First big hike of the year! aka "Peakbagger Gridiots"

2024 is off to a decent start, hiking-wise.  Barely a week in, and I already have 3 hikes and just under 10.5 total miles.  

This weekend Hawk is off backpacking, so of course Hummingbird and I went out for our own hike.  With a full day available, obviously that meant gridding.  We chose the Wood Rd. approach to the Round Pond area while the trailhead was still accessible.  It’s a nice gradual route to Mts. Mack, Klem, and Rand, but unfortunately the parking lot is not plowed in winter.  So we figured we’d best get it while we can.  Good timing since a storm is blowing in tonight that may dump a foot of snow on us. 

river near the trailhead

Despite splitting the inner loop (of 6 Belknap peaks) in half, I was still a bit concerned about the distance of this hike, knowing it’d be near 8 miles with over 1600 feet of elevation.  Not bad, but with previously good boots that had suddenly been causing me foot pain even on small hikes, my concerns were not invalid.  I considered switching back into my old Oboz, but I knew those were not much kinder to my feet.  Plus they are not waterproof at all, and even though it’s cold out there, not everything is frozen yet, so encountering mud and water was highly possible, and wet feet in this weather would be legitimately dangerous.  I even considered whether I could get away with more comfortable trail runners, knowing there was minimal snow even in the mountains, but quickly nixed that idea for similar reasons.  So I relaced my Keen boots and just hoped for the best.  Thankfully relacing seemed to help, and my feet did not hurt until almost 5 miles in.  Even then it was not as bad as last time, so obviously these boots are just very lace-finicky.  (And not ideal for steep trails.)  Good to know, because I really do like them otherwise!  

Round Pond

The start of the hike offered a nice moderate warmup.  It’s not a short route, but we did make it to Round Pond somewhat quicker than expected.  So far so good!  After snapping a couple obligatory photos, we began our peakbagging by heading first to Mack, which took about a half hour.  The viewpoint just before the summit was probably the best of the day.  (Pano at the top of this blog post is from here.)  With no snow cover and gray skies, nothing looked particularly outstanding today.  There are a few decent views along this route, but I actually skipped taking pics at half of them.  Inconceivable, I know.  

Mack

Mack

Rand

We decided Rand was next on the agenda.  Mainly to get it over with.  This may be the toughest Belknap peak to tag.  It’s out in the middle, with no convenient way to get to it.   The trail is literally uphill both ways (of course, because it’s sandwiched between Klem & Quarry), and steep, and rather sketchy in spots.  Particularly today, with a lot of ice (but not enough to bother with spikes) and remaining loose fall leaves.  There was a record amount of butt sliding today.  Some of the rock scrambles are kind of fun (only kind of), but otherwise I really don’t love this section.  I’m not alone; it seems many other hikers complain about this same spot too.  Hummingbird absolutely despises it.  Basically, Rand just sucks.  It does have that mediocre viewpoint near the summit (nicer in prettier seasons/weather), but it’s hardly worthwhile unless you’re a gridiot or other patch chaser.  Oh yeah, we can’t wait to do this 8 more times for all the months we don’t have!!! (Note thick sarcasm.)

We slowed way down on our approach to Rand, but we eventually got to the summit; another high point in the trees, common in this part of the range.  We were glad we didn't save this peak for last, as it would be very discouraging.  After a short rest and small snack - and freezing our hands and butts off - we picked up and continued on our way back towards Klem.  The return from Rand was slightly faster somehow, but still not exciting (other than getting it done quicker) and we were both getting tired at this point.

break time on Rand - note removing my gloves was a bad idea!

yay, Klem!

Klem sort of snuck up on me, as I somehow didn't even realize when we were on the spur.  I was happy to have bagged our 3rd and final peak for the day, though.  From the summit, Hummingbird recalled seeing a bushwhack "trail" last winter.  I was up for exploring the woods and cutting off any distance, so instead of circling back on the official trail, we made our way straight through the forest, confident we'd run into the trail shortly.  Amazingly, we didn't jinx ourselves, and it was a smooth bushwhack; no excessive effort, and no getting lost.  We did miss the Klem viewpoint, but it was totally worthwhile, esp. on a day like this.  Although as worthwhile as it felt at the time, it turns out in reality we only saved about a quarter of a mile by going straight through the woods.  Oh well!

The bad news of the hike was when we reached Round Pond again, I discovered my phone had frozen to death.  That messed up my alltrails recording.  Thankfully, Hummingbird's watch was tracking us, so I at least had her stats as backup.  They usually end slightly different than mine, but close enough.  I definitely need to change how I carry my phone now that it's winter though.  Or maybe get an insulating pouch like I got Hawk for xmas.  Because the padded pocket on my pack is obviously not warm enough!

snakeskin birch? - cool looking rotten tree (that obviously the bugs like too)

Another two miles later, we finally found ourselves back at the car.  My hands were still painfully as frozen as my phone.  I cranked up the seat warmers and hooked my phone up to the charger, and we just sat there for a moment to recover before heading back home.  And that was the day!  I definitely was feeling it, but happily I wasn't totally dead.  I had taken a couple doses of arnica over the day, so maybe that helped some, but I think the mostly moderate route, and relacing my boots, was the biggest help.  I was surprised (though I shouldn't be) that our total elevation ended up being WAY more than alltrails estimated.  Although even more surprisingly, the mileage was actually pretty close to the estimate (which is usually more off than elevation).  In any case, I'm encouraged that maybe I can handle some bigger hikes after all.  I guess we'll find out… we're set to do a 4000 footer next month!  Yikes.


1/6 Mack-Rand-Klem via Wood Rd, 7.7 mi, 2163 ft, 4:31 hrs