WeRmudfun
New member
We were glad we were able to hike Ripley Falls late Friday afternoon and Old Speck on Saturday, seeing how we usually start our vacations on Sundays, and well, it has been raining since Sunday. 
Old Speck is the beginning of our quest for the NE 67, so we have 49 now. We attempted this mountain 5 weeks ago only to get there and see the mountain was in a dark cloud that didn’t budge. Saturday was different, by the time we got to the trailhead, the mountain was in the clear and practically no wind to speak of all day!
We headed up the Eyebrow Trail just because we read it was more interesting and it was one of the highlights of the day, we loved it! It is 0.2 miles longer than taking Old Speck Trail the whole way, but it is worth it. The trail starts out flat, then there is a small UP followed by another flat area. Soon after that the next UP gets cool! There are cable railing to assist getting up a very steep section. After that there are iron rung steps up to iron rung railings over to more steps, then a metal ladder. That was a ton of fun, but it was followed by very steep terrain. The rest of the trail had some UP, some flat, some down and some views . We were able to find our vehicle in the parking lot from one of the views.
When we hit the junction with the Old Speck Trail, which is also the Appalachian Trail, it was a little bit confusing on which way to go. We took a right and we were correct. All the sign showed was the trail name and an arrow going both ways. It was 2 ½ miles before we hit the Mahoosuc Trail for the finally 0.3 miles to the summit and it seemed like a VERY long 2 ½ miles and there wasn’t any iron rung entertainment. The trail threw a little bit of everything at us and the trail scenery keep changing which was really nice, but seeing the Mahoosuc Trail sign was a welcoming sight.
Walking the 0.3 miles to the summit was relaxing. Once on the summit the first thing we saw was the old fire tower that is now being used for an observation deck. Good thing too, because views from the summit are limited to one side only. We sat down over by the cairn garden and had our lunch. As I mentioned there was still no wind, great day to be up there.
The hike back out was uneventful and we took the Old Speck Trail the whole way out. The only thing we did that most probably don’t is we grabbed the geocache on the way down. It was a great day to hike our first 4K in Maine!
Speaking of geocaches, on the way back to Twin Mountain we stopped and sunk the final battle ship of the Let Play Battleship Geocaching series of 106 geocaches. It made for a perfect ending to a perfect day. The rest of the week’s weather looks promising…so where are we headed? We’ll post it here when we get back.
Video is best viewed at 1080P
Old Speck is the beginning of our quest for the NE 67, so we have 49 now. We attempted this mountain 5 weeks ago only to get there and see the mountain was in a dark cloud that didn’t budge. Saturday was different, by the time we got to the trailhead, the mountain was in the clear and practically no wind to speak of all day!
We headed up the Eyebrow Trail just because we read it was more interesting and it was one of the highlights of the day, we loved it! It is 0.2 miles longer than taking Old Speck Trail the whole way, but it is worth it. The trail starts out flat, then there is a small UP followed by another flat area. Soon after that the next UP gets cool! There are cable railing to assist getting up a very steep section. After that there are iron rung steps up to iron rung railings over to more steps, then a metal ladder. That was a ton of fun, but it was followed by very steep terrain. The rest of the trail had some UP, some flat, some down and some views . We were able to find our vehicle in the parking lot from one of the views.
When we hit the junction with the Old Speck Trail, which is also the Appalachian Trail, it was a little bit confusing on which way to go. We took a right and we were correct. All the sign showed was the trail name and an arrow going both ways. It was 2 ½ miles before we hit the Mahoosuc Trail for the finally 0.3 miles to the summit and it seemed like a VERY long 2 ½ miles and there wasn’t any iron rung entertainment.
The trail threw a little bit of everything at us and the trail scenery keep changing which was really nice, but seeing the Mahoosuc Trail sign was a welcoming sight.Walking the 0.3 miles to the summit was relaxing. Once on the summit the first thing we saw was the old fire tower that is now being used for an observation deck. Good thing too, because views from the summit are limited to one side only. We sat down over by the cairn garden and had our lunch. As I mentioned there was still no wind, great day to be up there.
The hike back out was uneventful and we took the Old Speck Trail the whole way out. The only thing we did that most probably don’t is we grabbed the geocache on the way down. It was a great day to hike our first 4K in Maine!
Speaking of geocaches, on the way back to Twin Mountain we stopped and sunk the final battle ship of the Let Play Battleship Geocaching series of 106 geocaches. It made for a perfect ending to a perfect day. The rest of the week’s weather looks promising…so where are we headed? We’ll post it here when we get back.
Video is best viewed at 1080P
