"Old Speck" (Speckled Mountain)

Cool ledges and a view of the fog that hung around the top the whole time...

The orange bit to the left is called the "eyebrow" and constitutes the fun bit. We did not do the orange bit because it wasn't on the way to the peak...

HIKED ON August 31, 2024
I dimly remember climbing this mountain before.  Maybe it was during Outing Club in high school.  I was not the most active in that group.  I had theater, sports, and other interests. Anyway this was the sort of thing our advisor "Uncle Don" would have liked.  It's all cables and trust falls for a while.  There are places on the loop where your heart does race a bit.  I used both hands so there are no pictures. It is also textbook youth group material, which is another candidate for who I went with. 

Anyway, that was then and I am grateful that I had grown-ups to plan these things. Adults are always concerned about making sure that kids can be anything they want and conquer any challenge.  The problem is, even when plagued with self-doubt as a teen (and I was), it feels a touch wasted on me.  Adults need these reminders, too. Maybe the church should have its own Outing Club.

We did this climb as an upside-down lollipop loop from the parking lot at Grafton Notch State Park.  It was about 7 miles long.  The elevation gain was around 2,800 feet.  That is plenty.  Old Speck is part of the White Mountains.  We forget that geographical features are not beholden to political lines.  Usually we think of the Whites as a New Hampshire thing, but this is in Maine...just. When we got to the top--having completed all the New Hampshire 48 and half of the smaller NH52 With-A-View mountains, we would have known just where we were...if we weren't socked in.

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Looking down at the beginning of the cables before things got tense.

Me, presumably wanting to be done.

Oh yes...the cables.  At the beginning of the hike one is presented with a choice.  You can take the steep-but-not-scary way or you can scale, slowly, a series of cliffs.  There are cables to hold on to, but footing is less than ideal.  We went up the hard way and then down the easier way.  Our reasons were strategic.  The cables kept us thinking about footing rather than the pain in our lungs from exerting ourselves.  On the way down we just wanted to be done.

Anyway, those cables hit you right away. Then there is some sliding around. Then the more conventional climbing picks up.  This is a beautiful mountain that promises a fire tower view.  We, however, were battling weather all day.  A little inclemency creates some lovely effects, though.  We enjoyed that on the way up.

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I bet this would have been a dramatic view off the top of the cliffs we could see from the parking lot.

Parts of this hike are on the Appalachian Trail, which is always nice. The AT is the east coast interstate of hiking but the "traffic"--in the form of intense multi-day hikers--helps to break the monotony.  You have to keep an eye out for them since many are in their own world chewing up the miles, but they are a key part of the outdoors community.  After the white-blazed AT we ducked off on a blue blazed trail for the final quarter mile to the top.  There we met a couple on a date.  We left them more or less alone.

​ No doubt emboldened by the cables we climbed the wet ladder to the foggy top. We then ate our snacks. Finally we turned back to civilization.  Near the top and along the stroll back, we saw some stealth(ish) camping sights.  On a dry day it must be a beautiful place to wake up.

It takes little effort to type this but it took us quite a while to get up and down.  It also was a bit of a drive both ways.  Even in the Whites, once you are outside of NH the infrastructure lessens.  This is by design.  The convenience of the New Hampshire hiker commute is a double edged sword.  On the one hand, it creates an incredible opportunity for tired and nature-starved people to the south.  On the other it means crowds in some places along with pollution and trail degradation in others.  Most of the Maine hikes on this list are a road trip as well. That has its challenges and benefits, too.

I wish I could remember the first time I went up.  I bet we had a view.  Still, it was good to do it again.  No doubt it won't be the last time.

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Not much to see from the tower