Trails Used

Spruce Hill, Bickford Brook

Trail Conditions

Notes

Hiked up and trail ran the ridge until the climb to Speckled. Was able to see the weather coming in from the summit, which cut short my trip to Durgin Mtn & the Great Brook trail junction. Ran most of the way out, beating the rain by about 30 minutes. Some kind of Grouse (maybe Ruffled) spotted on the col around Spruce Hill and was not happy I was there- full puff out, squaking, and a bit of a run at me. Fresh moose tracks in the Ames Mtn area.

Parking

Only 3 other cars at the East Royce TH on 113.

Water Crossings

Rock Hoppable and mostly within the first .25 miles of rt 113

Wildlife

Minimal and only on the summit

Also on this trip

Trails Used

White Cairn Trail, Blueberry Mountain Loop, Blueberry Ridge Trail, Bickford Slides Trail, Bickford Brook Trail, Red Rock Trail, Stone House Trail, Rattlesnake Pool Spur

Trail Conditions

Notes

Beautiful spring day today! High 50s- low 60s all day and excellent visibility 50+ miles. Still quite a bit of patchy snow visible on the Presidential range. I would highly recommend Bickford Slides trail for those who love waterfalls, as that trail had about as many awesome waterfalls in 0.5 miles as you can get. The snow is almost fully gone in this area, but there was still a few small patches of snow, mostly on the upper section of Bickford Brook trail. It was all avoidable or minimal enough it could be walked over easily. In this section there was also a lot of Moose droppings, but no Moose unfortunately. The West side of Blueberry Mountain on Blueberry Ridge Trail had a decent amount of slippery wet rock, and care will be required in this section to stay on your feet. A lot of loose leaves throughout (A lot of Beech) and this can make some sections a little slippery, but for the most part this wasn't an issue. 6 new completed Redline trails today!

Parking

I was the 5th car at 10:30 and there were two cars when I returned at 4. There is a small lot for 3 or so cars at the Stone House gate, but room for a few more cars to park on the right side of the road just before the gate.

Water Crossings

Bickford Slides trail has a few crossings but all were rock-hoppable, and the crossing of Bickford Brook at the start of Blueberry Ridge Trail was easy enough to hop over as well. There are bridges on the crossings on White Cairn trail and Stone House trail.

Wildlife

Some flies were zipping around at the summit of Speckled but nothing that was a nuisance