Birthday # 21: Old Speck, Speck Pond, & Table Rock

I celebrated my birthday this year by doing a great big day of hiking on one of my favorite mountains, Old Speck, out in Grafton Notch State Park.  This was my seventh time up the mountain, and despite this, I still find parts of the hike that I didn't notice before.  The rocks and the trees look more and more familiar each time I go, and that is nice in itself.

Old Speck

I rose at 3:30 in the morning to account for the long drive out there. Nothing like seizing the entire day right?  I wanted to be at least somewhere close to the mountain as the sun was rising.  I knew this time of year I couldn't pull off driving there and summiting for a sunrise unless I was to go up the night before and camp (which could be the next task on this good old mountain...)

I've climbed this mountain so many times, I feel it's a bit redundant to take so many pictures time and time again, so I take a few along the way and leave my mind to remember the rest.  Here is a shot from the Eyebrow Trail, right before it rejoins the Old Speck Trail.

Grafton Notch from the Eyebrow Trail

From there, I was introduced to these two mountain creatures called Cloud and Fog.  They seemed to have quite a presence over the top of the mountain.  It seems that they meet me at the top of many mountains these days.  We've become quite good friends actually.

Here is a picture of Cloud and Fog looking their best on the top of Old Speck!  Congrats fellas for making it all the way to the top.

This time, I did something new on the mountain.  I've always wanted to check out Speck Pond, which lies on the western flank of the mountain along the AT, just northeast of Mahoosuc Notch.  It's a very pretty pond, and there's a campsite right along it, and I'd consider staying here sometime, either in summer or winter.  Camping here would be a great way to make a winter climb of Old Speck into a two-day adventure.

Speck Pond, looking southeast. 

I made the trudge back up to the ridge where the summit spur trail veers off from the AT, and along the way I stopped on a rocky bit just under the clouds for a snack.  By snack I mean a sandwich, a bag of chips, and many cookies.  Normal meal schedules and proportions don't exist on the trail.  Not for me at least.

With a pretty light pack on today, I found some energy somewhere to go pretty quickly down the mountain, though after a few miles, my thighs were starting to notice the pace.  All spirits were good as I reached the junction for Eyebrow Trail again, this time headed in the valley to follow the stream back to the parking lot.

Silly faces...

I saw several AT thru hikers on my way up and down, though not too much traffic, which is nice.  Overcrowded trails make it a lot less enjoyable for me. This is one reason I don't like the White Mountains quite as much as I could.  Though I also feel odd if it's completely deserted as well.

I successfully made it back to the parking lot with no injuries, though I did slip a few times.  I blame that on going quickly though, as much as I would like to blame the rocks, I don't think they put much effort into making me slip.

Here is the Google Earth track and Elevation Profile.  If I follow the mileages on the signs, the hike up Old Speck without a detour to the pond should be 7.6 miles.  The trip to and from the pond adds 2.2 miles, so I think the total here should be 9.8 mile.  I think the trail is a bit more wiggly than I traced on Earth.

Google Earth track and Elevation Profile

Now because I am crazy and now 21, I decided that this wasn't enough hiking for me.  This is a joke.  The real reason I chose to do more hiking is because I justify my driving time by hiking for at least the amount of time I spend driving to and from the trailhead.  A day of 6 hours driving means I must hike for at least 6 hours.  I completed my hike of Old Speck in 4.5 hours, which I am proud to say is a new personal record.  I summited in 1.5 hours, also a new record.

Hike Data
Miles hiked: 9.8
Time elapsed: 4.5 hours
Total ascent: 4100'

Table Rock

So more hiking...I just crossed the road to explore Table Rock, which is a nifty area partway up the slopes of Baldpate Mountain, which rises to 3,789'.  Table Rock lies at 2300', which I soon discovered was PLENTY after having done Old Speck first.

The trail below (orange blazed) is one that I had attempted 5 years ago in 2010 for a birthday trip to Grafton Notch.  After having worked on trail crew at BSP, I now recognize the immense amount of time and effort that was put into making this trail effectively a staircase for most of the length.

Table Rock Trail

I began to look an awful lot like the Hunt Trail on Katahdin.  Very large boulders strewn around with blazes, hoping that you don't fall into a crevasse and die.

The breaks became more frequent and lasted longer the steeper the trail got.  It was no mercy for someone who just did Old Speck.  But I really wanted to see Table Rock, since in 2010, my attempt of it ended in a relentless downpour that made the trail a river stunting our upward progress.  Afterwards, I laid down in the parking lot after to confirm that I was indeed 100% soaked.  New cheap Walmart clothes were purchased for the return home.

This is the view southeast, with Rt. 26 just poking through the trees:

Left to right: Sunday River Whitecap, Slide Mountain

I began to chow down on some remaining food I had (be jealous - it was cookies and BBQ chips), and of course a met a good friend of Cloud and Fog, and her name is Rain.  I also met Bird, who must have been on good terms with Rain, since Bird was putting up with Rain soaking it.  I recommended to Bird that Bird take refuge under Tree.  Bird obliged.  I met some other hikers who kindly took a photo of me standing with Rain overhead.  Eventually, Rain moved on to hike some other mountains, and left Sun to enjoy Table Rock.  I took the AT back down to the parking lot, which was a much more gradual descent than the trail up.

Me in front of the Eyebrow and some rainclouds.

The Table Rock excursion added 2.1 miles to the day, and another 1.5 hours, making total hiking time 6 hours, just enough to justify driving out 3 hours.  Below is the Google Earth track and Elevation Profile.  The steep trail up is to the right, or in other words, I hiked anti-clockwise.

Hike Data
Miles hiked: 2.1
Time elapsed: 1.5 hours
Total ascent: 990'

Total mileage of the day is 11.9.  A joyous way to spend one's birthday I think.  Perhaps having someone along for the hike would have been nice too.  However I shouldn't complain as I got to go sailing with Sid afterward in the new boat.  And there was a special pumpkin pie made by the Sid herself.  Below are some bonus pictures from the sail (not the pie...that got eaten).

Fiddler in the evening sun

OMG! Nathan's on a boat...no, he's CONTROLLING the boat.