The Hikers
New member
I don't know how many times we have hiked Speckled Mountain in Evans Notch. The last time was in the Spring when we mistakenly left our snowshoes at home, leading to post-hole hell for the end of the hike.
With the unusually mild forecast for Sunday, we just had to hike somewhere, and Speckled was chosen for several reasons. First it is a good workout, being at least 8 miles round trip from the Brickett place. Second there are great views from the open ledges of Blueberry and then from the Summit of Speckled. Third there is a long gorge with multiple waterfalls and slides, and I needed a few more waterfall pictures for a presentation in December.
We brought way too many articles of clothing, expecting a cold start. These were shed and packed away fairly soon, as the climb is quite steep for a long way after you cross the river, and you work up some heat. We recounted our Spring torture as we passed various areas, but soon found there is danger in these warm fall hikes, as well. Deep dried, loose leaves filled the trail making it impossible to see the hidden rocks beneath, and giving a slippery-as-ice effect when on smooth rocks. We lost footing often, and stubbed toes as well.
Take the CTA by-pass out to the ledges of Blueberry if you hike this trail. The views are worth it. Going on we remembered the deep snow that filled these trails last Spring.
At the summit of Speckled, a cold wind was blowing, so we ducked down next to the foundation blocks of the old tower and had lunch. The views were great , as usual, but it did remain hazy most of the day.
Caribou
Washington
We decided to return by the Bickford Brook Trail which is an old logging road.
As you get most of the way down this trail there is a junction for the upper slides. We took this, finding it pretty hard to follow in some places. It becomes very narrow as it passes high above the gorge, and you can see many falls and pools which are completely cut off from access by the high walls.I scrambled down to get some pics, while Joyce followed the trail, up and around. Joining up further down, we lost the trail for a while and did some bushwacking back and forth across the river until we found it again.
A hike to the slides ,in itself, is worth the effort as they are some of the more spectacular in all the hikes we have taken.
We got done in plenty of time to hit Starbucks in North Conway before heading home. A great day to celebrate our Anniversary and my Birthday
