November 4, 2007
Today I'm going to climb Speckled Mountain in the Whites. I climbed this once before with my friend Jason, but we were fogged in at the top. I'll be taking a different way in this time.
Here's today's track.
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Madison gets to come today. She is very excited as this is her first big hike in about 3 weeks.
We parked at Brickett Place.
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The building has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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We left the trailhead at 12:45. Yes, a very late start, so we are going to have to hustle, especially since the clocks were put back last night. If we aren't done by 5:00 to 5:15, we will be finishing in the dark.
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The trail started off fairly steep, but then levelled off.
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Entering the Caribou Speckled Mountain Wilderness
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Now that we are in November, I was surprised to find how many trees were "hanging on" to their leaves.
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Decision time, either way, it's 3.5 miles to the top. I prefer to go up something steep and come down a gradual trail if possible. Judging by the map, I should do this loop counter-clockwise, so I took a right.
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I tried to tell Madison it was November and cold, but it didn't stop her from playing in the water at Bickford Slides.
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After a steep climb, I neared the open ledges of Blueberry Mountain. I met two hikers coming down. They saw that I was in shorts and a t-shirt and warned me that it was very cold on the other side of the mountain. I thanked them for the tip and assured them that I had plenty of clothes with me.
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The view west into New Hampshire
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I made it to the 1781' summit of Blueberry Mountain (my 3rd time here).
I continued on Blueberry Ridge Trail into unexplored territory (for me).
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There are lots of excellent views along this ridge.
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Looking over to West and East Royce Mountains
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Looking southeast to Kezar Lake
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One more view . . .
. . . before entering back into the woods.
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I noticed on my map that the trail doesn't go quite to the summit of Ames Mountain. I found a very short herd path of just a few yards. I took it to the top. Looks like a bunch of prior hikers have claimed this as the top, so I guess I will too. I can cross Ames Mountain off my list of things to do. A couple minutes later I reached another trail junction.
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It was just a half mile to the summit from here. Since I would be coming back here, I ditched my pack, grabbed a coat, and headed off to the summit.
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The trail was easy, but ended with a couple hundred feet of elevation gain.
I guess it was cold, as I noticed all the icicles hanging on the trees.
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Maddie tags the 2906' summit of Speckled Mountain, her first time here.
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There's about 180° view from the top.
The mountain all the way in the back is Mount Washington.
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Looking north to Caribou Mountain
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Looking east
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We headed back to where I ditched my pack.
It was time to head down Bickford Brook Trail which was a great trail.
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Here's the junction with the Spruce Hill Trail.
I'll have to try this approach to Speckled Mountain sometime.
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The trail from here was smooth and gradual. In fact, I think this is one of the most gentle descents of all the mountains in the Whites.
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Madison and I got back to the car about 4:45 with about 20 minutes of light to spare.
The days are getting way too short.
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