Eastern Belknap Loop

Talk had started amongst some acidotic RACING teammates about doing a Pemi Loop in the Summer. This is a roughly 30+/- mile loop in the Pemigewasset Wilderness. I wanted to do it. But as you can see from my ramblings, I haven't tackled anything even remotely close to that mileage or what would be the elevation gain. So, Spring 2014 is my training ground in the hopes that this dream can become a reality. I coerced Tim into a 10-ish mile hike in the Belknap Range. The Belknap Range Trail traverses the entire ridge from Rowe to Major covering roughly 17 miles. I didn't think I was quite up for that yet, so I researched and discovered a loop over the eastern peaks that would cover roughly 10-11 miles. I felt this was doable. I made plans, I pored over maps, I read every detail I could get my hands on trail reports/descriptions etc. I did everything I could to prepare myself for what would be my longest hike to date. I'm surrounded by a lot of incredible athletes, that do this type of thing in their sleep. It's a big deal for me to undertake these hikes. I'm proud of myself for even making it this far (hence the creation of this blog to remember these moments). The only thing I couldn't control was the weather. *sigh*. Mother Nature wasn't happy today. As Tim had taken the day off work, I felt we should give it a go all the same. We ascended the Brook Trail to the turnoff for Straightback, then took the Quarry Spur trail. I wasn't quite sure where the actual Straightback (North) summit was, I just guessed based on mileage I had read. Tim is super speedy and would go ahead and wait for me at each summit.. I lost trail between Rand and Klem and ended up bushwhacking while panic-yelling (it's a thing) for Tim. He eventually realized I wasn't behind him and came looking for me/heard me yelling and we reconnected. (This sounds dramatic, which is how it felt as my first time ever "off trail".. reality is it was probably 10 minutes total). Thankfully most of the peaks don't really have views anyway, so I felt like we weren't missing too much. By Straightback South we could barely see in front of us due to low cloud and fog. We made it to Major and had planned on descending the Mt Major trail, but being tired and it being wet, I didn't want to risk falling on the steep rock section so we added an extra mile by descending the Brook Trail. The rain and wet conditions slowed us down, and by the end we were soaked, I had extremely sore feet and blisters.. but we did it.

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This is where I guessed on Straightback (North) summit

East Quarry

East Quarry

West Quarry

West Quarry

Rand

Rand

Klem

Klem

Mack

Mack

Anna

Anna

Straightback South

Straightback South

Major

Major

Caverly Mountain

Today I headed back up to Caverly Mountain with Beth. It was a dreary, overcast day.. but sometimes those are the best days to just get out there and enjoy whatever Mother Nature throws your way. We ascended via the snowmobile trail. Enjoyed the views. And then discovered a loop trail had been created (or perhaps already existed previously and had been better marked). After some quick contemplation due to a sign stating "Caution: Steep Ledges", we decided to go for it. The ledges aren't so bad, even though I took a slide on the wet rock.. but always good to be aware of what lays ahead. We passed an area of logging which threw us off a bit on the direction of the trail.. but we took a stab and chose correctly. Trail reunites with the snowmobile corridor and back to Kings Mountain Highway where the car was parked. Turned out to be a really nice loop totaling just under 5 miles. 

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Pack Monadnock

As "Team Photographer" for acidotic RACING, I have loved attending a variety of different events which have taken me all around New England. This year, my husband is participating in the USATF Mountain Goat Series.. which means if he completes 6 out of 7 races in the series, he automatically qualifies for entry into the Mt Washington Road Race. Usually I don't make the summit on these races as I'm standing around somewhere else waiting to cheer everyone on.. for Pack Monadnock, the race consists of 8 and a bit miles of road running, and then the final 1 and a bit miles up the auto road of Miller State Park to the summit. They do not allow cars up the auto road during this time. I decided I would make my way up to the finish line to cheer everyone on.. there are a number of trails one can take to the summit, which I would have preferred, however I was concerned knowing some of the runners are really quite fast.. and I'm really not.. that I would not make it in time to see them finish and subsequently take their pictures.. so I opted to hike up the auto road too, therefore if they beat me, I could at least still take their pictures from wherever I happened to be. Thankfully I made it before the winners, and even had some time to climb the fire tower and take a few view shots! That last little section of road is quite a killer.. I cannot imagine how that must feel after 9.5 miles.

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Parker Mountain

We are busy this Spring. And I am loving it. Gorgeous weather. Great company. Cannot ask for more. Today, Beth and I ventured up Parker Mountain and went for the viewpoint ledges I had read about, that I didn't quite make with the boys last year. We made it and were rewarded with some pretty views over Bow Lake.

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Mt Major

I am learning how fun it is to take friends up a mountain for the first time. Beth and I were ready to tackle Mt Major for her first time. We ascended the Brook Trail.. which for me always seems to go on and on. I'm not a strong climber but I have relatively decent endurance. Beth has wonderful long legs that seem to allow her to float up the trails. Not to say she doesn't work for each step. It started to rain lightly when we were on the summit, so we opted for the shortest way down, which is the Mt Major trail. Relatively steep in short sections, with some rock scrambling, I was glad to be down before the rain got too heavy making things slippery.

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