Mt. Anna

Submitted by Pat

Stats
Mountain: Mt. Anna (1,670)
Date: February 26, 2017
Miles: 4.8
Elevation Gain: 850
Trails: Mt Major Trail — Brook Trail — North Straightback Link — Quarry Trail — Blue Trail

  • two hikers taking a selfie at the trailhead
Nancy crossing a streamNancy and I hike again in the Belknaps. At 1,670, Mt. Anna is an unimpressive peak. We had originally hoped to take the Marsh Brook Crossing Trail off the Quarry Trail along the ridge to tag West Quarry, but unfortunately we can’t find any sign of the Marsh Brook Crossing Trail. That means we have to come back one more time to bag West Quarry.

This is another hard hike for me. I take a puff from my rescue inhaler and it helps a little. I don’t cough as much or feel my usual breathing distress. But as I hike I gain and lose energy. Sometimes I lag behind and sometimes I feel strong.

The trail is icy. There are two water crossing on the Brook Trail where there were snow bridges last week. Today lots of melt water is moving. I hate water crossings and the longer we flounder around looking for a place to cross, the more anxious I become. On the first crossing, we choose to scooch across on a log spanning the brook. Anxiety is high as I go first. I immediately feel how easy it would be to lose my balance. I am so relieved when I reach the other side that I say, “I’m not coming back this way. No way.”

The second crossing is easier and we find a place to cross without the floundering. More relief and I am even more convinced that I do not want to hike back down the Brook Trail. When we make it up to the ridge, the glare ice turns to frozen snow. At least it had been frozen when people had barebooted there last week. Looking at the footprints now, I can see that no one used snowshoes. The trail is a mess of holes when it could have been a smooth sidewalk.

The ridge between Straightback and Mt Anna is beautiful, especially where it is open to views. It seems like it takes a long time to get to Anna though. The realization that there is no trail between Mt. Major Trail and the Quarry Trail sits a bit heavily on our shoulders. But frankly I don’t think I have it in me to do the steep, short ascent to the Quarry Trail and then back down. The ice is hard on the ridge and we sometimes slipping with our microspikes on the steep stuff.

We reach a point where we have to decide whether to go down the steep, rocky, icy Mt Major Trail or the Brook Trail with its water crossings. We choose the Brook Trail and are able to get across the brooks without much ado. All that anxiety for what?

Time to think about a new goal…