You Are Here: Mt Rowe & Gunstock

Spring hiking can be tricky. Snow, ice, mud, animals coming out of hibernation, cold, hot.. you name it, any number of obstacles can prevent a Spring hike from being enjoyable. But we still do it. Because we love it. Today, I took the chance and headed out to Gilford. I was surprised to learn the Gunstock ski area had already closed for the season (since I know they make snow), and took the risk that the snow/ice situation would be manageable. I pulled in to virtually an empty parking lot. There is quite a bit of construction occurring around the resort, so other than the workers there, I only saw 1 other car with a gentleman preparing for a hike himself. Having already achieved my BRT Hiking patch, I'm now working on "redlining" the area. Redlining officially exists in the White Mountains and is defined as "The term red-lining comes from the days when people marked each route they had hiked on a map, using a red pen. Most red-liners now track their progress on computer spreadsheets. But the practice is about much more than keeping a list." I have since seen the term used here in regards to the Belknap Range, so have taken it upon myself to work towards 100% achievement. I'm all about patches ;) So, today I hiked up the Ridge Trail to Mt Rowe, which is essentially an access road to the cell tower. There are no views at the actual summit, but a few tenths of a mile beyond the summit, ledges open up to some beautiful views over the ski trails and Lake Winnipesaukee. A bit different than when I was there a few weeks ago with Vanessa. That's what I love about visiting peaks in various months of the year.. might be the same mountain, but the view can be completely different! From Mt Rowe, I continued on the Ridge Trail.. took a quick side trip down the Benjamin Weeks trail for redlining purposes (having completed the rest of that trail a few weeks ago, I just needed the final 0.2).. and finally up to the Gunstock summit. I had read trail descriptions of the Ridge Trail meandering and switchbacking up to the summit.. it sure did, at times it felt like you were in the middle of nowhere.. and at other times the trail paralleled the ski trails, which was unique! Within about 0.5 mile of the summit, the ice became more prevalent, but thankfully with care it was avoidable. I had the summit to myself. Odd to be up there with absolutely no one around. Like a ghost town. I descended via the Brook Trail, which was not my favorite. It was icy, it was choppy, it was messy and muddy.. but at times it was completely fine as well. Spring hiking at its best. The trails are relatively well marked in the region, only a couple times on the Brook Trail did I have to look around for the next blaze to be sure I was headed in the right direction. It crosses ski trails, I think 4 times.. which was a bit confusing, but I always found the next blaze within a few moments. As I completed the Brook Trail, oddly the gentleman I had seen at the start also popped out back in the carpark.. but I hadn't seen him at all the rest of the time, so I'm not sure where he had been. Overall, a gorgeous day to be out enjoying nature's best.

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