Climbing Mt Major

Climbing Mt Major

Today I have a very special opportunity to go hiking at Mount Major. This mountain is in Wolfeboro not far from Brewster Academy. I went there with my fellow TS54 and TAs. Our mission was to reach the mountain peak and experience the beautiful scene of Wolfeboro and the Winnipesaukee from top view.

Overview of path

Our journey started at 12.30PM. We headed to Mt Major by micro-birds (small shuttle buses.) It took around 20 minutes to reach mountain foot. Then we immediately began to walk up. I tried to walk with the leading group in order to have more time to take pictures. Mt Major contains temperate coniferous forest which is not too dense and much easier to hike than tropical rain forest in Thailand. The main obstacle here was the rocky path and the high slope of the mountain.

Another view of path

After I walked for about 5 minutes, I first noticed an unknown moss A (possible Campylopus introflexus or Polytrichum piliferum.) This moss is the dominant moss species here in Wolfeboro as it can be seen anywhere. I had encountered this moss a several times such as when I went tracking and walking to the lake.

Unknown moss A

This seemed to be the same as the previous times I had seen this moss but as I walked farther I found something different. There were Sporophyte of this moss. The yellow sporophyte is very long compared to other species.

Sporophyte of moss A

Then I reached the intersection. From here the tough path began. The path was very rocky and elevated.

At the intersection

The elevated slope

Along the rocky path I encountered more species of moss but the most extraordinary one is the Sphagnum sp.. This is the sight I have dreamt for a long time: sphagnum moss in a natural habitat. The sphagnum was semi-dried and appeared white-green which was the indicator of rain scarcity. They grew in a small colony and did not the dominant species on this mountain.

Sphagnum sp.

Sphagnum sp.

Unknown moss B

Unknown moss C

Then I reached a rest spot. It is a flat plain from which I could see the first view of the Winnipesaukee from the top view.

Panoramic scene from the rest spot

At the rest spot

After resting for a few minutes, I continued hiking to the summit. The path was tougher than the previous one. I had to carefully climbed for my safety. At this elevation, there were blueberries growing on the sparse area that had no big trees. I did not taste them but my companions, Nyd and Waew told me that they were very sweet!

The steep slope

I and Waew on the slope

Blueberries

Finally, I reached the mountain peak. It was very windy up there and there were also a lot of people resting after their long journey. The journey upward took about one hour but I was not very much exhausted; my water bottle was still half empty. I rested at the top for a while and then tried to look around to observe the beauty of nature.

A monument(?) at the summit

At the mountain peak

There were only small shrub growing at this mountain summit and only the dominant moss species furnishing under the shrub shade. However, at this climax, the most notable point was the scenic view of the whole Wolfeboro town. I could even see Brewster Academy from there.

About 15 minutes after my arrival, everyone reached the summit and we spent about 20 minutes observing the peak and headed back to the ground. Unfortunately, my camera ran out of battery so I could not take more picture. There was not many interesting thing in along the way down except that I encountered another huge sphagnum colony (but I did not have time to explore it.) The way down was very steep and rocky.

A colony of moss A at the summit

The view fromt the peak

During walking, I was in the front with about 4 friends and Natthan. He taught me a trick to make sound from a leaf but I rarely succeeded. Finally, at the end of the track, I found a small creek along which very cold water flowed. There was a colony of American Willow moss growing in this creek. Its size was noticeable because it was enormous compared to Thailand Willow moss. There was also a community of moss A but its color was faded relatively to other colonies. The cold water and lack of sunlight might contribute to this bleach.

After everyone came to the ground, we got in the buses and headed back to Brewster.

17th July 2011