Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway?

[Scubahhh]

I'm thinking of a three-day hike in May.

Does anybody have local knowledge they'd like to share, for example how wet the wet areas are likely to be? I'm not worried about getting my feet wet; more concerned about contributing to erosion and degradation of the trail bed.

Any cool side trails that are not to be missed? Any of the road-walking sections that really suck and/or can be avoided by detouring on other paths or old roads?

What about camping? Are there spots where LNT stealth-hanging is feasible? I've been thinking about overnighting at Crider Shelter (~18 mi.) and Max Israel (~37 mi.), but would like a little flexibility just in case...

Thanks in advance for any local knowledge (can't beat it, can't buy it!), advice, wisdom, etc...

If all goes well, later in the summer I'd like to try to connect the SRKG at Ragged Mt. with the Cardigan trails, and then with Smarts via the old Maskoma Trail as much as possible; that would combine with the AT and Cohos Trail to make a "long trail" the length of NH, which would be wicked cool!

 

[Creag Nan Drochaid]

Please report your Greenway and Cardigan hikes here or on newenglandtrailconditions.com.

Please report your Maskoma hike via personal message to me. I ask that since there is no official trail on that route for now, and reporting on a public site encourages others to use the route and risk having the landowner post it. There may be one someday when the Q2C partners get their act together, but at present that appears unlikely to happen this year. Your experiences will help us determine a good sustainable route for the Cardigan-AT trail. Thank you.

Creag nan drochaid (in real life I lead the Cardigan Highlanders Volunteer trail Crew)

 

[Guthook]

I'm thinking of a three-day hike in May.

Does anybody have local knowledge they'd like to share, for example how wet the wet areas are likely to be? I'm not worried about getting my feet wet; more concerned about contributing to erosion and degradation of the trail bed.

Any cool side trails that are not to be missed? Any of the road-walking sections that really suck and/or can be avoided by detouring on other paths or old roads?

What about camping? Are there spots where LNT stealth-hanging is feasible? I've been thinking about overnighting at Crider Shelter (~18 mi.) and Max Israel (~37 mi.), but would like a little flexibility just in case...

Thanks in advance for any local knowledge (can't beat it, can't buy it!), advice, wisdom, etc...

I haven't been there in a couple of years, but I'm thinking of hiking the MSG late in April. I can let you know how it goes when I do that. Two years ago I hiked it in late April (trip report here) and it was fantastic! I think that was a very dry and hot spring, so I'm not sure if the dryness that year was normal.

Stealth camping seems like it would be possible, but the MSGT website pretty clearly states that you should camp only at designated sites.

I can think of only two side trails that I hiked, but there are a lot of really beautiful places along the trail. The side trails are both on Mount Sunapee, both marked with blazes but no signs. One, about a mile and a half south of Lake Solitude, leads east to some ledges with gorgeous views. The other, just above Lake Solitude, leads to some great cliffs over the lake. As for other really nice spots, I could go on at length, but suffice it to say, the entire trail is quite nice, despite the road walking sections. Most of the road walking is on old dirt roads, anyway.

If I remember right, there's no water at any of the campsites, but there is reliable water within a quarter to half mile of each of the campsites.

 

[Scubahhh]

Thanks, "Guthook!"

...and your '09 report is a great one. I'm planning 3 days, or maybe evn 4, and think ill go midweek to be less likely to run into "crowds." I'll prolly carry my new hammock and try to hang outside the shelters, but still enjoy the solitude. I've seen the warnings about stealth camping and definitely don't want to disrespect any of the landowners worse generosity makes the trail possible; on the other hand, there's a lot of publicly-owned land along the way...

 

[Guthook]

Thanks, "Guthook!" ...and your '09 report is a great one. I'm planning 3 days, or maybe evn 4, and think ill go midweek to be less likely to run into "crowds." I'll prolly carry my new hammock and try to hang outside the shelters, but still enjoy the solitude. I've seen the warnings about stealth camping and definitely don't want to disrespect any of the landowners worse generosity makes the trail possible; on the other hand, there's a lot of publicly-owned land along the way...

Both times I've been on the trail, the only people I've seen on the trail have been on Pitcher Mountain (half a mile of trail from the parking lot to summit), and on Monadnock and Sunapee. I imagine it gets more crowded in summer, but I wouldn't worry too much about crowds in May. Although, I guess it's more than possible.

Sounds like you've got a good plan. I won't say you should camp in the public land since I think it's no-camping everywhere, but the Andorra Forest, about a mile north of Crider Shelter, is super gorgeous, with a really pretty brook and deep woods. Even if you don't camp there, I'd recommend taking a nice, long break by the brook.

 

[AlpineBee]

I hiked the MS Greenway in July 2012. The lack of water sources and a dry season made for a tough hike. I finished in two nights, and I stayed at the two shelters you mentioned. If I were to do it again, I would hike with someone else, I would stash water ahead of time, and I would have carried a spare camel pack for insurance. The bugs were insane, but that was in early July. The terrain is quite varied, and I enjoyed seeing Mt. Monadnock the whole way. It's such a pretty mountain from all directions. Pack light, maybe a bivy too - not a tent. Try to hike it in the spring to ensure that you'll have some water from run-off. I'm from Western NH, and I went into the hike expecting that I knew most of the area, and I expected a lot of civilization. I was quite wrong. The trail traverses some of the most remote parts of that corner of NH. It gets real lonely out there - take a buddy and extra water!

To your point about the Maskoma Trail, I've done a lot of research to possibly hike from Cardigan to Smarts, BUT as Creag said, most of the Maskoma Trail has been repurposed or is owned privately, and I would not suggest trying to recreate a hike of the old trail as it was. I've been wanting to identify a route to hike between Cardigan and Smarts. I'm from that area, and I love hiking those two peaks. In January, I started performing some analysis on Google Earth, street maps, by hiking, and by driving to identify public roads between Cardigan and Smarts. Using public roads, I've identified a route, but I won't post it here. I'm planning to attempt it in early Spring.

The old Maskoma Trail was abandoned or reclaimed for other uses over the course of 20 years, in sections. It is mostly lost to the woods or reclaimed for 4WD, logging, or other private use as far as I can tell.

Be careful!

Dennis

 

[RoySwkr]

To your point about the Maskoma Trail, I've done a lot of research to possibly hike from Cardigan to Smarts, BUT as Creag said, most of the Maskoma Trail has been repurposed or is owned privately, and I would not suggest trying to recreate a hike of the old trail as it was. I've been wanting to identify a route to hike between Cardigan and Smarts.

Last year for the Q2C Initiative I tried to locate a route similar to the Maskoma Trail. Starting from N of Cardigan, there was an old road in good shape but we came to a posted area which we bushwhacked around. We later reached an historic site which upon leaving we found was posted in the other direction, i.e. we shouldn't have been there but there were no signs the way we came. The remainder to Rte.118 the text and map in the 1948 AMC WMG gave different descriptions, one being a private road and the other a bushwhack. I talked to a property owner across 118 who said that there were snowmobile trails to Cummins Pond and Smarts Mtn from there, he had no problem with me parking there and walking across but I lacked time and a pickup at the other end. Whether this could ever become an official hiking trail is unknown. Anybody have a map of the old trail in this area?

There is a route from Sunapee to Cardigan almost entirely on existing trails which I will not disclose per CND.

 

[Creag Nan Drochaid]

Dear Roy and AlpineBee,
It strikes me we may have more fun collaborating than we do by ourselves. I have also looked into this route. IMO the best strategy is to look for an entirely new route, the maskoma Trail is indeed gone for 50 years or more. I think it is time we met over maps and pooled our research. Q2C trail study seems stalled, and Spring is a good time to explore, before the trees leaf out so much we cannot see hillsides across a valley. If you could please PM me, we can begin.

Yours, Creag nan drochaid

 

[Guthook]

Dear Roy and AlpineBee, It strikes me we may have more fun collaborating than we do by ourselves. I have also looked into this route. IMO the best strategy is to look for an entirely new route, the maskoma Trail is indeed gone for 50 years or more. I think it is time we met over maps and pooled our research. Q2C trail study seems stalled, and Spring is a good time to explore, before the trees leaf out so much we cannot see hillsides across a valley. If you could please PM me, we can begin. Yours, Creag nan drochaid

This is so cool. I wish I'd heard of all of this before my 2009 hike... I'd love to hear how your plans work out. Happy trails!

 

[Snowflea]

Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway Trail

Some running friends and I used to do the MSGT in a day, usually in April or May - have run/hiked it four times. We used to put out food and water drops every few miles. There also used to be a little store in Washington that was a gem, but not sure if it's still there - definitely worth looking into for resupply. I remember that they had a grill so could cook hot food.

It is a beautiful trail and very remote feeling for south-central New Hampshire! The section south of Mt. Sunapee doesn't cross a road for something like 18 miles. The road walks are enjoyable, too! I really don't remember ever seeing anyone else on the trail when we did it, including Monadnock (but it was usually dark when we climbed it)

 

[GrayBear]

Last fal I hiked the section from Washington (the store is still there) to Sunapee. Water was a little scarce with a little planning it wasn't a problem. There is quite a bit of snow in the woods right now so I'd imagine it's going to be a fairly wet spring. I did this section with my two young daughters so we spent the first night at the Max Israel shelter (good water about 0.5 mile before the shelter) and the second night at.the Moose Lookout (water source was a trickle of a stream about 0.5 north of the shelter). The shelters where fairly new and in great shape with brooms and rakes handy for keeping things clean. We.really enjoyed this trail and plan on doing the southern end this year.