"I parked at the Bellows South Trailhead and took the Bellows South Trail to the summit. The elevation gain was strenuous but consistent throughout with nothing technical. After soaking in the views from the summit I went back down Thunderbolt Trail which was very steep and made me wish I brought trekking poles to save my knees. Overall amazing day and highly recommend." — jeffanello • Apr 26, 2026

"Mellow walk on till the end of Round Pond Trail followed by an excellent class 2 scramble up the Boulder Field Trail (think Caps Ridge Trail). Best views are from the scramble to the ledge before the summit. Firetower at the summit has decent views too. Minimal ice on trail above 2000 ft, traction was not required." — adutta • Apr 11, 2026

"Steep climb for part of it. Crampons and ice axe necessary. Trail is mostly packed down and icy except for one short section of snow. Really fun climb with great weather for the peak. Was 20 degrees with 12 mph winds. Glissaded nearly the whole way down. Summit to parking lot in 2hrs 15. Ascent took 5hr 45min." — Nao • Mar 6, 2026

"I was staying in Bethel for the week and I needed a Calendar Day. I learned that Old Speck was broken out, so that became the plan. It is always intimidating when I am the only car in the parking lot and the wind was whipping through the trees. I used microspikes for the hike. The trail was well broken out. The day got nicer as the hike went on. It was windy but I was sheltered the entire time. There was some nice views just below the summit. Only person on the mountain and I picked up my last Calendar Day for February. " — newenglandwarrior • Feb 18, 2026

"Very snowy! The first section of trail before the viewpoint was very well packed down, but the last half mile had some waist deep drifts which made for some wet feet. The views were amazing though and the descent was very fun" — noahthackeray • Feb 16, 2026