I guess I just need to face the truth.
I keep saying I’m not seriously doing it. But I think it’s pretty obvious I’m going to. Even if it takes a while (which it will).
It actually makes sense in many ways. It is an attainable goal for me, physically. It’s local, so easily accessible. And I’m out on most of these trails anyway, so already have 30% of the list done, by chance. (Besides, the patch is super pretty, too!)
So that settles it. I’m guess I’m officially going for the Belknap Grid.
As a quick refresher, gridding is when you hike every mountain on a list in every month of the year. So peaks A, B, C, etc. in Jan, Feb, Mar, and so on. Take as many years as necessary, or do them all in one; whatever works for you. Check off each month for each peak as you go.
Gridding was of course made famous by the White Mts. 4000 footers grid challenge. But recently, chatter among Belknap Range hikers spurred the creation of our own grid program. Lots of people started gridding here for fun before the patch even existed. So now having the opportunity to earn a beautiful hiking patch for all that effort is a nice commemorative reward. [Link to more info on the Hiking Patches page here on the blog.]
I hadn’t gotten any new grid checkmarks for September (and only had two peaks), so when Hummingbird and I decided to do a bigger hike this weekend (while staying local), I suggested something productive and grid-worthy. Our original plan was for the inner 5 peaks loop, which is slightly ambitious, but entirely doable. Unfortunately, the incorrectly-forecasted weather threw a wrench in that plan and rained all day and night just before our hike. With several sections of rock slab and some short scrambles, we felt like conditions would probably be wet and slippery.
I was all gung ho about making up several peaks on the last day of the month, but not at the risk of dangerous terrain. So we came up with plan B in the morning. Hummingbird suggested Gunstock & Rowe, which sounded reasonable. I mapped it out and found tagging Belknap too only added a bit over a mile. And we’d still be totaling slightly less mileage and elevation than plan A. So we agreed to give it a go. 3 peaks was a sufficiently satisfying consolation prize for not getting 5.
When we arrived at Gunstock, we found the main parking lot closed and completely torn up. It’s been in not-great shape, so I suspect they’re fixing it for the upcoming ski season. We were detoured to a satellite lot further from Gunstock’s Brook Tr. trailhead, which we intended to go up. So we quickly rehashed our plan, and decided to start on Rowe, which we were right next to, instead. It actually felt more efficient, and maybe would even be more gradual. I’m not sure it was actually either of those in the end, but the route still made the most sense.
The first mile is always the hardest. There we were on the smallest mountain of the trio, not even a mile in, and my body was in protest. I don't know if it was the big pack, heavy with extra water, or allergies dragging me down, or something else, but I honestly felt like crap as we ascended. I was not convinced I would be able to hit three peaks. Hummingbird reminded me there are plenty of bailout points, and we would just take one peak at a time. If all we did was Rowe, so be it. But I’m stubborn. And dammit, I wanted my checkmarks!
We summited, I hydrated, snapped a single photo of the hazy view, and without question we continued on across the ridge to our next peak.
The overall hike itself was not especially noteworthy. It was all pretty standard, not overly exciting, but conditions were decent. The morning started out humid, though fairly cool, but the humidity eventually burned off. It was foggy and hazy all day, so the views weren’t fantastic. At least we’ve seen them in their glory before, and of course will see them again!
I packed sunblock with me just in case, but never felt the need to put it on. Even after the clouds and fog thinned down, the sun remained filtered in the haze, plus we were mostly hiking under tree cover. I still ended up with a very light sunburn on my face. Lesson: wear sunblock anyway!
We made it to Gunstock, where I was happy to find their new bathrooms are now open. Even more exciting is that they have real flush toilets. The weird part though was that, despite having plumbing, they did not install sinks. Not sure I understand that, but it’s still better than trying to do your business in the woods, where I might argue it’s often even more necessary to wash your hands after. But at least we have hand sanitizer in either case.
After a short break on the shaded porch, and a quick snack of (almond) cheese, I was refreshed enough to continue. Not that I would want to bail out at this point anyway. With Belknap only an extra mile, it would be disappointing to not get it after coming this far. At least I was feeling a bit better, although I did confirm that my purple Brooks are breaking down, as my feet started to hurt barely over 4.5 miles in. Not my norm. So I guess those shoes need to retire from big hikes. That's sad.
On our way over, Hummingbird commented that it was the longest half mile she’s ever done. It wasn’t that is was awful or overly difficult, it just seemed to go on endlessly. We were both starting to get tired. But it did end, obviously. We finally hit the summit, fire tower still under construction, so no view, and turned to go back to Brook Trail.
We’d summited three mountains, and in all that time, I had only taken one photo. That has to be a record for me! Thankfully, Brook Tr. was as pleasant as I remembered, and offered a couple more photo ops.
And as usual, I’ve sucked Hummingbird into my hiking goals. Now she’s gung ho about us gridding out (finishing the month) in October! Stay tuned here & on socials to see if we accomplish that!
9/30 Mts. Rowe-Gunstock-Belknap, 7.16 mi, 1883 ft, 4:06 hrs
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