Wantastiquet-Monadnock Greenway

[rocksnrolls]

I recently joined the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway Trail Club and in the spring newsletter they mention a hike scheduled for mid-August - "Wantastiquet Mtn to Pisgah SP on new W-M Greenway: 10 Miles". So I was wondering if any on VFTT had hiked the Wantastiquet-Monadnock Greenway yet or if they could fill me in on it. A google search yielded little in the way of useful info. Is it completed yet? How long is it? Where can I get more trail info? Who wants to (section) hike it with me? I also plan to contact the MSGTC about it but thought I'd ask here too.

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

The Greenway Club has published a 50 page guide book to the trail with a map made by Larry Garland (who made the AMC maps). The Greenway is about 50 miles long, starting on the summit of Monadnock (where the MM trail ends) and going north to the summit of Mt Sunapee.

If you live in southern NH you may also want to explore the Sunapee-Ragged Kearsarge-Greenway, this one is a 75 mile loop. There is also a guidebook for this trail.

I got both guidebooks at The Mountain Wanderer in Lincoln, NH.

 

[rocksnrolls]

Thanks Mohammed, but I have the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway Guidebook and what I'm looking for is info on the Wantastiquet-Monadnock Greenway. I've editted my original post to make that clearer.

I got an email from Frank Shlauter of the MSGTC informing me that the trail isn't complete yet and there are no plans as of yet for a guide or map. So I'm wondering if anyone here has done any parts of it yet. Trailhead info would be especially helpful.

Oh, and I'm planning to get the Sunapee-Ragged Kearsarge-Greenway guide at some point too. Sounds like an interesting trail! I live in Mass, so am interested in southern NH trails, especially with the price of gasoline being so high these days.

 

[Amicus]

Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway

For maps for the SRK Greenway, I was told by Brent Scudder, an active member of the SRKG Coalition who led a hike on it March, to use the ones posted on their website rather than the printed Guide, which doesn't reflect subsequent reroutings due to land-owner actions, new development etc. (I think I heard that a new printed Guide may be in the works.)

Their website is www.srkg.com.

 

[RoySwkr]

I got an email from Frank Shlauter of the MSGTC informing me that the trail isn't complete yet and there are no plans as of yet for a guide or map. So I'm wondering if anyone here has done any parts of it yet. Trailhead info would be especially helpful.

Why not just go with Frank, he's a great guy

Here's a map of the W portion:
http://www.chesterfieldoutdoors.com/images/StokesDanielsMapS.gif
I don't consider it especially accurate (the trail misses the true summit of Wantastiquet but goes closer than shown) but it does show 2 trailheads.

 

[jade]

rnr......ok, that's it, i'm quitting work and hiking all the new england trail systems! Count me in for this one too.....

good sites and maps, thanks!
...jade

 

[Michelle]

I've been slooowly working on the SRKG (next section is tomorrow!!!)
It's been fun so far and I haven't run into 1 other hiker on the whole thing! The treadway is not defined in many places and it has the feeling of a new trail, though like the MSG........quite a bit of road walking.

I've also come to find out the hard way that sometimes the website trail description and the guidebook trail description are not the same!! Ahhhhh! Nothing like re-hiking parts of the trail to make sure you've covered the miles! But that is just all part of the fun!

 

[rocksnrolls]

Why not just go with Frank, he's a great guy

Here's a map of the W portion:
http://www.chesterfieldoutdoors.com/images/StokesDanielsMapS.gif
I don't consider it especially accurate (the trail misses the true summit of Wantastiquet but goes closer than shown) but it does show 2 trailheads.

Thanks Roy, that's a nice map! I'm thinking of hiking with Frank, but the W-MGW hike isn't until August, and I was thinking I might want to hike it sooner. In June he's leading a Monadnock loop, in July it'll be Sunapee Ridge, Sept in Pisgah SP, and Oct the Wapack Tr north half. I'm considering joining in on all or some. Might even join in on June 3rd, National Trails Day when they'll be working on the north side of Lovewell Mt and around Kittredge Hill (seems there's alot of blowdowns over there right now)


Thanks for the first hand report on the SRKG, Michelle! Sounds enjoyably confusing

And thanks to Amicus for passing on the info regarding the outdated SRKG guidebook - guess I'll wait for the next edition and just print out the web pages as needed!

 

[RoySwkr]

I've also come to find out the hard way that sometimes the website trail description and the guidebook trail description are not the same!! Ahhhhh! Nothing like re-hiking parts of the trail to make sure you've covered the miles! But that is just all part of the fun!

They are very flexible on where the trail is in terms of completions. I once hiked the same section of trail a month apart with 2 different leaders and we used 2 different routes!

Some sections of trail have a definite blazed route.

At least one section the landowner allowed them to blaze a route in the woods but not to publish it, the website/guidebook shows a roadwalk.

Another section they weren't allowed to blaze either but you can hike it instead of a roadwalk.

And as landowners change the route changes too, one landowner who kicked off the trail was the SPNHF when some higher-up decided there should be no trails on a prime habitat parcel.