Speckled Mountain (attempt) - Bickford Brook Trail - 2-21-2022

Hiking Trail Conditions Report
	Peaks	Speckled Mountain (attempt), ME

	Trails:	Bickford Brook Trail

	Date of Hike:	Monday, February 21, 2022

	Parking/Access Road Notes:	Parking at entrance to Basin and Cold River campgrounds before gate across route 113 at the Maine border.

	Surface Conditions:	Snow - Unpacked Powder, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow/Ice - Postholes

	Recommended Equipment:	Snowshoes

	Water Crossing Notes:	only small run-off waterways easily stepped over. May be more difficult if the forecast holds for the Wednesday warm up

	Trail Maintenance Notes:	Trail is fine. A couple of trees across trail on a slant. I cut the branches to ease the passage below these trees. May be a problem if the snowpack increases in depth. Other fallen trees near the surface of the snow can be easily stepped over or walked around. No trail blazes as this is a wilderness area (pathway is obvious).

	Dog-Related Notes:	Fine for dogs

	Bugs:

	Lost and Found:	The woman I provided a ride from the Basin/Cold River parking to the Stone House Road parking left her traction footwear in my car. Write me on the best way to get these back to you.


	Comments:	I did not anticipate that I would have to break trail. There were footprints from Brickett Place up to the lower junction with the Blueberry Ridge Trail. The footsteps then tracked to the Blueberry Ridge trail. The Bickford Brook Trail had not had hikers since the last snowfall. Initially the going was easy on the Bickford Brook Trail as the new snow was a thin veneer on a packed snowshoe track. The snow cover eventually thickened. Once in the evergreen forest (before reaching the jct with Spruce Hill Trail) the surface was a layer of ice underlaid with dense snow and/or sleet. The going was tedious and felt like walking in a sand dune. I continued breaking trail to just shy of the upper junction with the Blueberry Ridge Trail when I hit my predetermined turnaround time. I would have started my hike earlier if I knew the trail needed to be broken out. No big deal, I've been to the summit so many times and the woods walk was great. There was a small section of trail with moose tracks that sunk to a depth of a couple of feet. One hiker without snowshoes was sinking in with every footfall. The upcoming weather may obliterate my snowshoe track.

	Name:	WAUMBEK

	E-Mail:	waumbek@roadrunner.com

	Date Submitted:	2022-02-21

	Link:	https://
		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.