Breaking Trail in the Belknaps: Whiteface Mountain

Panoramic view from the summit of Whiteface

This past Sunday the temperatures finally crept around 10ºF (balmy, compared to the negative temps and brutally cold wind chills of the days and weeks before), so I decided to get out my snowshoes and head up to the lakes region of New Hampshire to revisit one of my favorite lesser known summits, Whiteface Mountain in the Belknaps. It is overshadowed in both size and recognition by the New Hampshire 4000-footer of the same name and the well known summit in the Adirondacks, but it provides a great view of the Squam Lake area and the southern Whites from its exposed summit for not too much effort.
I had never made the trek to this mountain in winter before, so I was excited to see how the Whites would look with their snow-capped peaks from the summit. The "bomb cyclone" that roared through the state on Thursday dumped a tremendous amount of fresh snow on the trail, and with it being a lesser-visited summit, I knew I might have to break trail to the summit, yet another first experience for me.

Go as Gumby tells you

I arrived at the parking pullout at the end of Belknap Mountain Road just before 1 p.m. and walked up to the trailhead where it became clear my snowshoes were going to be required. As usual, I saw the big brown "Whiteface Mountain Trail" sign on one of the trees at the start, but just below it was a tinier arrow-shaped "Trail Hike" sign pointing me into the woods. What I loved about it was that a Gumby figure was sitting atop the sign as well, pointing me the same way. I know it may have been someone's that was lost along the trail, but its positioning here was a humorous way to start the trip.

At the very beginning the trail was roughly broken out, most likely by the folks in the house next door to this first section entering the woods. A short ways past their backyard the trail had snowmobile tracks on it from them as well, but quickly the trail turned into untouched powder. It looked like they may have bare-booted a little ways up the trail, but once past the Lakes Region Conservation Trust kiosk, I was breaking fresh snow most of the rest of the trip.

Blue blazes made route finding easy the whole way up

The trail was well-blazed, so there were no issues in keeping track of it even with the fresh snow blanketing the usual path. For the majority of the stretch up to the saddle between Piper and Whiteface mountains, the snow ran about 6-10" deep, making my footsteps feel like I was walking on pillows and waterbeds along the way. I learned quickly that breaking a trail gets the quads working overtime. This made me happy that I had picked a smaller mountain with shorter mileage for this first experience.

As I neared the saddle between the two peaks I ran into my first significant snow drifts of the trip, ranging in depth from about 2-3 ft. It was no fun watching my snowshoes sink into deep, soft snow with all my weight sinking with them. This made the final pitch up to the right turn to continue on the Whiteface Mountain Trail even more difficult than the trail breaking that led up to it.

From the saddle, I turned right to continue on the Whiteface Mountain Trail to the summit of Whiteface. Along this section, the trail ran the whole gamut from a crusty 2-3" to more 2-3 ft. drips. The deepest drifts came right where the trail heads into a small open field before continuing along the ATV route to the summit. Once I crossed the field, I was able to hike along some snowmobile tracks some of the way to the summit, while still breaking trail when the tracks would disappear in the blown over snow from the previous few days.

Snow capped peaks of the White Mountains in the distance

At the summit, the snow was covered in a thin icy crust and not deep at all. There were several snowmobile tracks running along it that had broken the snow pack down to form a path. The view to the north was magnificent, with several snow-capped peaks in the Whites standing out. I enjoyed an hour on the summit all to myself before heading back down. As I had about a half-mile left to get back to the trailhead I ran into the only other hiker I saw that day. He thanked me for breaking trail as he continued to pack down the work I started. The descent from there was wonderful, gliding on my snowshoes on fluffy white snow, smoothing and packing the trail further the whole way down.

The trail was much more enjoyable on the way down!

It was an interesting experience breaking a trail for the first time, one that makes me even more grateful for those folks that do it frequently. It's something I definitely don't have the legs to do on the bigger summits of the Whites, but it was a good to get my first taste of it on this little trip. As always, I can't recommend this lesser-known Whiteface enough. I've visited the summit three times and have never had to share the view with anyone. Happy hiking!

Finishing the Belknap Peaks Challenge: West Quarry and Rand Mountains

With the forecast showing cloudy skies, I figured today would be a good day for my pup and I to finish the last two peaks on the Belknap Peak Challenge list, the viewless summits of West Quarry and Rand Mountain. The recently created parking area off of Reed Rd. in Alton Bay has made these once very remote peaks now much more accessible for a medium-sized day hike, as was our plan for this day.

Entrance sign at the Reed Rd. parking area

We arrived at the new parking area around 9:30 a.m. and started our journey by continuing to walk down the road toward where the Reed Road Trail properly entered the woods. As we got further down the road, the condition of it slowly deteriorated, starting as a rocky, gravel road, then once past a large three-car garage, a completely fallen out pile of rocks and rubble. At this point we came to the SPNHF gate put up to block dirt bikes and ATVs from continuing any further. From there the condition of the road continued to be a pile of rough rocks until we came to our first view over Lake Winnipesaukee, where the ground was a better mixture of hard-packed dirt and small rocks.

Gate blocking ATVs from the roughest section of Reed Rd.

Looking back at the Belknaps and Ossipees from the top of Reed Rd.

As we continued along the road, ascending at a moderate clip, we came to the best mountain view of the day when we reached the staircase into the woods signifying the proper start of the Reed Rd. Trail. Looking back from the rocky staircase the summits of Belknap, Gunstock, and several of the mountains across the lake in the Ossipee Range stretched out before us. It was a nice panorama to take in before we set off into the woods.

The stone steps that felt like entering an arena

The way the stone stairs were laid out, welcoming us into the forest, felt like we were walking into an arena to truly begin hiking. From here, the climb continued to be steady, with a few switchbacks along the way to try and ease the grind of the relentless climb higher and higher. As I've noticed to be common, this was another sneaky tough climb in the otherwise small elevations of the Belknap Range. It would not be our last grind of the day.

The footing on this section of trail was mostly hard-packed dirt, stiffened by all the water collecting and freezing underneath with the cooler temperatures of late fall taking hold. I could feel the ice underneath the dirt crunching beneath my feet in several places, and we even noticed a few "hiking frost heaves" along the way where some of the ice had pushed through to the surface. There were a few spots of actual ice along the trail, but they were few and far between on bare rock slabs, and easily stepped over or walked around.

Electric green moss on the Dave Roberts Quarry Trail

Once we reached the junction of the Dave Roberts Quarry Trail, we turned right onto it to head toward West Quarry and Rand. We had one last, quick steep ascent up a rocky ledge and then the trail finally leveled off for a good long stretch, becoming a peaceful walk in the woods almost all the way to the summit of West Quarry. As we neared it for our first summit of the day, we had a moderate climb to get to the top, and enjoyed a small lookout just before reaching the summit sign. With that peak, it was eleven Belknap peaks down, and only one more just a mile away. To Rand we went!

View from the lookout just before the West Quarry summit

It was a quick drop off the summit as we headed down West Quarry into the col between it and Rand. We came to a split in the trail where we could go by the Quarry Ledges or take a bypass into the col for our descent. My pup headed toward the bypass and thus I followed, happy we chose this as a descent after going up the ledges to change things up on our return. Especially as the weather gets colder and more ice builds up, I would not recommend the ledges for descents, as one slip could result in some nasty injuries and lots of bare rock.

My favorite trail signs, the rustic, hand-painted arrows in the Belknaps

The bypass had much better footing with soft forest floor the whole way, albeit steep. Once in the col, it was another nice walk in the woods before things turned into a mixture of tough elevation gain mixed with a blank of dead leaves and big rocks for the final climb up to the summit of Rand. This was yet another sneaky tough climb in this small mountain range that had me huffing and puffing as we approached the summit sign of our final peak of the challenge list. We took a quick break at the summit to bask in our "glory" before retracing our steps and heading back down the way we came.

My pup using the summit of Mt. Rand as his victory throne

While the 4000 Footers get all the love here in New Hampshire, the overlooked challenge of the Belknap peaks is definitely a fun one that is suited for a wider range of abilities. I highly recommend it for someone who finds the 4000 Footers or 52 With a View a little daunting, and the Belknaps are great training ground for those bigger mountains as well while still packing their own gorgeous views in many spots (Mt. Major, Straightback, and Whiteface being my favorites). Even with the peak challenge completed, I'll still be coming back to these peaks to enjoy the views and keep my hiking legs primed for the bigger challenges in the Whites.

Adventures in the Lakes Region: Five Finger Point & West Rattlesnake

Greetings from Five Finger Point!

Yesterday I decided to check out some of the lesser used trails around one of the best "bang-for-your-buck" spots in all of New Hampshire, West Rattlesnake Mountain. This 1260 ft. summit is small and stature but huge in views (photos further down), and it is most commonly reached by way of the very easy 0.9-mile Old Bridle Path, a trail that I've referred to as walking up a very gradual ramp. However, my main destination in this area on Saturday was not that summit, but instead the loop trail around Five Finger Point, an area I would discover was a wonderful forest walk along the shores of Squam Lake.

My pup and I started from the Col Trailhead, which is about 6.5 miles from the junction of US-3/NH-25 and NH-113 in Holderness. This trailhead isn't actually marked at all, but it is a woods road a little ways past the large parking area for the Old Bridle Path. Coming from Holderness, it is just before a sign noting the Allen Preserve, and there is room for about 3 cars on the right hand side after you pull into the road.

Start of the Col Trail

From the parking area, we walked around a chain "gate" blocking access for cars to go further down and started down the woods road on foot. It began as wide and easy as the parking area, and was well blazed by a combination of faded yellow marks (the old trail blazes) and newer blue diamonds nailed into trees along the way. After about a quarter-mile, a yellow arrow above a blue diamond noted the clear left turn off the woods road onto a more traditional hiking trail. At this turn, the Col Trail was very thin and slightly overgrown, but this section was short lived and was the only portion of the trail that was in any sort of rough shape.

After the turn into the woods it was a moderate climb around a bog area, where I noticed one sizeable beaver dam, up to the junction with the Ridge Trail. Along the way the trail had pretty good soft footing with only a couple heavily rocky sections along the way. The forest was pretty wide open in this section and allowed views deep into the trees, although we didn't spot any big rambling creatures.

From the junction with the Ridge Trail we took the quick right followed by the quick left (all well noted by trail signs) to continue down the Col Trail, and I mean DOWN. From the junction it was a quick, steep drop down to the Five Finger Point area, heading down off the mountains and closer to the shoreline. Thankfully the footing was soft the whole way down, but I did have to take care to not slip on the pine needles blanketing the ground. Once at the junction with the Pasture Trail, there were once again several trail signs making easy to make sure we stayed headed in the right direction to the Five Finger Point loop.

Trail signs making it easy to stay on track

A left turn just after the Pasture Trail and we were headed out towards Five Finger Point, with this stretch of trail being a pretty rough mix of rocks, roots, and soil. We were hiking right along the edges East Rattlesnake Mountain, looking down at what would be a fun tumble through the woods on our right. Finally we arrived at a large sign denoting the start of the Five Finger loop and began the trek around the shore in a counterclockwise direction.

First view along Five Finger loop

We came upon our first view quickly, just teasing the expanse of Squam Lake as we continued on to the main outlooks further along the trail. The loop had very nice, gentle footing for almost the entirety of the trip. The forest out there was simply magical and felt miles away from any civilization, even as we saw lake houses from the outlooks. Something about the sound of the loons calling to each other and owls hooting in the distance made me feel like it was just me, my pup, and the forest, a real connection with the nature around us.

Tip of the main outlook along the loop

Natural Area Sign at main outlook

The main outlook came about halfway around the loop, where a sign denoted the Five Finger Natural Area as a long stretch of rocky shoreline that slid into some of the clearest lake water I've seen. While my pup took a dip in the lake, I enjoyed the expansive view of Squam Lake stretching out in all directions in front of me. Aside from the group guys chatting among themselves when we arrived, this was one of the most peaceful spots along the lake.

Interesting fungus along the way

We continued from there to finish the loop, taking in a couple sandy outlooks as we walked by on the trail. Once back at the beginning, we headed back towards the Pasture Trail junction, where my pup and I decided to add on to our trip by checking out that way up to West Rattlesnake, a summit we'd been to several times before.

Trail junction post denoting the Pasture Trail

We quickly learned that this decision was a steep and slow one, as the Pasture Trail never let up in elevation gain until we came upon the cliffs at the summit. Thankfully, as with most of the trail, the footing was soft and forgiving, and we didn't really have to navigate any rocky or root-covered climbs.

As usual, the view from West Rattlesnake was beautiful as always, with a view over Squam Lake that just can't be beat. Even on this cloudy, cool day, I was shocked we only saw a couple other families the entire time we were up there.

One of the few families we saw briefly taking in the view

And what a beautiful view it is

After a little less than an hour on the summit, we took the Ridge Trail down to meet up with the Col Trail we started on. It was a quick steep descent, although not as sharp an elevation drop as the gain we had up the Pasture Trail. Once we met up with the Col Trail, it was an easy stroll out to our car, taking in some of the colors of sunset in the clouds as we came around the bog near the woods road as we wrapped things up.

I would definitely recommend a visit to Five Finger Point if you want great views of Squam Lake with less crowds than on West Rattlesnake. It's also a great option when you want to get out in the woods for a little while, but you don't feel like climbing a mountain. As I said at the start, this area is home to some of the best "bang-for-your-buck" hiking in the state, and I can now say that that mantra extends beyond the summit of West Rattlesnake to the trails all around it.

For anyone wanting to get out and explore this area, the New Hampshire Division of Forest and lands has a great trail map in this pamphlet from their site. It's the one I used to plan our route!

Here is the time breakdown from our hike:

• Start at Col Trailhead - 2:28 p.m.
• Ridge Trail Jct. - 2:50 p.m.
• Pasture Trail Jct. - 3:10 p.m.
• Start of Five Finger Loop - 3:25 p.m.
• Finished Five Finger Loop - 4:18 p.m.
• Back at Pasture Trail Jct. - 4:33 p.m.
• West Rattlesnake Summit - 4:45 p.m.
• Departed Rattlesnake Summit via Ridge Trail - 5:38 p.m.
• Back at Col Trailhead - 6:05 p.m.

A Taxing Day in the Ossipees

Hello from the Summit of Big Ball Mountain

Today's hike was a bit on the rough side. It was one of those rare days when I was actually happy to say goodbye to the trails and call this trek a one and done. The trek up to Big Ball & Black Snout (and what should have continued on to Mt. Shaw) started with promise and vigor, but was quickly compressed to a two summit hike with steep climbs, faded trails, and overgrown shrubs knocking down my initial gusto.

My dog and I ventured up to the Ossipee Mountains this morning to take in some views over Lake Winnipesaukee. We'd only been up there once before to hike Mt. Roberts late in the season last fall. I knew going in that our route was a bit on the lesser-used side and a bit steep, but figured our usual stamina would pull us through.

Things started off fine from the Fields Brook parking area. From what I read online, it told me to look out for the parking area right after I got over the bridge that passed over Fields Brook. That was no lie, as it was literally right on my left hand side coming south down NH-171 the second the bridge ended! From the parking area, the "trail" was more so the main logging road leading into the woods until 0.4 miles in where the first blazes came into view. At this junction, Fields Brook was on our left, the Mt. Shaw Trail in the middle (blazed red), and the Tate Mountain Trail was on our right (blazed green/red/green). We chose the lesser used route and started up the Tate Mountain Trail. It started much the same as the logging/ATV road we left. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that even though I had read this trail got much less use, it was actually well blazed, especially at a every major intersection where it was apparent a wrong turn would have sent us down a very wrong path.

The Interesting Green/Red/Green Blaze of the Tate Mountain Trail

There was a well marked diversion off the wide ATV/logging road marked by two small cairns and a blazed log that took us onto what I had expected the Tate Mountain trail to be: single-tracked and overgrown in places. Up to the junction with the Banana Trail and the summit of Big Ball Mountain, the overgrowth was actually sparse, but the climb was unrelenting and got me and my pup's blood pumping early.

The view from the summit of Big Ball Mountain was the highlight of the trip. Lake Winnipesaukee stretched out before us, with the ski trails on Gunstock clearly evident amidst the rest of the Belknap Range all set against a wonderful backdrop of rich blue sky and clouds galore. If I had this hike to do over, knowing how the rest of it went, we would have turned around here, as this view wasn't topped the rest of the way. Ah, hindsight. How you elude us until the time has come and gone...

View of Lake Winnipesaukee and the Belknap Range from Big Ball Mountain summit

From Big Ball my pup and I soldiered on, quickly coming to a wonderful view of Black Snout framed by the trees around us and the clouds above us. The drop off the Big Ball summit and continuing on the Banana Trail was like a drop into a jungle of deep overgrowth with the trail getting a bit obscure in spots. For most of the trek up to Black Snout, the Banana Trail was a very thin single track, with overgrowth smacking me everywhere from my ankles to my face. The trail blazes were faded in spots, making for some tough route finding, and after navigating around a fallen tree to rejoin the trail, the climb was on a level that surpassed some of the 4000 footers I've hiked. The final ascent to Black Snout was the most overgrown section of trail, with thick grasses and shrubs obscuring the entire ground beneath us. I surprised after trekking up this last push to only find three ticks on my dog when we got home.

The Most Enjoyable Part of the Trek to Black Snout: The View From Afar

The view from Black Snout was nothing to write home about. Although higher up than Big Ball, it was a little obscured by some of the trees in the immediate area. Looking at my dogs panting face hiding in whatever shade he could find, I knew we were going to skip Mt. Shaw to go ahead and start walking back down. We took the Mt. Shaw Trail back down, and were met with a steep, slippery descent that was the demise of my trekking poles. My pup appreciated crossing Fields Brook several times on the way down, but the extremely uneven footing (even by New Hampshire standards) made it a rough, wobbly walk down for both of us.

As I said before, if I had it to do over, I would have taken the Big Ball summit view as a win and turned around. However, not every hike is a perfect day. You live and learn.

Here are the time breakdowns from the hike:

• Start at Fields Brook parking area - 9:30 a.m.
• Junction with the Tate Mountain Trail - 9:39 a.m. (9 min., 0.4 mi.)
• Junction with the Banana Trail - 10:25 a.m. (46 min., 1.2 mi.)
• First summit on Big Ball Mountain - 10:30 a.m.
• Second summit on Big Ball Mountain - 10:50 a.m.
• Left Big Ball Mountain summit - 11:05 a.m.
• Black Snout summit - 11:55 a.m. (50 min., 1.3 mi.)
• Left Black Snout summit - 12:10 p.m.
• Junction with the Mount Shaw Trail - 12:25 p.m. (15 min., 0.4 mi.)
• Return to junction with Tate Mountain Trail - 1:24 p.m. (59 min., 2 mi.)
• Back at Fields Brook parking area - 1:33 p.m. (9 min., 0.4 mi.)

A useful online map for planning hikes in the Ossipee Range can be found here.