| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
The Eyebrow, Old Speck Mountain, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Eyebrow Trail, Old Speck Trail, Mahoosuc Trail, Grafton Loop Trail, Bull Run Tentsite Spur, Slide Brook Tentsite Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, May 25, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Plenty of room at the Old Speck trailhead (AT crossing) on Route 26 in Grafton Notch. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Wet/Slippery Rock, Mud - Minor/Avoidable |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Only crossing of consequence was the one on Bull Run Tentsite Spur, which can be rock-hopped. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Countless blowdowns on Grafton Loop Trail. A few wet ledges and muddy areas on Old Speck Trail, but nothing too bad. Signs are all in place. |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Saw several, including two that went up Eyebrow Trail. I'd say experienced hiking dogs only on Eyebrow Trail. Old Speck Trail is easier for them (and for humans too). |
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 | Bugs: |
Plenty. They're a constant presence. Good bug spray kept them mostly away during the hike, but I put on a head net at the campsite when I wasn't moving anymore. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
A very old pair of work gloves sitting on a log at Slide Mountain tentsite. I left them there. |
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 | Comments: |
This was day 1 of a two-day backpacking trip to redline Grafton Loop Trail, Eyebrow Trail, and both tentsite spurs along Grafton Loop Trail (and thus finish redlining the Mahoosuc chapter). I left my car at the southern trailhead for Grafton Loop Trail and got a car spot to the AT trailhead. Eyebrow Trail's middle section is very steep, probably gaining about 700 vertical feet in a half-mile. Between the dry rocks, copious roots to use as footholds, and the iron railings, it wasn't terrible, but in wet or icy conditions I can see how it could be more dangerous. Views were very good from the top of the Eyebrow. Old Speck Trail (part of the AT) is well-worn, obvious, and quite rocky, climbing at gradual to moderate grades. There's a steep pitch, but it's just below the junction leading to the summit, so it's actually encouraging to reach it. The 30-foot patch of ice mentioned in a report from last week was down to a mere 5 feet (and easily avoidable) around noon on Saturday the 25th, so it may well be all gone by the time of this writing (Monday afternoon). Plenty of people at the summit of Old Speck.
Grafton Loop Trail has a very different character from Old Speck Trail. Compared with the wide, well-worn, and obvious Old Speck Trail, Grafton Loop Trail looks and feels like a herd path. It's not technically in a Wilderness area, but it feels like a Wilderness trail - narrow, lightly blazed, many blowdowns (some of which are easy stepovers but others which have rough herd paths around)... but also much less used and therefore smoother and less eroded in places. Lots of moose dung in the upper part. I redlined Bull Run tentsite spur - the donation kiosk has fallen over but the site is otherwise in good condition. I continued another mile to my chosen campsite - Slide Mountain tentsite (I could've gone another mile or two, but the next tentsite wasn't for another four miles on the far side of Sunday River Whitecap). Slide Mtn. site has tent pads instead of platforms, and a bear box. It also has a large blowdown lengthwise along the spur. I was the only one there that night. |
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 | Name: |
GN |
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 | E-Mail: |
ghnaigles@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-05-27 |
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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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