Flanked by Old Speck and Baldpate Mountain, and dissected by the Maine Appalachian Trail, Grafton Notch State Park offers some of Maine’s best hiking.
The Appalachian Trail’s northbound ascent of Baldpate Mountain from Grafton Notch is a rocky, bruising trail in the summer that crushes the hopes of thru hikers looking for an easy stretch after the rigorous Mahoosuc Range. Add snow and this hike transforms into a backcountry winter wonderland where you’re more likely to encounter a moose than a fellow hiker. Read More
The Maine Appalachian Trail (MAT) is officially listed at 281.4 miles, though recent relocations have likely added steps. Even so, it’s a far cry from being the longest of the 14 Appalachian Trail states. Maine accounts for only 13 percent of the entire 2,178.3-mile trail, well short of Virginia’s 25 percent. Nor does Maine boast the highest peak—that honor belongs to 6,642-foot Clingmans Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. Statistics, however, are for maps. Ask anyone who has completed the entire trail and they’ll likely tell you Maine is the toughest state. Read More
The Old Speck Trail in Grafton Notch State Park is a near-perfect hike for intermediate hikers. Ascending Maine’s third highest mountain (fourth highest peak) at 4,180 feet, the trail itself has 2,700 feet of elevation gain featuring stop-and-stare scenery with steep climbs that will get your heart pumping and intermittent plateaus to catch your breath. In the winter, at the tail end of a three-snowstorm week, the morning after one of the storms, it’s a little more difficult. Interpretation of the word “little” is really something everyone has to judge for themselves—a key piece of information I may have left out of the sales pitch to my wife. Read More
Let me start by explaining that I’m only counting this day as a half day on the trail, because, well, that’s what it was. We left the Speck Pond camp at 6:30 am and were on the summit and climbing … Read More
