H
HikerBob
Guest
Having heard tales of our hiking exploits, and seeing a picture or two, a friend of both Karen and I had been talking about joining us for an outing for a while. She works odd hours and most weekends so only a midweek thing would work. All the planets came into alignment this week, including the best weather day among a bunch of storms, so we headed to Monadnock!
This would be my second trip to Monadnock and on the first I learned not to underestimate this mountain. It may only be a rock or two over 3k but it is a good sampler for pretty much anything you are likely to encounter in the Whites.
We headed off up the feeder trail from the various State Park buildings at around 9:45 with the temp already in the high 70's. I'd made sure everyone was carrying plenty of fluids because this was going to be a warm hike.
Mosquitoes were a bit pesky in the lower wooded section and had Melissa doing an in the face spray of Cutter! Compared to the onslaught I had on Livermore Road last weekend though they were not too bad.
Plan was to go up White Cross and come back down White Dot. Took the Spruce Link across to the White Cross trail and it was a little wet and muddy in spots but mostly avoidable. This mountain does seem to have a lot of water on it in the form of springs, streams and pools.
We could tell there was a breeze from the motion and noise in the treetops but little of it was reaching us and the air was pretty stifling in the early stages. Had me wishing we had made an earlier start.
Before long we started climbing in earnest and had our first decent view from the top of the first ledgy area. Hazy, as expected, but still pretty decent.
Turns out Melissa has done a little running in her time and feels the need for speed so I told her she need not keep stopping for Karen and I but could go at her own pace and we'd catch up eventually.
A few flowers still in bloom plus Clintonia and other berries starting to ripen. Also had a few butterfly encounters. One possibly a female Black Admiral and some kind of Fritillary. Throw in a few fungi and the woods provided a lot of interest.
We popped out onto the more level ledgy, scrubby area of the ridge and the temperature topped out at around 80* The sun was warm but a nice breeze took the edge off. Sunscreen was a must as the rocks bounce back a lot of light also.
Although we had not seen too many people on the climb up there were a lot of people around as usual and when we stopped short of the summit for a liesurely lunch a zillion kids with name tags from some summer camp swarmed by. Their enthusiasm for the climb ran the whole spectrum from rapturous enjoyment to, shall we say, less than enthusiastic
Despite moans and fake collapsing they all made it up there.
Having eaten we made the final push up the ledges to the summit, thankful for the dry conditions on the sometimes steep rock slopes. Reaching the summit area we found a quiet (!) spot and started lounging in earnest. Melissa spawled out in a most impressive manner. This girl knows how to relax!
The weather was just a little on the warm side but otherwise perfect. A few puffy clouds about to give interest and occasional shade plus a nice breeze. The throng at the summit swelled even more and we decided it was time to go.
Rather than have Melissa hang back with us again I handed her the car keys and said we see her at the bottom. She has decided to go back down the White Cross as she knew what to expect and wanted to see if she could turn on a little more speed. Turns out she made the descent in almost exactly an hour. Karen and I on the other hand took our sweet time desending the White Dot.
On the way down we ran into a family of four, parents and two teenage girls, making their way up. In our chat we discovered they were vacationing from Nepal! The closer to done we were so we ran in to more and more folk heading up. Late starters on a trek that was obviously more than they could handle in may cases. We expected many to turn around before too long.
And then there we were done. One quick double-take when we hit the parking lot to find the van gone! But I realized Melissa had done the smart thing and moved it into the shade.
A great midweek hike and quite a workout. If you've never hiked Monadnock you owe yourself a trip, just don't underestimate this small mountain.
Pics to come
Bob
This would be my second trip to Monadnock and on the first I learned not to underestimate this mountain. It may only be a rock or two over 3k but it is a good sampler for pretty much anything you are likely to encounter in the Whites.
We headed off up the feeder trail from the various State Park buildings at around 9:45 with the temp already in the high 70's. I'd made sure everyone was carrying plenty of fluids because this was going to be a warm hike.
Mosquitoes were a bit pesky in the lower wooded section and had Melissa doing an in the face spray of Cutter! Compared to the onslaught I had on Livermore Road last weekend though they were not too bad.
Plan was to go up White Cross and come back down White Dot. Took the Spruce Link across to the White Cross trail and it was a little wet and muddy in spots but mostly avoidable. This mountain does seem to have a lot of water on it in the form of springs, streams and pools.
We could tell there was a breeze from the motion and noise in the treetops but little of it was reaching us and the air was pretty stifling in the early stages. Had me wishing we had made an earlier start.
Before long we started climbing in earnest and had our first decent view from the top of the first ledgy area. Hazy, as expected, but still pretty decent.
Turns out Melissa has done a little running in her time and feels the need for speed so I told her she need not keep stopping for Karen and I but could go at her own pace and we'd catch up eventually.
A few flowers still in bloom plus Clintonia and other berries starting to ripen. Also had a few butterfly encounters. One possibly a female Black Admiral and some kind of Fritillary. Throw in a few fungi and the woods provided a lot of interest.
We popped out onto the more level ledgy, scrubby area of the ridge and the temperature topped out at around 80* The sun was warm but a nice breeze took the edge off. Sunscreen was a must as the rocks bounce back a lot of light also.
Although we had not seen too many people on the climb up there were a lot of people around as usual and when we stopped short of the summit for a liesurely lunch a zillion kids with name tags from some summer camp swarmed by. Their enthusiasm for the climb ran the whole spectrum from rapturous enjoyment to, shall we say, less than enthusiastic
Despite moans and fake collapsing they all made it up there.Having eaten we made the final push up the ledges to the summit, thankful for the dry conditions on the sometimes steep rock slopes. Reaching the summit area we found a quiet (!) spot and started lounging in earnest. Melissa spawled out in a most impressive manner. This girl knows how to relax!
The weather was just a little on the warm side but otherwise perfect. A few puffy clouds about to give interest and occasional shade plus a nice breeze. The throng at the summit swelled even more and we decided it was time to go.
Rather than have Melissa hang back with us again I handed her the car keys and said we see her at the bottom. She has decided to go back down the White Cross as she knew what to expect and wanted to see if she could turn on a little more speed. Turns out she made the descent in almost exactly an hour. Karen and I on the other hand took our sweet time desending the White Dot.
On the way down we ran into a family of four, parents and two teenage girls, making their way up. In our chat we discovered they were vacationing from Nepal! The closer to done we were so we ran in to more and more folk heading up. Late starters on a trek that was obviously more than they could handle in may cases. We expected many to turn around before too long.
And then there we were done. One quick double-take when we hit the parking lot to find the van gone! But I realized Melissa had done the smart thing and moved it into the shade.
A great midweek hike and quite a workout. If you've never hiked Monadnock you owe yourself a trip, just don't underestimate this small mountain.
Pics to come
Bob
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