| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Speck Pond, Mahoosuc Arm, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Speck Pond Trail, Mahoosuc Trail, May Cutoff |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, August 5, 2023 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Ahhhh, Success Pond Road. The road is in fairly good condition - I could go 20 - 25 mph in my Forester for most of the drive - but the Speck Pond trailhead is a long way in. Room for a few cars on the side of the road at the trailhead. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Significant |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
The bottom of Speck Pond Trail appears to have been rerouted to avoid the crossings of Sucker Brook. There are now no crossings of any size on Speck Pond Trail. Where Mahoosuc Trail crosses the outlet of Speck Pond, someone has placed lots of logs and branches so that hikers can walk across on them. The crossing is now pretty easy. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
A couple of blowdowns on Speck Pond Trail, but nothing terrible. Speck Pond Trail is heavily eroded in the upper section - some drainage work could be done there. Plenty of mudpits on Mahoosuc Trail, including one just before the junction with May Cutoff that hikers are trampling the alpine vegetation to bypass. At the junction of Mahoosuc Trail and Speck Pond Trail, the sign only mentions Speck Pond Campsite and not Speck Pond Trail - hikers who didn't have a map might not realize that there's a trail that leads beyond the campsite. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Dogs should be fine on Speck Pond Trail. Mahoosuc Trail has some rough scrambles that may be difficult for dogs. |
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 | Bugs: |
Not an issue. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
Nothing. |
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 | Comments: |
This was the first hike of my Mahoosuc Weekend, to redline all the trails starting on Success Pond Road that I still needed. Speck Pond Trail starts out nice and easy - flat to gradual with good footing. Once the trail turns away from Sucker Brook, it stays gradual to moderate, then becomes steep, then moderates again, and then finally climbs steeply for a while up to the junction with May Cutoff. This steep section had a lot of slippery ledge slabs that needed to be taken carefully (hey, this is the Mahoosucs after all!) The four wooden ladders mentioned in the WMG are honestly not really that useful - the wooden steps are very slippery. The trail up to the junction with May Cutoff has a few minor PUDs but nothing serious. It has many twists and turns and a few short relocations but is not difficult to follow.
After the junction with May Cutoff, Speck Pond Trail descends steeply down slippery ledges to Speck Pond. This section reminded me of the descent of Boott Spur Trail I did a month ago. Speck Pond Campsite was empty when I went through - way too early for anyone who camped at Full Goose to show up yet (they were all either worming their way through Mahoosuc Notch or struggling up the extremely steep and slabby trail leading from there up to Mahoosuc Arm). I took Mahoosuc Trail from the Campsite up to the junction with May Cutoff - I hadn't done this section in many years (since my college orientation!), and I wanted to see if it was any easier now that I'm a more experienced hiker and was carrying only the weight of a day pack instead of an overnight pack. It's still very rough, steep in places, and has a lot of rock scrambling, but it wasn't horrible. The crossing of the Speck Pond outlet brook was easy on the logs and branches that had been placed there, and the climb up to Mahoosuc Arm was quite rugged but didn't go on for too long. There were amazing views from the lookouts along the way. Just before the trail reached the junction with May Cutoff, it goes through a deep mudpit - hikers have been bypassing it by going around on a route that is still wet but not as bad as the mudpit. This route involves trampling lots of alpine vegetation - just one or two more bog bridges over the mudpit could solve this issue completely and prevent the alpine vegetation from being trampled. May Cutoff had minor ups and downs and some more mudpits, but they weren't as bad. It wasn't clear exactly which hump was the true summit of Mahoosuc Arm. I then descended Speck Pond Trail back to the trailhead.
This was a fun start to the weekend, and I didn't see a single other hiker. |
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 | Name: |
GN |
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 | E-Mail: |
ghnaigles@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2023-08-06 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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