Appalachian Trail
6.6 mi
Distance
2 hrs 57 min
Time
terrain
2,675 ft
Elev Gain
Overview
There are two different routes that you can use to reach the summit of Old Speck - both start at the Appalachian Trail parking lot on Route 26 in Grafton Notch State Park. The AT starts at the bottom and gets to the spur trail to the summit (about 0.3 miles) by passing through wooded trails and open ledges. The Eye Brow also begins at the bottom and rejoins the AT in about 1.3 miles after passing through some steep sections where there are cables and rungs to help. This route is best used on the ascent because it can be tricky on the descent.
Rate this Hike
★★★★★
Public Tracks
Old Speck, for Winter NE 67 Finish
Knew this would involve some work given the 12+ inches new snow a couple days earlier. Got a late start, on the trail about 11am. The trail looked freshly broken out just hours earlier. I gathered at least two people had started up ahead of me, which made the going easier. At about 2.5mi I caught up with two guys, each hiking solo that day like myself. I helped break the rest of the way, anywhere from 12-18".
The hike is a relatively short one, and went relatively quick despite the trail breaking conditions. Old Speck is in good shape now, broken by the three of us, up and back. None of us took the Eyebrow Trail up or down, so that remained unbroken.
This was the final peak for me on the Winter NE 67 list. Assuming the group I'm going to Baxter with next weekend gets South Brother and Coe, I'll be at about 75 of the Winter 100 by the upcoming Vernal Equinox.
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