The North mountain, aka the non-tower mountain, has been an old favorite of mine. For many years this small and easy to climb mountain has seen its fair share of foot traffic. More so now with the well marked and newer trails. Yet there is still a “secret” back way up the mountain that is completely unmarked for hiking, yet a great way to go up. It takes parking at Brown’s Corner and walking the Scribner trail (grew up calling it that, probably not on any map, but it’s an old road with cellar holes along the way) and heading up the mountain that way. The trail starts just behind…

Got a call from my buddy Paul (in the photo) asking if I wanted to go for a hike. Sunday was going to be an amazing day for the weather and that we should climb Mount Major. I quickly agreed, but with hesitation… Warm weather, fall colors, and Mount Major meant it was going to be packed on that mountain. While Mount Major isn’t the tallest mountain in the Belknap Range, it is definitely the most popular. Let me show you why: That view. Mount Major is an quick but moderately difficult climb – around 50 minutes to an hour – to get to a bald mountain top that offers…

We officially received our patches for finishing the Belknap Range this year. Lots of great hikes that spanned the course of 3 years to finish and get our patches. We are looking to the Ossipee range for next year and eventually the White Mountains. If you want to join in with some hikes and receive your patches, there is a full list of those hikes here: http://4000footers.com/lists.shtml Some days the view is the destination, other days the hike is the adventure. Just get outdoors. It is worth it.

The last of the Belknap Range for my hiking series and probably one of the easiest to hike up if you wanted. At Gunstock Mountain there is a gravel road that goes straight up the front to access all of the towers on top of this mountain. So instead you park on the back side of the mountain by the elementary school and hike from there. You start off on this very picturesque path and over a stream and start heading up the mountain. You have two choices, a yellow trail that goes straight up, or a blue trail that switchbacks many times to give you a more gradual climb.…