Major 1/31/2009

Today I am taking Shelby on her second winter hike and I decided that we would do something bigger than last time, but with a good view. What better place than Mount Major in the Belknap Range. This is the third time I have been to the top of this summit and the second time for Shelby. This is the first time for both of us in Winter though.

Here's a picture of Shelby getting her snowshoes on. It took her a while and I think that because her feet are so small, the snowshoes don't tighten very well. They stayed on for the whole day though which was a good thing.

We soon got on the trail and found that the trail was broken out somewhat. The trail obvoiusly had a fair amount of traffic but it was mostly barebooting traffic which made snowshoeing a bit tough. The trail was very uneven, but the snowshoes kept us above the snow so we kept them on. It also looked like a back-country skier had come down the mountain on this trail.

A We reached left turn on the trail and decided to put some more gear on. We both put on our balaclava's and realized that we really needed to go out and buy some neck gators. The temperature was about 22 degrees and the wind was kicking up knocking the windchill down to I would say 5 degrees or so.

A good ways up the mountain we turned around and saw this view of the Ossipee Range on the other side of Lake Winnipesaukee. Seeing this view reminds me a lot of my hometown of Jackman, Maine. The view of Sally Mountain past Bigwood and Attean lakes is a lot like this one.

We did not take any pictures at the summit as the wind was putting quite a bite into the air, but I did snap this picture just below the summit on the ledges.

We ate a quick lunch at the summit inside the walls of what used to be a hut here and spoke quickly to a few teenagers who hiked up in crampons. We also said hi to a gentleman who hiked up in jeans and a sweater and was obviously very cold. He was going to head down the way we came up and the way the wind was blowing, I'm sure he was cold. I don't know why anyone would hike anywhere in winter wearing jeans.

Also at the top, there were 4 snowmobiles, they must have had a fun ride up to the summit. I'm sure it was warmer too. Amazing what a plastic full face helmet can do to shield you from the elements.

We headed down the boulder loop trail and beaver pond trails and the trail was very well packed, unlike the main trail. We did the entire trip in 2 hours and 25 minutes. Only 1 minute over book time. Considering how much time we wasted putting on more clothes and putting on handwarmers and eating lunch and taking pictures on the ledges, I thought this was a pretty good time. The next time I take Shelby out in winter, we're going to have to see how she handles a longer hike.