Mt Major Schools Outreach Project Growing
The traditional Mt Major summit group photo: Gilford Elementary School students gather at Mr. Phippen's Hut.
With feet on solid granite and our heads in the clouds, nearly 70 fourth graders from Gilford Elementary School and 25 parent chaperones ascended Mt. Major in Alton recently. The hike followed the Mt. Major Outdoor Classroom Project presentation by the Forest Society detailing the natural and cultural history features - geology, wildlife, forests and trails - at the popular peak. The students also learned about hiking safety, trail ettiquette and stewardship issues including erosion, litter, pet waste and water quality on the peak. Gilford is one of five schools now taking advantage of the Forest Society's Outdoor Classroom Project. (Email Education Director Dave Anderson at danderson@forestsociety.org) to see how your school could get involved.)
The hike up the blue blazed "Main Trail" passes stone walls and a prominent junction with the yellow blazed "Brook Trail" and ascends from hardwood forests of beech, birch and maple to a softwood, conifer forest of red and white pine along with red oak growing on dry rocky ledges - all features the students (and parents) had learned about in the previous classroom presentation. We watched for rock ledges, wind-pruned "flag trees" and anticipated the summit as the trail grew ever-steeper.
This hike dodged morning showers and ascended in fog, reaching the summit in nearly record time for an elementary school field trip. Powered by enthusiasm and prepared to learn, students were excited to renew this former Gilford Elementary School tradition. "I made it!" was the frequent exclaimation as students crested the last ledge to see Mr. Phippen's stone hut and their classmates exploring the rocky summit. Only minutes earlier, the universal question was, "How much farther is it to the top?"
The view of the lake from lower on the mountain was now occluced by the low cloud deck. We had hiked up into the clouds. "I am on TOP OF THE WORLD," one student enthused. We hoped to spend enough time on the summit to get at least a partial view.
The students explored the summit, finding all three USGS benchmarks and finding cairns. After lunch and without the signature view of the various islands of Lake Winnipesaukee and naming the various peaks of the Ossipee Range, Sandwich Range and Belknap Range, Forest Society education staff shared the story of Mr. Phippens Hut - constructed in 1925 -- and how two different roofs blew off in 1926 and again in 1928.
The group then organized a summit-wide trash hunt and within 15 minutes had accumulated an impressive pile - orange peels, cans, bottles, wrappers, cigarette butts and more! We packed up ALL that trash, leaving the mountaintop cleaner than we found it, before hiking down just as the cloud ceiling lifted and the lake and its islands came into view below. We reached the parking lot just minutes before the buses arrived to transport happy (and tired) students, parents and staff back to school.
A really terrific day with great local elementary school students learning on conservation land right in their own backyard!