Bopping around the Belknaps

Leaders
Aoife Troxel (B coC), Rebecca Kestin (coB)
Program
Winter (outside IAP)
Type
Hiking
Terrain level
B
Trip date
Sunday, February 22nd
Difficulty rating
L3/L4 - Moderate/Difficult
Prerequisites
Either previous winter hiking experience or previous 3-season hiking experience of equivalent distance and elevation

Details

Are you sad you won’t be attending winter circus this weekend? Do you want to hike mountains and frolic in the winter weather? Come join us for a hike in the Belknaps range on Sunday February 22nd! The Belknaps are a beautiful mountain range just south of Lake Winnipesaukee. We are contemplating two options for our hike on Sunday:

Option A: 7.3 miles with 2400 ft elevation, and some views

Option B: 10.2 miles with 3200 ft elevation, and better views

We will only pick option B if everyone is excited by the longer hike. You can view both routes here.

Requirements

Either previous winter hiking experience, or previous 3-season hiking experience of at least 10 miles and 3,000ft of elevation in the past year.

If you don't satisfy the prereqs, but you want to join the trip anyways, you are welcome to sign-up. We can be flexible on the prereqs depending on your past experience. If you don't satisfy the prereqs listed above, please send an email to both leaders with more information about your experience and general fitness / activity.

Logistics

There will be a mandatory pretrip meeting on Wednesday, February 19th at 6pm in the MITOC office which will also be a chance for people to rent gear.

Costs

Please budget:

$5 trip fee $0-15 for rental costs $20-$40 for rideshare costs

If you are an MIT student, these costs can be waived/reimbursed.

Please sign up for the waitlist even if spots are full - we will be shuffling things around once car logistics are solved.

Signup

Algorithm
first-come, first-serve
Maximum participants
3
Signups opened at
Feb. 16, 2026, 12:01 p.m.
Signups close at
Feb. 18, 2026, 2 p.m.
Notes
  1. Please confirm that you have attended the Winter Safety Lectures (Yes)
  2. What is a previous winter hike you have enjoyed in the past year? (Please include distance, elevation, approx date, location). If you have not completed a winter hike in the past 6 months with similar distance and elevation, what does your typical weekly fitness routine look like?
  3. Would you prefer Route A; Route B; or Either? We will only hike option B if everyone on the trip is excited by the longer hike.
  4. What is your car status? Willing to drive others / only driving self / need a ride
  5. Did you sign up for the circus? (We will save a couple spots for people that tried to sign up for the circus but did not get in in the lottery).
Signups are open!
In order to participate on this trip, you must log in.