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hi

i grew up in gilford but have lived in san diego now for the past 25
years. but i'm moving back to nh in about 6 years--can't wait. in
the meantime, i visit nh every summer. i have some pics from last
august to share, and a question too:

last summer i hiked mt. major, up the red (boulder loop) trail, then
followed the ridge to straightback and mt. anna. from there i came
to a well marked trail intersection with a trail to belknap
mountain. at that point i turned back. i need to know what the
trail is like from that point onward to belknap. do you stay on a
ridge, or do you lose elevation and have a substantial climb to the
summit of belknap?

i'm taking my kids with me this summer and want to do that hike, one-
way, from major to belknap--i want to make sure it's manageable for
the kids... someone told me the trail goes down to round pond and
then back up to the fire tower on belknap, is that so? if that's the
case, then that means climbing down from the ridge (around 1900 ft
elevation) to round pond at an elevation i believe of 780 feet and
then back up to the summit of belknap which is 2400 ft elevation. if
that's true, then a 1600 foot elevation gain might be a little much
for my kids... is that the red trail? is it well marked?

as an alternative hike, i'm curious about the "quarry trail" which
also branches off from the link from major to straightback...i'm
thinking maybe i'll take my kids there instead of the 9 mile hike to
belknap... any info would be much appreciated.

attached are the pics of my hike from last august... best, and
thanks in advance!

geoff martin
san diego, california

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Following is a response to the question you posed about an inquiry you received on your forum regarding hiking from Mt Anna to Mt Belknap. I didn't see a mention of how old the kids in question were - this could be an overly-strenuous hike for some kids. Kids who are active and athletic and at least 10 years old (a dangerous generalization, as some younger kids no doubt could handle the hike, but I suspect that many would find it very hard) might be able to cope with the terrain and distance reasonably well.
Briefly, this describes the hike: following the Scout's Red Trail to the NW down the NW slope of Mt Anna into the valley of West Broo k, you eventually turn westerly and skirt the base of Rand Mt, traveling through a thickly-wooded valley. In about 1 mile you begin the climb up the eastern slope of Mt Mack, fairly gently at first, but soon at an ever-steepening angle - this relatively steep climb is about 1/4 mile long; in about 1.5 mi, (from Anna) you reach the summit of Mt Mack; from there you leave the Red Trail and pick up the Red/Orange Trail and begin the fairly easy descent down Mack's western slope, passing open ledges on the way which provide fine views to the west. After a relatively short descent you reach a junction with the scout's Orange Trail, at which time you take that to the NW, heading for the shores of Round Pond, which you should reach fairly soon, now about 2.2 miles from Anna. Follow an old wood road northerly along the eastern shore of the pond and, shortly after you go past the pond, you should see a trail leaving the road to the west, blazed blue. It leads you westerly across the northern slope of Suncoo k Mt, for about a mile, to the base of the eastern slope of Mt Belknap. Now you will be faced with a fairly strenuous climb up the east side of the mountain, including, early-on, a brief crossing of a rockfall, where care must be taken, and a brief climb up the cliff face from which the rocks fell (not terribly difficult). After that you climb fairly steeply, generally NW, often over open ledge, until you reach a yellow blazed trail called the East Gilford Trail, now nearly 4 mi from Mt Anna. Following that, you find the trail soon begins to level off, and in another .4 mi. you reach the summit of Belknap. The next question is - how do you get back - the kids are probably pretty tired by now.
 
Your suggestion of a trip from Camp Bell up the road to Round Pond is probably a good one - however, I personally don't enjoy walking all the way to the pond on the road, as you miss the chance to see some fine views to the west from the western ledges of Mack Ridge if you do that. I'd suggest leaving the road, following the Red Trail when it leaves the road at the first big turn to the right about .4 mi. up from the intersection of the N/S and E/W roads through the property. There are several good outloo ks along that trail providing grand views to the west, and, if you like to bushwhack, leaving the trail briefly at the right spot can take you to Suncoo k Falls, one of the range's most impressive waterfalls. The trail rejoins the road just a short distance south of Round Pond.
 
Attached are some map excerpts that may show some of the important facts about the Anna to Belknap hike that your forum participant was inquiring about.
 

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