Mount Lowell sits at 3,740 feet on the eastern edge of the Pemigewasset Wilderness, across Carrigain Notch from Vose Spur. Though trailless, the mountain has a distinctive character: its western face is split by a series of massive rock slides whose colorful gashes are unmistakable when viewed from the summit of neighboring Mount Carrigain. Reaching the summit requires off-trail navigation, and this is a peak for experienced bushwhackers with solid map and compass skills. Once known as Brickhouse Mountain, Lowell is frequently paired with Mount Anderson (also 3,740 feet) on the same outing.
Two main approaches exist. The first begins at the Nancy Pond Trailhead on US Route 302, following the Nancy Pond Trail to Norcross Pond before departing into the trailless terrain, a route of roughly 10 miles round-trip with around 3,500 feet of gain. The second uses Sawyer River Road and the Signal Ridge Trail to reach Carrigain Notch before bushwhacking north; this option is only viable when the seasonal road is open. Either way, the off-trail travel involves dense spruce and fir, with spruce traps common on the lower slopes. Higher on the mountain, near 3,600 feet, the conifers grow bent and twisted by winds funneling through Carrigain Notch.
The summit area opens onto a sweeping panorama: Signal Ridge, Mount Carrigain, Vose Spur, and on clear days the Presidential Range rising beyond the col shared with Mount Anderson. It is a remote and uncommonly rewarding vantage point for those willing to earn it.
