Finishing the Belknap 12

I haven't been hiking in NH much the last couple of years but am now trying to get back into the swing of it. This weekend I made plans with Dugan and Amicus to head up there. We were thinking of doing the traverse of Table Mtn and Attitash but found out that Bear Notch Rd is still closed, so opted for plan B - the Belknaps.

I had not been in the Belknaps since 2008 when I had been there quite a bit. I had adopted the Precipice Path that year and along with doing maintenance on the trail I had summited all of the central and eastern peaks: Straightback Mtn, Mt Anna, Mt Mack, Mt Klem, Rand Mtn, East and West Quarry Mt and Mt Major. I had quite an adventure trying to find my way off Mt Major and wrote one of my favorite trip reports about it (http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?26457-Previously-on-Lost-in-the-Belknaps).

Amicus suggested I look over my maps and come up with a plan for the day, so I spent an hour looking at possibilities and realized I could probably bag the 5 peaks I still needed to complete the Belknap 12 list.

We left one of our cars in the Gunstock Ski Resort and then headed out to Belknap Mtn Rd and drove out to the end of the pavement to start our traverse. We were surprised to find a large group gearing up at the trail head and later found out they were a meetup group called the New England Over 50 Hiking Group.

The weather was overcast and the temps were close to freezing. There was no snow on the ground and we started off with hats and gloves on and headed up the Whiteface Mtn Tr to Whiteface Mtn. It was a nice moderate climb through fairly open woods and we were soon heading over some ledges to the summit where we met the before mentioned group of hikers. The views of the Belknap Range and other nearby hills were enjoyable despite the lack of clear skies.

From there we backtracked to the Piper / Whiteface Link and headed over to Piper Mtn. This part of the hike was a bit steeper and we dealyered a bit as we warmed up. The long ridge of Piper Mtn had many viewpoints to enjoy and we were soon at the north summit where we were amused by the stone chairs that had been built.

From there we followed the bright orange blazes of the Old Piper Tr down to the col and then up Belknap via the White Tr. The trail had been relocated since Amicus had been here before with lots of switchbacks, We decided to have lunch at the base of the fire tower after climbing it to enjoy the awesome views. The sky was starting to clear and we got great views of Mt Washington, the Sandwich Range, Franconia and Moosilauke to the north, the Ossipee Range to the East, and lots of peaks in other directions. While eating, we met a pair of women and their French Bulldog. Dugan and I had brought along our Poodle-mix, Caboodle, and the two dogs had a blast chasing each other around for a while.

From Belknap, we headed down the Blue Tr to the Saddle Tr and then up the Brook Tr to the summit of Gunstock Mtn. By then the skies had cleared and it had warmed up nicely. We explored the summit area for a while, enjoying the views from the ski lift and the deck of the (closed) bar.

We had some trouble figuring out how to follow the Ridge Tr from there as the blazes are sparse. I had brought along the Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide and we figured out that we had to follow a ski trail (the Flintlock Tr) down quite a way to find where the Ridge Tr entered the woods. There was quite a bit of snow left still on the ski trail, so we had some fun boot skiing our way down and hunting for the white blazes. Eventually we encountered a nice big sign showing where the Ridge Tr entered the woods and we the followed that up to cell phone tower at the top of Mt Rowe.

We took several photos at the summit to commemorate my completing the list and quickly descended down the trail/access road to the parking lot and our awaiting car. 6 hours on the trails and over 8 miles made for a happy group Now I just need to send away for my patch

Someone conveniently placed the five western peaks of the Belknap 12 in a more or less straight line, running south to north. This enables a straightforward traverse of them without excessive distance or effort, and with many great views, as RnR notes. Piecing together the best route from the numerous little trails that criss-cross the Belknaps did take some effort, for which I thank RnR.

While I enjoyed all five peaks and what came between them, my personal highlights were Gunstock and Rowe, which crown and flank the Gunstock ski area, one of my favorites. To stand atop the summit chair in March (albeit just barely) in boots made for hiking, not skiing, was a little bittersweet. I've enjoyed the glorious view from the porch of the Panorama Pub on many ski trips, and the blue skies arrived in time for us yesterday:



A fine intro to the Belknaps for Dugan (whose peanut butter/fudge blondies would have redeemed even a lousy hike) and Caboodle, most amiable of dogs. A few more pix are here.

It was a beautiful day to be out! RnR mugged for the camera on all but one of the summits. Here's our album of RnR's pictures, though I don't think we can top how Amicus captured the view of Washington across Lake Winnipesaukee.

Congrats RnR... you couldn't have had a nicer group for your finish! Glad you are getting back out on the trails again!!