| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
East Royce Mountain, Spruce Hill, Speckled Mountain, Blueberry Mountain, ME |
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 | Trails: |
Royce Trail, Royce Connector Trail, East Royce Trail, Spruce Hill Trail, Bickford Brook Trail, Blueberry Ridge Trail |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Tuesday, June 18, 2024 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parked at the Brickett Place off ME 113 in Evans Notch. This large dirt lot is a fee lot ($5 per day or WMNF pass). There are pit toilets that are normally well stocked. I did not visit them today. Kiosk and iron ranger. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Nothing of significance. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
No seems were awful. Flying into the nostrils, eyes and face. Not biting, just annoying. Deer flies as well making life even more frustrating. DEET only encouraged them to come closer. |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Route:
Royce Trl > Royce Connector trl > East Royce trl > Spruce Hill trl > Bickford Brook trl to Speckled summit and back to > Blueberry Ridge trl > Bickford Brook trl > end.
Royce Trail: the start of this trail is across ME 113 from the parking area. There is a nice, large brown sign for the trail head. This trail is well blazed in yellow and well maintained. Footbed nice and soft until the steeper part just before the jct with Royce Connector (the 0.2 between Laughing Lion and Royce Connector). This portion took much longer than expected secondary to poor footing, slippery/sweaty rocks and super steep terrain. Nothing trecherous, just a typical Maine scramble straight up the side of a mountain. There is also one short section of erosion that has left thin roots and thick boulders exposed. It is still simple to climb up this without going off trail.
Royce Connector: jct sign up and in great shape. Blazed in yellow with supplemental cairns on the few ledges. Quick jaunt over to East Royce. Footing excellent.
East Royce trail: well blazed in yellow for the entirety. Well maintained. I went to the summit where I was treated to multiple dry ledge scrambles and a nice sign at the top. Good views of the Baldfaces and mountains of eastern NH. On the way down the footing is rougher, but not bad. A tributary to Evans Brook was flowing well enough this morning to filter a liter of water. This tributary is about 0.3 from the end of the trail. Evans Brook was barely trickling.
Spruce Hill trl: well blazed in yellow to the new Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness sign (very top of sign damaged, but all lettering intact). No blazes after the boundary. Cooridor and footpath simple to discern. Lovely footbed, good footing. At the summit of Spruce Hill there was a very faint path leaving perpendicular to the trail. Hopeful for a view, I followed this for a short distance before noting a cairn well placed near a tree. I assumed this to be the "summit proper" but I do not know that for sure. This is a really nice trail and a great alternate to climb to Speckled.
Bickford Brook trl: Not blazed, cairns mark the path on the ledges of Speckled Mountain. Great footing and nice grade. Simple to follow. On the summit, though, there are multiple unofficial tent sites and herd paths all around making the return quite confusing. I did not venture out to the Willard Brook spring that is just past the summit on Red Rock trail, so I don't know if its flowing. I know it to be unreliable from prior treks here. After summiting, I retraced the 0.5 miles back to:
Blueberry Ridge trail: not blazed. Well marked with cairns, especially as there are numerous ledges on this trail. Great grade that continues for the majority of the trail until about 0.4 from the end where it is a steep scramble down wet, slippery rock ledges down to Bickford Slides. Lots of views from the open ledges. Blueberry mountain is on this path and offers a "Lookout Loop" for those interested in really wonderful views of Kezar and other nearby Maine lakes. I did not do the loop today as it was too exposed and far too hot to be in that kind of sun. Plus, a monsterous thunderhead was developing on the NH horizon and I did not want to be out and about if a storm decided to kick in. There were a few nearly dry areas of mud in the forested areas between ledges. There is no water on this trail until the very bottom at the Bickford Slides.
I hadn't seen East Royce in nearly 8 years. It was nice to revisit this gem. Likewise, it had been many years since I trapised down Royce trail. I'd forgotten about the Mad River Falls and how pretty they are. I most certianly, though, remembered the steep scrambles. |
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 | Name: |
Remington34 |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2024-06-18 |
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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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