It’s a macho hike/climb to be sure for we over 60 folks, but it’s worth the challenge. Stay on route 26 from Portland and stop in Bethel at the Crossroads Diner where you will feel the welcoming rural Maine ambience and casualness. Continue on for five miles, make the left at the Bear River Trading Post and head twelve miles to the parking area at Grafton State Park. Voila. Welcome to the AT.
Three point eight miles to the summit of Old Speck sounds like a piece of cake, but not so fast my friend. This part of the Appalachian Trail (AT) has a 2700-foot vertical gain. My mountain math hopes we’ll make it in two hours. On this late July Monday, my friend Paul Rosenblum and I begin the vertical almost immediately, climbing 950 feet in the first 35 minutes. The trail is rock strewn, almost entirely tree covered with the occasional overlook. The balsams give a fragrant smell to the forest and the mushrooms give a fairy-like feel to the hike. Fact is, we do only see fit people hiking this trail and introduce ourselves every chance we get with “Where are you from?” which gets the ball rolling.
So much for mountain math, two and a half hours later, we arrive at a public fire tower for panoramic views at the 4200-foot summit. On this windy Monday we don sweatshirts for comfort with nary a bug in sight up or down the trail. As with any climb of such elevation gain, it’s the descent that challenges the knees of we 60+ year-old hikers. Again, the trekking sticks brace each descending footstep and make it so that the next morning in York, Maine I would be able to lightly spin on my bicycle with Hannah. That said, my quads would have me gingerly walking down stairs for a couple of days.
On the descent, we hear two hikers joyously talking behind us. In short order two 22 year olds, “Tetherball” and “Moose” (Appalachian Trail names, male and female respectively) reach us. As northbound thru-hikers, they left Springer Mountain in Georgia on April first and now hope to reach Mt. Katahdin, the terminus of the AT, in two, maybe three weeks. Their utter joy and happiness lifts my spirit and reminds me that the world is a beautiful place. They are living the dream. Eleventh Commandment of the Trail – Bring extra energy bars and trail mix on the trail to give to AT hikers. We learn of the term trail magic where hikers leave food for AT hikers. Having learned only one in ten completes the AT, I recommend the DVD Southbounders (http://www. southbounders.com/) for those intrigued by the AT as I am.
The last 35 minutes of the descent is tough on my knees and worrisome to my left ankle. After five hours of hiking, we play the “How much would you have to be paid to immediately rehike what we just did?” Game. Paul says “$150,” I say “$10,000,” since my knees are begging me to stop. As we reach the parking lot, we spot Moose and Tetherball. She says, “I’d do it for a dollar.” A dollar! Tetherball thinks $20, since that would pay for a week of groceries. Youth! I just love these two.
I have broken my cardinal rule of limiting hikes to three hours with this five-hour marathon, but thanks to the trekking sticks and good company I know I’ve hit the jackpot at Old Speck Mountain Trail.
Rating – Excellent, but Tough.
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