Maps, Elevations & Summary
Route to Summit: Mount Rowe Trail (blue) to Ridge Trail (white)Return Route: Ridge Trail to North Spur Trail (orange) to Benjamin Weeks Trail (purple) to Mt. Rowe Trail.
Distance: 5.2 miles
Maximum Elevation: 1,690ft.
Trail Report
I started the day with a show of courage; namely, stepping out of the car at 8.a.m. into a 47 F rain for a couple of hours hiking. When the cold rain wasn't falling, there was a pervasive mist that chilled me to the bone. The trailhead was in the back of the Gilford Elementary School parking lot and was equipped with a convenient, though shaky, porta-potty. About 10 yard beyond the lot stood a kiosk which contained a detailed map of the mountain and it's numerous trails. Crossing a brook and swamp is a short wooden boardwalk. The wetlands themselves were peppered with birdhouses, although I saw no birds during the brief crossing. Once off of the boardwalk, the red blazed Gilford Elementary School nature trail departed to the left while the Mt. Rowe Tail, blazed in blue, headed up the hill ahead.
There was no pause as the trail started an immediate climb, which although relentless, was neither particularly steep nor rocky. The trail climbed into dense forest which were even more dark in the gloom of the rainy overcast. This initial part of the trail was once a commercial sugaring operation but I did not find and taps or equipment that identified it as such. After 0.3 miles the trail intersects with the Benjamin Weeks Trail, blazed in purple, which came in from the right. The blue trail jogged slightly to the left and continued to climb, a bit more steeply. At 0.6 miles, an old abandoned logging road appears on the left and the trail made an abrupt, 90 degree turn to the right. There was a reprieve as the trail continued along a level stretch until encountering the Yellow Trail on the left at 0.7 miles. This trail is a straight, unmaintained trail to the ridge line but is not maintained and may not be the best choice in rainy weather, so I continued on.
At 0.8 miles I came across a cellar hole on the left which is the last remnant of the Benjamin Weeks mountain house.
On the right side of the trail were the remnants of the old barn foundation. The house was originally built in 1793 and a sign near the site describes the many generations that have lived on the mountain.
Just 0.1 miles beyond the cellar hole, the blue trail merged with the purple trail for a short distance until a Y in the trail. At this point, the blue trail split to the left and began a relentless series of switchbacks that ascended the steepest portion of the mountain. looking up the slop, I saw the remnants of an old marble quarry, some of the angular blocks still lying there as if waiting to be loaded and carried off.
At 1.5 miles, the switchbacks continue but the trees become noticeably smaller with white birch and pine predominating. Because of this, there was much more light, in spite of the dreary sky, and I made out small clearings full of low blueberry bushes, although well past the season for finding any berries. At this point, a small clearing opened up with views toward the south and east and one such clearing had a pair of tables made of branches and boards. This made for an inviting stop so I doffed the pack and took a water and snack break. After a 10 minute break, it was off again. Just beyond this clearing, at 1.6 miles, there stood an interesting, bonsai-like tree with a long, serpentine branch, a good photo op.
The switchbacks continued with more and more concrete ledges and decreasing slope. Finally, at 1.9 miles, the trail leveled and intersected the top of the yellow trail, the North Spur Trail (orange) and the Ridge Trail (white) in rapid succession. All trails were well-marked with wooden signs and I tuned left to follow the Ridge Trail, which broke out of the trees and followed the open ledges along the ridge.
Not too far down the white trail, there were nice open vistas to the north- and southeast. To the northeast, I could see a portion of Lake Winnipesaukee.
To the base of the ridge was the parking area from Gunstock Ski area and I could see how much easier it would have been to summit Mount Rowe from this site of the mountain which is about 350 feet higher than the Elementary school. You could see the Quarrys, Mt. Rand and Mt. Klem.
Further to the south, Mts. Belknap and Gunstock predominated the skyline with the prominent ski slope of Mt. Gunstock.
The rain had stopped but the wind was whipping so although the temperature had risen into the low 50's, it was still chilling. I cinched down my hood and closed the vents on my rain jacket as I made my way to the communications tower on Mt. Rowe, a short and level walk down the ridge line. Since it was so windy, I decided not to rest at the summit, but rather head back to wind the Benjamin Weeks trail and rest in the shelter of the trees.
So restarting my mileage, I headed back along the white trail, meeting up with the North Spur Trail (orange) junction in 0.4 mile. I followed this a short distance until at 0.6 miles, it joined the Benjamin Weeks (purple) trail. At this point, I found some warm bear scat so I decided to make some noise by whistling a little as I descended down the trail. The purple trail starts very wide and smooth, full of soft pine needles. As it descends steeply, it becomes more narrow, rocky and less obvious, even though there are plenty of trail markings. At 0.7 miles from the summit, the purple trail took a hard right turn. Going straight would have led eventually to Old Weeks Rd. and away from the trailhead.
After descending into darker and damper forest, the trail winds up intersecting and sharing the blue trail at 1.4 miles. After a very short period of time, I decided to take the purple trail as it again split off from the shared trail and plunged into deep hemlock forest. This path turned out to be considerably longer and more strenuous that if I'd have kept on the blue trail. There is a stream which had flowing water inspire of this summer's drought and the trail steeply descended about 20- feet toward the stream.
The trail plunged in and out of this ravines a number of times before it finally turned north to intersect the Blue Trail again at 2.0 miles from the summit. The trail here was pretty mucky and rocky in spite of it being a pretty dry year. I'd expect this would not be a favorable way to go in a very wet season.
Finally, at 2.4 miles I emerged from the dark woods to the waiting boardwalk for the short walk back to the parking area.
There was no pause as the trail started an immediate climb, which although relentless, was neither particularly steep nor rocky. The trail climbed into dense forest which were even more dark in the gloom of the rainy overcast. This initial part of the trail was once a commercial sugaring operation but I did not find and taps or equipment that identified it as such. After 0.3 miles the trail intersects with the Benjamin Weeks Trail, blazed in purple, which came in from the right. The blue trail jogged slightly to the left and continued to climb, a bit more steeply. At 0.6 miles, an old abandoned logging road appears on the left and the trail made an abrupt, 90 degree turn to the right. There was a reprieve as the trail continued along a level stretch until encountering the Yellow Trail on the left at 0.7 miles. This trail is a straight, unmaintained trail to the ridge line but is not maintained and may not be the best choice in rainy weather, so I continued on.
At 0.8 miles I came across a cellar hole on the left which is the last remnant of the Benjamin Weeks mountain house.
On the right side of the trail were the remnants of the old barn foundation. The house was originally built in 1793 and a sign near the site describes the many generations that have lived on the mountain.
Just 0.1 miles beyond the cellar hole, the blue trail merged with the purple trail for a short distance until a Y in the trail. At this point, the blue trail split to the left and began a relentless series of switchbacks that ascended the steepest portion of the mountain. looking up the slop, I saw the remnants of an old marble quarry, some of the angular blocks still lying there as if waiting to be loaded and carried off.
At 1.5 miles, the switchbacks continue but the trees become noticeably smaller with white birch and pine predominating. Because of this, there was much more light, in spite of the dreary sky, and I made out small clearings full of low blueberry bushes, although well past the season for finding any berries. At this point, a small clearing opened up with views toward the south and east and one such clearing had a pair of tables made of branches and boards. This made for an inviting stop so I doffed the pack and took a water and snack break. After a 10 minute break, it was off again. Just beyond this clearing, at 1.6 miles, there stood an interesting, bonsai-like tree with a long, serpentine branch, a good photo op.
The switchbacks continued with more and more concrete ledges and decreasing slope. Finally, at 1.9 miles, the trail leveled and intersected the top of the yellow trail, the North Spur Trail (orange) and the Ridge Trail (white) in rapid succession. All trails were well-marked with wooden signs and I tuned left to follow the Ridge Trail, which broke out of the trees and followed the open ledges along the ridge.
Not too far down the white trail, there were nice open vistas to the north- and southeast. To the northeast, I could see a portion of Lake Winnipesaukee.
To the base of the ridge was the parking area from Gunstock Ski area and I could see how much easier it would have been to summit Mount Rowe from this site of the mountain which is about 350 feet higher than the Elementary school. You could see the Quarrys, Mt. Rand and Mt. Klem.
Further to the south, Mts. Belknap and Gunstock predominated the skyline with the prominent ski slope of Mt. Gunstock.
The rain had stopped but the wind was whipping so although the temperature had risen into the low 50's, it was still chilling. I cinched down my hood and closed the vents on my rain jacket as I made my way to the communications tower on Mt. Rowe, a short and level walk down the ridge line. Since it was so windy, I decided not to rest at the summit, but rather head back to wind the Benjamin Weeks trail and rest in the shelter of the trees.
So restarting my mileage, I headed back along the white trail, meeting up with the North Spur Trail (orange) junction in 0.4 mile. I followed this a short distance until at 0.6 miles, it joined the Benjamin Weeks (purple) trail. At this point, I found some warm bear scat so I decided to make some noise by whistling a little as I descended down the trail. The purple trail starts very wide and smooth, full of soft pine needles. As it descends steeply, it becomes more narrow, rocky and less obvious, even though there are plenty of trail markings. At 0.7 miles from the summit, the purple trail took a hard right turn. Going straight would have led eventually to Old Weeks Rd. and away from the trailhead.
After descending into darker and damper forest, the trail winds up intersecting and sharing the blue trail at 1.4 miles. After a very short period of time, I decided to take the purple trail as it again split off from the shared trail and plunged into deep hemlock forest. This path turned out to be considerably longer and more strenuous that if I'd have kept on the blue trail. There is a stream which had flowing water inspire of this summer's drought and the trail steeply descended about 20- feet toward the stream.
The trail plunged in and out of this ravines a number of times before it finally turned north to intersect the Blue Trail again at 2.0 miles from the summit. The trail here was pretty mucky and rocky in spite of it being a pretty dry year. I'd expect this would not be a favorable way to go in a very wet season.
Finally, at 2.4 miles I emerged from the dark woods to the waiting boardwalk for the short walk back to the parking area.
During the whole 4 hour excursion, I did not find a single person. A nice morning of solitary hiking, inspire of the rain!
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