Gunstock Mountain (NH) 9/4/2016

Gunstock Mountain

Location: Gilford, New Hampshire
Mileage: 2.05 Miles
Elevation Gain: 1175 Feet
Trails Used: Gunstock Mountain Trail, Winter Shortcut, Ridge Trail
Views: 180 from Summit Ski Area
Difficulty: Moderate

Hiking Lists: Belknap Range Summits

Brian and I hiked in the Adirondacks on Saturday, so I wasn't sure I would be up for hiking on Sunday. We spent about 9 hours in the car driving (round trip) for little more than three hours of hiking, so I was a tad bit tired from having to wake up early. Yet, while I was out running some errands, I decided it was just too nice outside to not at least go out for a few miles in the nearby Belknap Mountains. 

I made the decision to hike to the summit of Gunstock Mountain, which is located in Gilford, New Hampshire. I have hiked to Gunstock Mountain before at least four other times (one very recently), but I decided to use a different trail this time. Since I am near most of the Belknap Range trailheads, I decided that it was a good time to hike all of the trails in the area. I looked at a map to see what trails I could get done for this hike.

I would be making a late start for this hike as by the time I decided to hike, it was almost three p.m. I parked, geared up really quick and headed up the trail to Gunstock Mountain.

I parked outside of the gate off of Carriage Road, which closes at 6 p.m. daily. I walked up to the Gunstock Mountain Trail, which starts in the woods to the left just past the kiosk.

The Gunstock Mountain Trail, which is blazed in orange, was steep to start and maintains a moderate level until the junction with the green blazed Winter Shortcut.

The Gunstock Mountain Trail goes through this rock wall section. I started seeing quite a few people heading down from the summit of Gunstock Mountain around this point.

At the junction for the Gunstock Mountain Trail and Winter Shortcut. I would go to the left and take the Winter Shortcut, which is short but steep, up to the Ridge Trail.

A section of the green blazed Winter Shortcut, which was a bit more rugged than the Gunstock Mountain Trail and a direct route up towards the summit of Gunstock Mountain.

The newly and recently opened relocated section of the Gunstock Mountain Trail, which I took to the summit of Gunstock Mountain.

A new rock stair section that comes off of the summit of Gunstock Mountain. I went to the summit and turned around and headed down so no pictures today. It was still a pretty busy summit at 4 p.m.

At the junction for the Gunstock Mountain Trail and Ridge Trail. I would take the Gunstock Mountain Trail back down to the car.

The views looking south from a ledge area off of the Gunstock Mountain Trail as I headed back down to the car.

I was going to check out the views from the Overlook, which is off of the Gunstock Mountain Trail, but it was crowded with Boy Scouts and adults talking very loudly. I would imagine the above views are probably just as comparable to the Overlook views so no real loss there. It was a rather quick hike back down to the car.