Lake and Island Properties - Maxfield Real Estate,
People come from all over New England to hike Mount Major because of its amazing views of Lake Winnipesaukee and the White Mountains beyond. At 1,786 feet in elevation Mount Major is the highest peak in the Belknap Range. A round trip hike to the summit covers about 4.5 miles and 1,270 feet of elevation gain.
Interestingly, Rattlesnake Island, which is prominently visible from the summit of Mount Major, is part of the Belknap Mountain Range. Rattlesnake Mountain is 900’ in elevation, which is 400’ above mean lake level and 886 feet lower than Mount Major. The panoramic views from atop the island are spectacular.
Mount Major has rocky ledges and a stone ruin of Phippen's Hut built in 1925. According to a story by Dave Roberts on belknaprangetrails.org back in the early 1900s Mr. Phippen owned the summit of Mt. Major. He had purchased it in 1914 for $125 and was fond of both the stunning view of Lake Winnipesaukee and the blueberry picking up there. Being the sort of guy who wanted others to experience and appreciate Mt. Major’s wonders, Mr. Phippen decided to build a hut at the summit. He felt the structure would be a welcoming shelter for hikers when the weather was awful and the winds were blowing. He imagined hikers could spend the night there and take in the sunrise. So, in 1925, he built a stone hut. The structure had a bench, a south-facing window, and a wood stove. The door was left unlocked so that anyone could use it but that first winter strong winds blew the roof right off.
Undeterred the following summer Mr. Phippen built another roof, this time using layers of spruce poles, corrugated iron, and matched boards. That roof lasted a couple of years before it, too, blew off. Then came the Great Depression and Mr. Phippen was not able to afford to build another roof. The property was eventually reverted to the Town of Alton and while roof-less, the stone walls stood strong for several decades and gave hikers what Mr. Phippen had always hoped for: a welcome respite from the winds. There are still stone walls and evidence of the doorway, but traces of the original window and a wood stove are gone.
