Beautiful Belknap Mountain

Yesterday was a rest-from-hiking day, which included shopping at LL Bean in Maine and lobstrosities (lobsters) at the Harraseeket Lunch and Lobster Company in South Freeport.  The Fat Man had a 2.75 pound baby and mine was 2.25 pounds.  Delicious.

We wanted a hike with a little more elevation to prepare for our overnight hike to the AMC hut at Lonesome Lake.  I chose Belknap Mountain, which has a rise of 740 feet. 

You get there via NH11A at Gilford onto Belknap Mountain Road.  You see 11C first, which can be confusing.  Just follow 11 until you see 11A.  Then look for the Carriage Road that has the Belknap Mountain sign.  

Belknap Mountain parking lot

It’s a windy dirt road that is pretty rough and rises steeply with some hairpin turns. It eventually leads to a flat parking lot.

We took the red trail up, which brings you to a fire tower.  

Road to the Red Trail

Before the trail begins

It is straight uphill from the get go, but you only climb for about a mile.  A little trick I learned from a Vietnam veteran is to walk for 10 steps, stop and breathe for 3 counts, and repeat.  

This keeps you from getting out of breath and prevents your heart rate from getting too high.  Since we've been hiking most of the summer, I was able to walk straight up, which felt good.

The Fat Man was much slower today, probably because he had ice cream and chocolate covered pretzels last night. 

The Red Trail

When we reached the Fire Tower, we transitioned to the blue trail. 

The Fire Tower

There is a lovely little spot with a tree bench on the Blue Trail that gives you beautiful views of Lake Winnipesaukee. 

Great spot for lunch

View of Lake Winnipesaukee

More lake views

Lake Winnipesaukee in the distance

It was quite windy and cold so we went off the trail and found a ledge that was in the sun.  
The view of the lake was blocked by pine trees and Mountain Ash, a popular New Hampshire tree that has red berries. 

Mountain Ash

After a short rest, we continued down the Blue Trail.  The terrain varied from flat to exposed tree roots and boulders.  It was a little steep at times, but nothing compared to Mt. Willard or Lonesome Lake.

Heading down the Blue Trail

Trees on the Blue Trail

Rock cairn

More beautiful views

We even saw some blueberry bushes.  Bet they taste sweet in the summer.

Blueberry bushes

End (or beginning) of the Blue Trail

The entire loop is only about 2 miles and it is a great conditioning hike to prepare for more strenuous outings.

Heidi’s rating:★★★ (only because it was cold and windy)

The Fat Man’s rating: 4 McVities Digestive Wheat Biscuits