MonadnockVol
New member
This week's trail report is in the form of an open letter to the Monadnock State Park Manager.
Dear Andrew,
I decided to hike the Little Monadnock Trail from Rhododendron State Park to see how it survived the winter. There were a few blowdowns which I cleared, but mostly the trail is in good shape and ready for the summer hiking season. The bridge across the stream that we talked about removing last year is still there but extremely broken and battered. I'll remove it as you suggested on my next trip.
You'll remember that last week I found lots of moose sign on the other side of the mountain. Well the moose gets around because there were many piles of droppings on this side as well.
After reaching the summit, I went north on the Metacomet-Monadnock. The northern outlook was clear of snow, but I didn't see any litter or any ATV tracks in the mud, so I guess the local riders are being good citizens and not using the illegal side trail.
Continuing north on the M-M I found the small cliff to be extremely treacherous. The lichens were still wet with rain and very slippery. In the end I took my pack off and rode it like a tobogan.
Soon I reached the power line which was the southern terminus of last week's hike. It also meant that I had completed all of the M-M in NH.
I didn't want to try going back up the cliff, so I headed east along the powerline. Soon I met three trucks with raised suspensions and gigantic tires slowly climbing towards me. It looked like rough going and my kidneys ached in sympathy.
Eventually, I had to bushwhack because the runoff from the mountain turned the service track beneath the powerline into a raging torrent. I came out - bleeding, and tattered, but very happy - near Rockwood Pond and hiked the dirt road back to RSP.
- Monadnock Volunteer (aka Steve)
Dear Andrew,
I decided to hike the Little Monadnock Trail from Rhododendron State Park to see how it survived the winter. There were a few blowdowns which I cleared, but mostly the trail is in good shape and ready for the summer hiking season. The bridge across the stream that we talked about removing last year is still there but extremely broken and battered. I'll remove it as you suggested on my next trip.
You'll remember that last week I found lots of moose sign on the other side of the mountain. Well the moose gets around because there were many piles of droppings on this side as well.
After reaching the summit, I went north on the Metacomet-Monadnock. The northern outlook was clear of snow, but I didn't see any litter or any ATV tracks in the mud, so I guess the local riders are being good citizens and not using the illegal side trail.
Continuing north on the M-M I found the small cliff to be extremely treacherous. The lichens were still wet with rain and very slippery. In the end I took my pack off and rode it like a tobogan.
Soon I reached the power line which was the southern terminus of last week's hike. It also meant that I had completed all of the M-M in NH.
I didn't want to try going back up the cliff, so I headed east along the powerline. Soon I met three trucks with raised suspensions and gigantic tires slowly climbing towards me. It looked like rough going and my kidneys ached in sympathy.
Eventually, I had to bushwhack because the runoff from the mountain turned the service track beneath the powerline into a raging torrent. I came out - bleeding, and tattered, but very happy - near Rockwood Pond and hiked the dirt road back to RSP.
- Monadnock Volunteer (aka Steve)
