Fire Towers

BY RUTH DOAN MACDOUGALL
May 14, 2022

I’ve been remembering all the blueberry picking on Belknap Mountain that Penny and I did with Ernie, our mother.

 I’ve written here before about the first time Penny and I climbed this mountain near our Laconia home: we didn’t actually climb it; Dan, our father, carried me and lugged Penny in his pack-basket. Ernie followed. I think this might have been the only time Ernie actually climbed to the summit and saw its fire tower and view. She wasn’t an enthusiastic hiker, but she had seen the blueberry bushes surrounding the trailhead’s parking area so on subsequent outings to Belknap Mountain Dan climbed the mountain while she picked blueberries and babysat. When Penny and I were older, sometimes we climbed with Dan, sometimes we blueberried with Ernie, and sometimes we did both. 

The first page of The Conway Daily Sun’s May 6th issue was devoted to a photo of a fire tower on Pitcher Mountain in Stoddard and the headline sure grabbed my attention: “Tower Baggers: New Hampshire invites you to go on a Fire Lookout Tower Quest.” The article was written by “Award-winning Sun bicycling and skiing columnist Marty Basch.” 

He began, “If hiking lists such as the New Hampshire 48 4,000-footers and 52 with a View are your thing, you might be surprised to learn that there’s a Granite State list that could be flying under your radar. If you think those above accomplishments are a bit lofty for your trekking tastes and are looking to get into the list game, the good news is you don’t even have to finish the entire 15 peaks on it to get a nifty patch, a water bottle sticker, and a certificate from the state. 

“It’s time to become a tower bagger. 

“Get going on the New Hampshire Fire Lookout Tower Quest, which takes hikers all over the state to towers maintained by the New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands.” 

The article concluded, “Thinking of undertaking the New Hampshire Fire Tower Quest? Get started at the NH Division of Forests and Lands website at nh.gov.nhdfl and hikesafe.com for some safety tips.” Then came a list of the “Tall 15.” 

Out of curiosity, I counted the ones I’ve done over all these years, some more than once: Belknap Mountain, Blue Job, Cardigan Mountain, Kearsarge Mountain, Magalloway Mountain, Pack Monadnock, Oak Hill, Pawtuckaway, Red Hill. And in my imagination I’ve climbed my fictional Mount Pascataquac up to Tom’s fire tower! 

Of the real tower-mountains, which is my favorite? Of course it’s Belknap and all its memories. My last hike there, several years ago, was with the Sandwich Over-the-Hill Hikers. I mentioned our hiking plans to Hal Graham, who was the lookout on the tower for many years. He and Dan had been friends and when I began updating Dan’s hiking books Hal was a tremendous help with this—and also with my fictional fire tower. Hal and Peggy, his wife, met the Over-the-Hillers at the trailhead and led us up to the summit, where we chatted and ate our lunch beside the tower. Then Hal and Peggy led us down. A beautiful day. 

Recently Peggy wrote me that Hal had died. 

In 50 Hikes in the White Mountains, Dan described the view from Belknap’s summit: “A short climb to the lookout tower atop Belknap Mountain opens a view across Lake Winnipesaukee’s blue water and many islands. The Ossipee Mountains rise beyond in impressive array, green ridge upon green ridge forming a long single mountain from this distance. To the left, 50 miles away and unmistakable in spring and fall when it alone displays snow, Mount Washington appears distant yet splendid. Nearer and somewhat in line, peaks of the central and west Sandwich Range group themselves beyond the far end of Lake Winnipesaukee. Still more to the left and again distant, the line of rocky Franconia Range is dominated by Mount Lafayette. Foothills around Mount Moosilauke fill in the panorama continuing west. On a sunny day the passing high clouds shift light and shadows upon the lake and mountains.”