, Mahoosuc Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

We wore snowshoes door-2-door. Eyebrow hadn’t seen much, if any, activity recently so it was straight trail breaking in 6-8” down low (more higher up). The tricky bits were all doable in snowshoes as the deep snow covered most of the ice. A split boarder set off up the AT this morning and went about two miles up before heading into the woods. This packed the trail nicely. Above his tracks, there was a firm base with an inch or two of new snow. Deeper snow at the tower. We took off the snowshoes and carefully climbed the tower. The latch on the gate at the top is broken, so pay attention if you’re up there. On the way down we encountered a spiker with his corgi. They weren’t postholing, but did churn the trail a bit. Do yourself a favor and bring snowshoes…especially if it warms up. There is still several feet of snow up high.

Parking

Lot had about an inch of new snow. Iron ranger is covered for the season. Outhouses are available…bring your own TP.

Water Crossings

Nothing of note. All bridged or hoppable

Trails Used

Old Speck Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

The trail was hard-packed snow mixed with areas of ice. I started out with Hillsound microspikes which worked fine on firm snow but they were slipping on ice. I need to sharpen the spikes. I switched to Katoohla K-10 crampons which worked great on the ice, especially on the descent. The trail was firm most of the way with a few, minor softer areas. Our snowshoes stayed on our backpacks the whole time. The views were excellent from the top of the fire tower but my hands froze holding on to the metal bars while climbing up and down with just liner gloves. The conditions are great now.

Parking

Plenty of spots

Water Crossings

Rock-hoppable

Trails Used

Old Speck Trail

Trail Conditions

Equipment

Notes

We started in microspikes due to a hard packed trail head. Shortly after, a thin 1/2-1 inch frosting of wet snow was sitting on top. After less than 1/2 of a mile, due to balling under the spikes and the trail being slippery in the steeper sections, we switched to snowshoes. We kept the shoes on for the remainder of the hike. The last mile to the top had areas of drifted snow and a couple of spots where it took a bit of discerning to stay on the trail. We missed the last sharp left turn before the spur to the top, so that piece is a bit off trail.

Parking

Plowed and plentiful parking.

Water Crossings

None