Monadnock 3/4/07 - not according to plan

[rocksnrolls]

Well, this past weekend was nothing like I had thought it would be. Saturday was to be the Moose Mash - 2nd Attempt and Sunday I planned to join Dugan and cantdog on a section or two of the Metacomet-Monadnock Tr. Mother Nature had other ideas and Friday's storm led to the cancellation of both hikes Even my alternate plan to head over to Greylock with Lattinhill and Truffles didn't pan out.

Saturday I mostly spent lazily lounging around the house. Did a little shovelling and spent just over an hour snowshoeing up and exploring a hill in a nearby tree farm. That definitly wasn't enough (especially since I hadn't hiked at all the previous weekend) and I spent much of the evening trying to decide what to do Sunday.

Eventually I decided it was a good day for the short drive up to Monadnock. I was hoping to get in some redlining. Plan A was to park by the Toll Rd lot and hit the Hedgehog Tr to Bald Rock, head up to the summit and then over to the marion Tr and Cart path. When I arrived at the unplowed parking lot I resorted to plan B - head over to the main parking area to try for Hedgehog via Lost Farm Tr with the hope of hitting the Old Ski Tr on the descent.

Things looked good at first. I enjoyed chatting with one of the Rangers, getting some info on what conditions I might expect on my proposed route, and ran into Giggy who was getting set to return home after an early day on the mountain.

I put on my snowshoes right away and after accidentally heading off on a road that leads west from the western parking lot, I doubled back over to the start of the Parker Tr. There was a decent snowpack that was unfortunately peppered with post holes from this point and all the way up Lost Farm. Seems it gets a good amount of traffic in the winter. When I topped out onto the Cliff Walk I noticed there was no sign anyone had been westbound on this trail recently and the only tracks I saw headed in the direction I was going.

Now, to get to the Hedgehog Tr, I could go two ways: either follow the Cliff Walk to Bald Rock and hope to spot the trail from there; or I could take one of the earlier spoke trails down to the Halfway House site and try to get the Hedgehog Tr off the Side Foot. I came to the first spoke trail, Thoreau Tr and spotted a clear track from someone who had climbed that trail recently. Deciding this was a good sign, I followed this gently slopping trail until I reached the open area where the hotel once stood.

Heading out the Side Foot Tr I wasn't happy to see that the only tracks on it headed up the Doo Drop Tr. Well, I figured I might as well try to break trail up the Side Foot Tr and locate the Hedgehog Tr from there. It looked simple enough at first, but there were no blazes to be seen and I soon realized that I wasn't on any kind of trail any more I knew that the White Arrow Tr was a short distance to the west, so I 'whacked my way through the trees (and across a small pond) over to it. The White Arrow was well broken in and as I climbed I hoped to spot the Amphitheater Tr and to head over to Bald Rock in search of the ellusive Hedgehog Tr. Well, I never did see the Amphithteatre Tr and was soon coming out above treeline. At this point I figured I might as well just head to the summit and leave the hedgehog for another day.

The climb to the summit was pretty tough. I had to switch to crampons above treeline as it was quite icy in spots. From the look of things everyone before me had done the same. At one outlook spot the tracks diverged and I followed a single pair that seemed to head straight for the summit. It was a struggle to get up this way, but not too hard. The previous hiker had kicked in some good steps and I took full advantage of them. Feeling a little like an Everest climber (OK, very little ) I was soon pulling myself up over the side - right in front of the summit. The wind was ripping pretty good so I tagged the highpoint and high-tailed it over to the White Cross Tr. I hadn't seen anyone all day until I neared the summit. On the summit I saw a few people and on the way down the White Cross I met about a dozen more. As was to be expected.

The hike down White Cross is quite nice, a few little steep sections to keep you on your toes and lots of ice. The tread was very well-packed and easy to walk on. It was interesting to note the various divergent tracks people had left at the various tricky spots along the way. I kept my crampons on until I reached the Spruce Link and then barebooted the rest of the way.

Well, not what I had expected to do this weekend and a little frustrating having to change and rechange my plans so many times, but in retrospect a very enjoyable hike. While I may not have added any trails to my nearly-complete redlining of this wonderful mountain, it was cool to have finally summited it in winter and that last climb up to the summit was a thrill.

 

[una_dogger]

Its great that you have such a positive attitude....afterall, a day of hiking is......better than most anything else!

 

[HikerAmiga]

Nice read!!

I too was in the area that day and marvelled at the nice weather. At least that went in your favor!

Way to go, Ron!!

 

[giggy]

hey ron, nice seeing you that day.


When I was at the summit (8:30am ish) , visability was quite low, I had come up the pumpelly via red cross, dot or whatever its called - and it took a few moments to find the drop down to white dot trail - and I have been up there at least 30 times. In all honesty, the markings were all covered, I think if I had not known where that drop down was, I can see how someone could get temporary confused!

then the sun broke back out as I was heading down.

great little peak, it was actually quite alpine up there above treeline that day. I too was able to kick steps in - great stuff! no better bang for the buck if you live in mass and need a quick hike with some ele gain.

this too was a last minute call for me - and it turned out to be a good day.

 

[LivesToHike]

Great report.

Hey Ron,

Great trip report. Thanks for your info on that side of Monadnock. I had considered, at least briefly, going over there while planning a trip up white dot and across to Cascade link that same day. The weather was nice that day on the ridge. If I can get away sunday 3/11/07, I may get back there this weekend, wandering over to Monte Rosa and Smith Summit trail.

Mike

 

[Steve-o]

Good effort.Good attitude Ron.
At least you got out and had fun.

Doing red-line trails on Monadnock in winter is very difficult. Red-line
meaning,( connecting trails, that do not lead directly to the summit )
Marian tr, Parker,Amphitheater,ect.

Even without a lot of snowpack, these trails can be difficult to find. I noticed a lot of trail junctions and and major direction changes are marked in paint on rocks. so even a dusting can throw you off course.
If there is a lot of snow... we'll, you have your w*rk cut out for you, because these are trails no one want's to do. Unless your red-lining.

I too, have a few left. I'm gonna wait for the thaw.

 

[KenC]

Hey Ron,

I enjoy that side of monadnock. There are some great trails that are not used much on the Toll Rd side. Unfortunately as you found there are no blazes on most of the trails there and as SteveO mentioned most of the interstects are marked on rocks. I think the rangers just like to keep us on out toes and toy with our routefinding skills.

Heading west even further the Cart road, mossy brook, great pasture and smith summits are fantastic trails in winter, actually year round. They do however take xtra time if not broken to routefind. If you've not already, give these a shot in winter.

Usually i've seen the small lot plowed a bit .

Ken

 

[rocksnrolls]

Hey Ron,

I enjoy that side of monadnock. There are some great trails that are not used much on the Toll Rd side. Unfortunately as you found there are no blazes on most of the trails there and as SteveO mentioned most of the interstects are marked on rocks. I think the rangers just like to keep us on out toes and toy with our routefinding skills.

Heading west even further the Cart road, mossy brook, great pasture and smith summits are fantastic trails in winter, actually year round. They do however take xtra time if not broken to routefind. If you've not already, give these a shot in winter.

Usually i've seen the small lot plowed a bit .

Ken

Yeah, I've gotta hike those western trails soon . The small lot wasn't plowed at all. There were a few cars parked there but it was a rutted icy mess. While I managed to drive through it, I didn't feel like worrying about getting out at the end of the day so decided parking elsewhere was a better idea.

 

[bubba]

Being flexible on the trail has it's advantages (especially when you know the area as well as you must). I guess you were starving for oxygen on the summit push... like Everest!!

 

[brianW]

Ron,

When I did Hedgehog there was no snow but was still hard to follow at times. The last 50 ft or so is very steep and can be very icy. -brianW

 

[rocksnrolls]

Ron,

When I did Hedgehog there was no snow but was still hard to follow at times. The last 50 ft or so is very steep and can be very icy. -brianW

I thought it might be hard to follow. I remember last year when Dugan and I hiked most of the spoke trails that it wasn't too easy to follow the unblazed trails in several locations. So much open woods it's a head-scratcher to figure out the 'correct' way to go. You'd think that since off trail hikng is discouraged on Monadnock they would put more effort into blazing all the trails

 

[Andrew]

It is an interesting balance of elements on how obvious a Monadnock trail will be blazed or signed depending on an over riding management perogative. Many of those "back trails" had only been listed on the state park map more recently (early 90's) although they had only been shown on AMC or other maps. The general idea was to keep people focused on the main trails and only those 'in the know' and typically more experienced would venture onto the side trails, and it often has been considered better off to leave these trails somewhat obscure (keep people away from places they might not belong).
This is why there can not be prominent cairns leading off Pumpelly Ridge from the summit, as when there is.....many many hikers who intend to descend on White Dot, wind up wandering out the gentler grade to the North, and a whole host of problems then occur. Yes this is despite having followed white painted dots all the way up and not noticing thier absence and a whole change of character of the trail while attempting to descend!
Over the years with the signing of the lease agreements between the state and SPNHF and Jaffrey, and the responsibility for public safety on these lands going primarily to the state, this perogative has become more complex.
RocksnRolls is right-on about the negative impacts caused by people wandering around trying to find the trail, and this will probably be the major factor for increased blazing in the future, along with areas people frequently get hopelessly lost. These are the reasons why Marion and Mossy Brook Trails recently got snappy new blazes.
You would be surprised how difficult it could be at times to try and blaze trails on Monadnock with paint. On the White Dot you have to paint of course on a sunny or at least dry day, which brings out crowds. You then have to wait for a break in hikers, dab some paint, and then guard them from trampling or other mischief until nearly dry. For this reason you will see an increase in fixed reflective plastic blazes on many trails (funding from a anonymous generous donor to the Monadnock Advisory Commission Fund), since this can be done in any weather, especially while it's raining and the hiker crowds are minnimal.
P.S- There is talk about signing and listing the Hedgehog Tr as "Unmaintained".

 

[rocksnrolls]

thanks for the info Andrew!

 

[rocksnrolls]

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http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/558162938RXrDTi