By Marty Basch

When the White Mountains call, it's easy to answer. But in the heat of summer, you won't be the only one.

So head to Evans Notch which wiggles between New Hampshire and Maine.

There you will find  an eight-plus mile circuit over Blueberry and Speckled Mountains in the Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness.

There's no guarantee of solitude here, but chances are the Brickett Place parking area off Route 113 will be less packed than the one down the road for the Baldfaces, another popular hike.

No giant

At 2,906 feet, Speckled Mountain is no giant. On its ledgy summit are the remains of a fire tower that stands no more. One doesn't need any more steps to gaze out to better known mountains like Adams, Washington or Madison. Long distance hikers know the Mahoosucs and there they are, a line heading north. Caribou Mountain is part of the panorama too.

That's just Speckled. It's smaller neighbor, Blueberry Mountain, is the real sweet spot in the pair though. Not even two thousand feet high, the 1,781 foot peak is one long open ledge loaded with open spaces that look out to the The Basin below, the rocky places of North and South Baldfaces, Mount Meader, cliffs and more.

And it's  got loads of blueberries too.

Loop it up

The loop uses two trails: Bickford Brook and Blueberry Ledge. The choice of a loop is which way to go first. Quite frankly, Bickford Brook is nothing more than a slog up a former service road that served the fire tower that no longer stands there. It is a very forgiving trail, unlike the Blueberry Ledge path. It might sound sweet, but it's a tad deceiving, with its swell down to Bickford Brook and then steep staircases. It's a good idea to tackle that first and then to the long walk out on the Bickford Brook Trail.

Either way, the 8.6 mile journey begins on the Bickford Brook Trail and its gradual path upward before hikers can make a right on the Blueberry Brook Trail and start that descent to Bickford Brook. A side trip by the brook leads to Upper Bickford Slides and a swimming hole. The brook with its large open rocks are nice spots to relax, but there are still many of miles to go beginning by crossing the slippery moss-covered rocks and then heading up the steepest portion of the trip with a nearly three-quarter of a mile huff up Blueberry Mountain.

Truly, the effort made during the grunt comes with great reward on the ledgy summit of Blueberry Mountain. This mountain's a sleeper in the hiking community and those who make the trip to western Maine will see why. It is there on the open ledges filled with blueberries that hikers will hear the noise they come to know: nothing.

Ledges are stages

Enjoy the time spent on Blueberry Mountain. Turn around on those open ledgy rocks for the Evans Notch and Cold River Valley views. Follow the many cairns. Linger over some blueberries. The trail darts in and out of the spruce and fir, sometime narrow, sometimes like going through a tunnel with limbs overhead. Consider taking the side trail to the Outlook (this trail will rejoin the main path) to views down to landmarks like Shell Pond and Deer Hill, itself a pleasant jaunt any time of year.

Mountains and ponds are part of the landscape. Keep on trucking until the junction of the Blueberry Ledge and Bickford Brook Trails. The trek to Speckled Mountain is an out and back trip at this point. The wide service road does narrow some into mountain bike-like singletrack before the push up to Speckled's summit. It's always a wonder no matter how many mountains one climbs of the amount of protected and open space there is here in northern New England. So close to Boston, Montreal and other urban centers, there is still real wilderness to be found so close to home.

And much of it is found in the White Mountain National Forest if you answer the call.

One Tank Away

Chatham, N.H. is 240 miles from Chatham, Mass.

Gilead, Me. is  312 miles from Caribou, Me.

Stow, Me. is 138 miles from Stowe, Vt.