Old Speck Mountain - my 1st Maine 4000 footer!

These are the 14 4,000 footers in Maine. Today's peak (Thursday, July 28, 2016) - Old Speck Mountain - is in the purple circle:

it is the only one that I can day-trip to, so all the rest will take some (overnight) planning.

As I left town this morning, I had a little surprise!

is Jesse handling our town's boat-ramp work??

I plan today's hike to go up The Eyebrow trail (1.2 miles), then continuing up Old Speck Trail Trail (2.5 miles), then 0.3 miles up to the summit of Old Speck Mountain (4,170 feet). Instead of going straight back down, I want to take the spur/path (Mahoosuc Trail) down to Speck Pond (1.1 miles). Then, after a quick swim, back to the parking lot (1.1 + 2.5 + 1.0 miles):

Estimated 10.0 miles altogether - let's see how "close to reality" that is.

Into Boston for the Thursday Morning Men's Breakfast, then up into Maine. Right before the trailhead is Screw Auger Falls - a wonderful waterfall area. Lots of people out having fun on a sunny summer day!:



It was a great day for a hike, as evidenced by all the people in the parking lot:

That's "The Eyebrow" looming above the parking lot - I'll be up there soon!

40 minutes later, this is the view from "The Eyebrow"!!

That is Maine Highway 26 going south through Grafton Notch

It is a kind-of-difficult hike, with many rocks, and ups and downs. There is also a lot of moss, saying to me that it gets very wet up here:


2-and-1/2 hours (4 miles) after starting - my selfie on Old Speck (my 1st one in Maine):


Yes, that is a firetower right next to me - fabulous views from the top!:




The trail down to Speck Pond is very hard, but totally worth it! At 3,400 feet, it is billed as "Maine's highest body of water", and is really quite beautiful:




Back up and over the mountain - my last 2 miles was with Steven, from Maryland, who had hiked bits-and-pieces of the AT over the past 10 years, and only had 190 miles at the beginning, and 240 miles at the end to finish it all - pretty impressive for a 62 year old grandfather! Thank You God for a GREAT DAY! 10.86 miles in 6 hours 19 minutes, with an elevation gain of 3,412 feet!



Thursday, July 28, 2016 (left home at 6 AM, home at 11 PM)
37 miles -- down into Boston
189 miles -- up 95 into Maine, then up 26 (1 PM at the trailhead)
10.86 miles -- hiking (6 hours 19 minutes)(I stopped MapMyWalk when I went swimming at Speck Pond!)
189 miles - 3 1/2 hours to get home (including dinner from KFC in South Paris, Maine)

Music today:

Into Boston:
the Miles Davis Quintet - The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965, 1965 - disc 4

the jazz sounded really great.

Morning drive up into Maine:

Jimmy Buffett - Feeding Frenzy: Jimmy Buffett Live!, 1990


The Allman Brothers Band - The Fillmore Concerts, 1971 (2 cds)

On October 10, 1992, The Fillmore Concerts, an expanded version of At Fillmore East, was released as a two-disc CD. As quoted in a review: "Ornery and loud, it's perfect driving music for the road that goes on forever."

Evening drive home:

The Allman Brothers Band - "Mountain Jam", 1971 live


Counting Crows - Films About Ghosts, their greatest hits album released 2003


various artists - For the Lady: dedicated to freeing Aung San Suu Kyi and the courageous people of Burma, 2004


various artists - Folk Live From Mountain Stage, 1997


Bill Morrissey - Standing Eight, 1989


Bill Morrissey - Inside, 1992


Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about Art Museums and National Parks (on July 23, 2016 I finished a 6-day trip to Indiana/Kentucky/DC/Connecticut)
hyperlink: dixonheadingwest
http://dixonheadingwest.blogspot.com/

My 48th (South Carter) 4,000 footer! (plus Mount Hight)

This is what I call "The Northeast Group" (the Presidential Range on the left/center, and the Carter-Moriah Range on the right). Today's peaks (Thursday, June 30, 2016) - South Carter and Mount Hight - are in the purple circle:


I plan today's hike to go up Nineteen Mile Brook Trail (along Nineteen Mile Brook [1.9 miles]), then left up Carter Dome Trail [1.9 miles]. North on Carter-Moriah Trail (0.8 miles) to get to South Carter, then backtrack down to Mount Hight (0.8+0.2+0.4 miles), then continue south (0.4 miles) to hit Carter Dome Trail. Return to the trailhead via Carter Dome Trail and Nineteen Mile Brook Trail (0.6+0.2+1.9+1.9):

Estimated 11.0 miles altogether - let's see how "close to reality" that is.

Into Boston for the Thursday Morning Men's Breakfast, the up to the trailhead by 12:15. I saw a pile of kids swarming up the trail as I entered the parking lot, but passed them about a mile into the hike. Nineteen Mile Brook Trail is pretty comfortable:

and, as you can imagine, it goes alongside Nineteen Mile Brook:


This is a great hike for kids, as is Carter Dome Trail - a little more challenging than just "a walk in the woods", but with rocks, and streams, and waterfalls:





The Carter-Moriah Trail runs north to South Carter, and I love the boggy areas along this ridge-trail-in-the-woods:


My selfie on South Carter:

i don't know if anyone is counting, but that makes 48-out-of-48 4000 footers in New Hampshire!!!! The first was June 22, 2014, and the last was June 30, 2016 - what an adventure!

Just off from the South Carter summit is a side trail leading to a beautiful view of the Wild River Wilderness (cool name!):


Then back down the Carter-Moriah Trail, and up to Mount Hight:

And, YES, the views there are as GREAT as advertised!!




On the way back down, I call these shots: Dennis' Swimming Hole:


(the water was REALLY COLD!)

Once again, Nineteen Mile Brook is BEAUTIFUL:



Going back through Jackson, I went up 16A then 16B (Carter Notch Rd), alongside Jackson Falls:


Thank You God for a GREAT DAY! 12.49 miles in 5 hours 19 minutes, with an elevation gain of 3,546 feet! One of the BEST hiking days, ever!



Thursday, June 30, 2016 (left home at 6 AM, home at 9:20 PM)
358 miles -- down into Boston, then up 95, then up 16 (12:17 at the trailhead)
12.49 miles -- hiking (5 hours 19 minutes)(I stopped MapMyWalk when I went swimming!)
3 1/2 hours to get home, via the Jackson Falls! (including a large Number 9 sub at D'Angelo's in North Conway)

Music today was:

Rolling Stones albums in the morning!

Sticky Fingers, 1971 (original album, plus bonus cd)

[WZLX played "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" yesterday, and it sounded GREAT!]

Black and Blue, 1976

[They played this album on the sound system at a concert I went to: June 12, 1976 (age 23) JFK Stadium, Philadelphia - Peter Frampton [middle afternoon, hot weather], Gary Wright [late afternoon], Yes came on as it got dark and the moon was rising, with green lasers going from the stage out over the back of the stadium]

Some Girls, 1978


It's Only Rock 'n Roll, 1974

[I remember telling a guy at Penn that "I just listened to the new Rolling Stones album, and it was really good" (the previous album was Goats Head Soup, which was not "really good")]

December's Children (And Everybody's), 1965


Evening drive home:
U2 - The Unforgettable Fire, 1984


U2 - The Joshua Tree, 1987

I have forgotten HOW STRONG these albums are!!! - EXCELLENT

Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band - The River, 1980

At that time, I was listening to 102.7 WNEW-FM in New York City (which was a GREAT rock station!)(along with WBCN in Boston and WMMR in Philadelphia). The day The River was released, the DJs (Dave Herman, Pete Fornatale, Scott Muni) were not allowed to play the whole album at once - so they played 3 tracks at a time [I want to say once-an-hour, but I could be wrong]. It was a good way to get your "Bruce Juice" those days.

Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about Art Museums and National Parks (on May 2, 2016 I finished a 4-day trip to NJ-PA-VA-DC)
hyperlink: dixonheadingwest
http://dixonheadingwest.blogspot.com/