The trail was basically a herd path and then you could see where it turned up an old skidder trail. I hiked until I completely lost the trail. I took the path that seemed most traveled but I couldn't tell if I was on the trail or not. I made my way up until I found the natural rock cave that is noted on my map.
The trail made itself known again and shortly disappeared. I decided to bushwack north and up and see where it took me and I found myself right at the summit in no time. There were a series of great views from the bushwack and I think I actually may have connected on to the Express Rt as well.
I sat in the hut at the Summit of Major for 5 minutes or so and met some folks from Rollinsford, NH and Hampton, NH. Rollinsford borders my town via the Salmon Falls River. I headed down the back side of Mt. Major and connected onto the Quarry Spur and Quarry Trails to the Summit of Straightback North. 2 peaks down, ?? to go.
I headed down the Quarry trail until I reached an area that had been recently logged. I guessed where the trail went and went with my gut for 20 minutes or so constantly checking my map and compass and eventually ending up where I needed to be at the East Quarry Summit where the path became known again.
I kept right on truckin' and eventually hit the West Quarry Summit. This is my first new peak for the day that is actually on the Belknap list. So far, there were signs at all the summits which was great. It's nice to know you've made it where you wanted to go.
I continued on the Quarry trail where I soon came across the "Cliffs of Death". There's a sign here that tells you that if you are older, or have lost flexibility or if it's wet, to take an alternate path. I took a picture of the sign.
I decided to check out the cliffs of death and I didn't realize it 10 minutes later when I was down them. I didn't see what the big deal of the cliffs was as there was very little if any exposure. At the bottom however, there was some old Quarry equipment and a little sign explaining the area.
A few minutes later, I was on the top of Mt. Rand where I ate an apple and sat down for a minute. I hadn't really taken a break today except for the Summit of Mt. Major. The wooded summit had no view, but it was nice to be in the shade as the sun had taken a bit out of me. As you can tell by the picture, I had worked up a pretty good sweat by this point.
After taking my break, I took off for Mt. Klem where I soon reached the summit and there was no sign. The first summit of the day with no sign. I met a group of people at the top eating lunch who had bagged this peak before and confirmed for me that I had made the summit.
The group was concerned that I was hiking alone and asked me if I had a cell phone. I said I did as well as my GPS, my map, my compass and I thanked them for their concern and headed off for Mt. Mack.
This was an enjoyable piece of the trail as there was a tenth of a mile or so where the views opened up and I was able to see a bit. It almost felt like I was on alpine grass but not quite. I soon made the Summit of Mt. Mack and made my way on to Mt. Anna. The red trail between Mt. Mack and Anna seems like it goes on for quite a while. It dips quite a ways into the Valley and works it's way back up in elevation again. This was the toughest part of the hike as it was the longest distance I would travel today between peaks. Anna however, also, had no sign. I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich really quick but the bugs drove me away. Not normal bugs but large hovering bugs that were far too annoying to hang around in.
I headed off towards Straightback South. I have done this peak before but it would be my 9th and final peak of the day. This section of trail was great with fairly open views and it went fairly slowly for me. I could feel some cramping in my right Hamstring so I walked fairly slowly. I stopped at the top for a second and headed down to the parking lot Via the Straightback/Major Link and the Brook and Main Trails. The Brook and Main Trails had significantly more people on them. Major is a very popular Mountain and with a beautiful day like today, people are to be expected. I could not understand however how someone can "hike" and smoke a cigar at the same time.
All in all a great day. There was the history of the old Quarry and my first time really winging it on the trail with a map and compass. I wouldn't say that this technically involved any bushwacking but the map and compass really helped and was necessary today. Also you could see quite a few old rock walls on the trip which indicates that this land was likely once used for something. Maybe the quarry, maybe farmland, I'm not sure.
Now I have only 2 Belknap peaks left before I can put in for my patch. This will likely be the first list that I complete. Albeit a small list, it's one of the more fun lists around.
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