WeRmudfun
New member
Due to the crowds we had heard about on Mt Major, we have always put off hiking it for another day, well, yesterday was the day. We figured it being February, there wouldn’t be many people and we were right, just a handful of very friendly hikers. It was a little hazy, but the temperature was great for hiking and the forecast called for 5 MPH winds, just a great overall day. We were able to add #4, #5 and #6 on the Belknap 12 list, 6 more to go. 
We started the hike at 9:15AM on the Mt Major Trail (Blue Trail) that leaves from the right back side of the parking lot. The conditions were packed powder and easy to bareboot. At about .8 mile we came to the junction with the Brook Trail, but took the left to stay on the Mt Major Trail. When we got to the Ledges Detour, we put on the Hillsounds and kept them on for the rest of the day. The ledges and the detour were both icy, very icy. After passing that area there was just limited spots that had ice before the summit.
On the summit we checked out the views and Mr. Phippen Hut. The summit was dry and clear in spots. The summit of Mt Major is on the New Hampshire Fire Tower List even though there is no evidence that the hut or summit was used for fire detection. This #41 out of 93 on that list for us. After exploring the summit we headed off on the Major-Straightback Link (Blue and Yellow Trail to Blue). The two blazes made for quite a colorful trail and there was a lot of them. The hike over to Straightback Mtn was mostly on packed power and easy.
We had lunch on the summit of Straightback Mtn and determined that we would continue on and try to find the summit of Mt Anna. The Straightback-Anna Link Trail (still Blue) is not as well blazed as the Major-Straightback Link Trail was, but following it was not a problem due to the path from previous hikers. There were a couple of tricky spots due to ice, but with the traction we managed OK. At the summit of Mt Anna, at the trail junction we explored a bit and then started our trek back to Straightback Mtn. We continued backtracking to the junction with the Brook Trail (Yellow Trail), then followed that back down to the parking lot, avoiding the summit of Mt Major. We hiked a little over 9 miles and had a great time.
We did post a video of our adventure, including showing trail conditions, for anyone who might be interested in seeing it. Just click the link below...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CBy7Kr6yKo&list=UUvonD5mWIH03yQY3eosLwcQ&feature=c4-overview
We started the hike at 9:15AM on the Mt Major Trail (Blue Trail) that leaves from the right back side of the parking lot. The conditions were packed powder and easy to bareboot. At about .8 mile we came to the junction with the Brook Trail, but took the left to stay on the Mt Major Trail. When we got to the Ledges Detour, we put on the Hillsounds and kept them on for the rest of the day. The ledges and the detour were both icy, very icy. After passing that area there was just limited spots that had ice before the summit.
On the summit we checked out the views and Mr. Phippen Hut. The summit was dry and clear in spots. The summit of Mt Major is on the New Hampshire Fire Tower List even though there is no evidence that the hut or summit was used for fire detection. This #41 out of 93 on that list for us. After exploring the summit we headed off on the Major-Straightback Link (Blue and Yellow Trail to Blue). The two blazes made for quite a colorful trail and there was a lot of them. The hike over to Straightback Mtn was mostly on packed power and easy.
We had lunch on the summit of Straightback Mtn and determined that we would continue on and try to find the summit of Mt Anna. The Straightback-Anna Link Trail (still Blue) is not as well blazed as the Major-Straightback Link Trail was, but following it was not a problem due to the path from previous hikers. There were a couple of tricky spots due to ice, but with the traction we managed OK. At the summit of Mt Anna, at the trail junction we explored a bit and then started our trek back to Straightback Mtn. We continued backtracking to the junction with the Brook Trail (Yellow Trail), then followed that back down to the parking lot, avoiding the summit of Mt Major. We hiked a little over 9 miles and had a great time.
We did post a video of our adventure, including showing trail conditions, for anyone who might be interested in seeing it. Just click the link below...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CBy7Kr6yKo&list=UUvonD5mWIH03yQY3eosLwcQ&feature=c4-overview
