Speck & Baldpate in one day?!

[ctsparrow]

Has anyone attempted or done Speck and Baldpate(s) in one day? I expect Speck to be difficult..lots of vert., is Baldpate a bit easier (relatively speaking of course). I realize it would be a long and grueling day, something i would not contemplate until suffient and regular days of training hikes have been ticked off, but am curious of any prior trips of this sort and opinions and feedback on length of day and difficulty level. I have the utmost respect for the Mahoosucs and consider them and most Maine peaks more daunting than the Whites. thanks, ctsparrow

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Like everything hiking, it depends on your conditioning and speed - Speck is 8 miles, and the Baldpates (there are 2) are 10. Personally, I'd do them in 2 days because they're rough and have good views (Speck has a fire tower).

 

[weatherman]

My vote for 2 days as well- you could do them in 1 but it is a lot of verts. We did them in 1, but as part of a section hike (that day was Speck Pond to Frye Notch), so we didn't have to climb out of Grafton Notch twice in a day! There is a decent leanto halfway up the Baldpates with good water that you could stay at. Enjoy those views. Have fun.
Weatherman

 

[skiguy]

Definitely doable to do all three peaks in one day;but I would do them in two. Why; because they are both REAL NICE and I would savor the Views and hang longer on top of each rather than trying to keep a milage agenda. Just my opinion but what ever you do a real fine tramp in the woods!

 

[RoySwkr]

Like everything hiking, it depends on your conditioning and speed - Speck is 8 miles, and the Baldpates (there are 2) are 10.

There are 3 Baldpates if you are climbing NE 500 and only 1 for NE 100
http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?z=19&n=4939842&e=347370&size=s&datum=nad83&layer=DRG25

As Kevin says, there are members of this group who would do both and then Elephant afterwards, and others who wouldn't be able to do either in a day. Compare the distance/elevation with other trips you have done. Note that Baldpate actually has about the same elevation gain as Old Speck as you go over West Peak both ways.

I would suggest visits to Speck Pond and Table Rock also but that would make for an even tougher day.

 

[king tut]

This is do-able, just not recommended. I would rather get done a hike and drink a beer and eat a steak, not punish myself some more. But hell, if you want to do both, Git 'er Done!

 

[TMax]

I did Old Speck this past Saturday with HarryK. It was a relatively easy hike done in less than 5 hours (without pressure to do it quickly). Hikethe115 and Spongebob did Baldpate at the same time. They had a little bit more difficulty with the slabby stuff being wet and slippery, but took about the same amount of time to complete the hike. We all had plenty of energy left! If your used to elevation gains of about 4500' in a day, I think the two are very do-able together.

By the way, the tower on Old Speck is small but worth the vertical climb up the ladder. The views are great!

 

[Lawn Sale]

With an early start they could both be done easily, but the lean-to at the base of Baldpate is a nice one, very large, great water supply, and nice fire ring. Not to mention the skylights! Last year someone left a bottle of rum as well, but don't count on it being there now. Old Speck is nice, not as bad as it looks on a map, but West Baldpate is a kicker from the lean-to to the summit.

 

[JCE]

Old Speck - Fantastic Hike

EBE, Sidekick, and I did Old Speck this past Saturday (5/20) too.

The hike was GREAT! I'd highly recommend this to anybody looking for fun in the woods and a great View From The Top. The trail was wet, but the rocks - even wet - had good support, very little slipping. We went up the Old Speck Trail and were going to come down the Eyebrow trail until we were talked out of it by two hikers at the summit. They said it was so wet and something about a waterfall you had to go under? that we should only do it if we had a death wish. We took their advise and came down the way we went up. We'll return to do it again.

The Bethel / Grafton park area is beautiful - can't wait to do more hiking in Maine!

Make it two days and enjoy the hike - its beautiful.

 

[Amicus]

Old Speck - Eyebrow and Link/East Spur variations

We went up the Old Speck Trail and were going to come down the Eyebrow trail until we were talked out of it by two hikers at the summit. They said it was so wet and something about a waterfall you had to go under? that we should only do it if we had a death wish. We took their advise and came down the way we went up. We'll return to do it again.

The Eyebrow Trail made a nice mini-loop of the first part of my hike up Old Speck on a wet day in Sept. 2004. I did it going up, however, and thought at the time that it would be less fun descending it. So that's the sequence I'd recommend.

The Link and East Spur Trails give you a similar loop alternative for the upper part, but I gather they lost official status some years ago. There were no signs for them in Sept. 2004 and I believe they no longer appear on the latest AMC map (but both trailheads off the Old Speck Trail were very distinct in Sept. 2004). I skipped them because I was a little short on time, but hope to return to Old Speck later this summer and would be curious to hear from anyone who has done these alternate trails lately.