hikersinger
Member
Took advantage of one more great-weather day of the long July 4th weekend to hike with my two younger ones: Elliot, who's lately been showing an intense interest to hike up to and above tree line; and Noelle, who continues to be hesitant about the whole thing, but willing if the mountain is short and quick enough.
Considering these two desires, the relative lack of time, and my own interest in trying something new, we stayed mostly local and drove a decent 50 minutes to hike the north peak of Gap Mountain (1,840'), which sits south/south-west of Grand Monadnock. What the slightly longer (not really) drive gave us, we made up with in the shorter hike time, as the trailhead put us at 1,190'.
While we wouldn't be hiking a mountain as "rewarding" as Grand Monadnock with its broad, expansive views, I knew we'd be enjoying a much more peaceful experience, as we drove by one of many packed Grand Monadnock trailhead parking areas, and soon reached the Gap Mountain north approach trailhead, with its five cars.
We started out past the helpful kiosk, and I was reminded of the fine effort so many put into trail maintenance in this area. Our good friend John is one of them, and we believe we caught a glimpse of him on a poster that advertised a special few days of trail work coming up.
Tree blazes were a-plenty, painted in white, and the trail was easy to follow. We soon came upon a stream crossing, and both kids felt drawn to explore. so we lingered for a little while. Elliot continues to love unblocking "dams" that form from sticks and leaves, and Noelle was playing with a pteranodon we had just bought. She also found a wide rock with a bed of moss that fit her lying down, just right!
We continued on, passing along and through a few old stone walls. The trail was moderate at times and well maintained, including a couple stretches of man-made stairs made of small boulders. We soon reached what seemed like a ridge, where we turned left and began rising up into some clearings, and finally to the summit. Looking back to the west we saw Grand Monadnock in its glory, and we could see the south Gap summit to the south.
We found blueberries growing a-plenty all over the summit, and they had begun ripening enough to have plenty to pick.
Heading back down, we made quick time. Along the way I noticed a a large plastic fountain drink cup someone discarded (one of several pieces of garbage I found along the way - what gives?). It was near a couple of large boulders, under which we noticed a geo cache! We opened up the box, signed the log, and as is the custom, we took something from the box (a dime) and left something of ours (a toy lizard Noelle had with her).
We had a great time with great weather. I'm finding smaller mountains as interesting and rewarding as the larger ones, and am thankful to have so many yet to explore. While the views at the top weren't as incredible as Monadnock (which Elliot wasn't so thrilled about
, it was just right for the three of us that day. If you're looking for a relatively easy hike that leads to some views and a sweet treat, this is a great option!
Photo library: https://www.facebook.com/erikbertrand/media_set?set=a.10152521361439567.1073741851.570654566
Considering these two desires, the relative lack of time, and my own interest in trying something new, we stayed mostly local and drove a decent 50 minutes to hike the north peak of Gap Mountain (1,840'), which sits south/south-west of Grand Monadnock. What the slightly longer (not really) drive gave us, we made up with in the shorter hike time, as the trailhead put us at 1,190'.
While we wouldn't be hiking a mountain as "rewarding" as Grand Monadnock with its broad, expansive views, I knew we'd be enjoying a much more peaceful experience, as we drove by one of many packed Grand Monadnock trailhead parking areas, and soon reached the Gap Mountain north approach trailhead, with its five cars.
We started out past the helpful kiosk, and I was reminded of the fine effort so many put into trail maintenance in this area. Our good friend John is one of them, and we believe we caught a glimpse of him on a poster that advertised a special few days of trail work coming up.
Tree blazes were a-plenty, painted in white, and the trail was easy to follow. We soon came upon a stream crossing, and both kids felt drawn to explore. so we lingered for a little while. Elliot continues to love unblocking "dams" that form from sticks and leaves, and Noelle was playing with a pteranodon we had just bought. She also found a wide rock with a bed of moss that fit her lying down, just right!
We continued on, passing along and through a few old stone walls. The trail was moderate at times and well maintained, including a couple stretches of man-made stairs made of small boulders. We soon reached what seemed like a ridge, where we turned left and began rising up into some clearings, and finally to the summit. Looking back to the west we saw Grand Monadnock in its glory, and we could see the south Gap summit to the south.
We found blueberries growing a-plenty all over the summit, and they had begun ripening enough to have plenty to pick.
Heading back down, we made quick time. Along the way I noticed a a large plastic fountain drink cup someone discarded (one of several pieces of garbage I found along the way - what gives?). It was near a couple of large boulders, under which we noticed a geo cache! We opened up the box, signed the log, and as is the custom, we took something from the box (a dime) and left something of ours (a toy lizard Noelle had with her).
We had a great time with great weather. I'm finding smaller mountains as interesting and rewarding as the larger ones, and am thankful to have so many yet to explore. While the views at the top weren't as incredible as Monadnock (which Elliot wasn't so thrilled about
, it was just right for the three of us that day. If you're looking for a relatively easy hike that leads to some views and a sweet treat, this is a great option!Photo library: https://www.facebook.com/erikbertrand/media_set?set=a.10152521361439567.1073741851.570654566
