Mount Monadnock Kicks My Butt

Where: Mount Monadnock, NH
Date:  27 June 2011
Who hiked:  Me, Hubby, Things 1 and 2

VACATION! Hubby's family hails from New England and many members still live there. We spent most of our time in the Boston area, visiting Revolutionary War and Colonial-era sites. Thing 1 was a great tour guide, having just finished 5th grade, when California school children learn about American history.

Thing 2, Hubby, Thing 1 on the trail

We walked all through Boston, experienced Plimoth Plantation, learned about whaling, biked on Cape Cod, and then traveled to New Hampshire for a family reunion. A day of meat (lots of meat) and beer was followed by a hike to Mt. Monadnock -- reportedly the most hiked mountain in the world. One guy even hiked it every day for EIGHT years!


We started a bit late in the day, at about 1030.  The park ranger had recommended that we hike the White Dot Trail up the mountain and the White Cross trail down. There is a ton of information on the internet about hiking Mount Monadnock, so I'll leave a trail description to them. These two trails are heavily used and well-marked.

Hubby and Thing 2 climb up the trail

The trail was wet from recent rains, with muddy sections -- especially at the bottom. We turned over some logs until we found a red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus). There were enough rocks for the Things to be happy with jumping from boulder to boulder on their way up the mountain. I found the trail very challenging -- like an interminable Stairmaster, but with the steps just a bit higher than my short legs could handle comfortably.

The landscape was lovely though -- classic New England with woods, ferns, and mosses. We heard and saw a lot of birds that I've missed -- American redstarts, White-throated sparrows, and Wood thrushes. There were a number of other warblers singing, but I'm not so good with songs.

View from the false summit

We emerged above tree line and I foolishly thought that we were at the top. I was wrong.

From the false summit, I could see that the true summit was actually still a ways away, across steep and slippery granite. Fortunately, this portion of the hike was not the toughest in terms of slope, but was treacherous in places as the rocks have been worn smooth by the thousands of hikers who have crossed them.

We made it to the top, found a place to sit that was away from the other people on the summit, and ate our lunch. The views were stupendous, with puffy white clouds in the blue sky. Visibility was not good enough for us to see some of the more distant sites like Boston or the White Mountains.

We came back down the mountain and took the White Cross trail. We saw only a couple of people on this trail. The rocks are bit more difficult to navigate on the White Cross -- steeper and smoother, with fewer footholds. Thing 1 had a close call with his ankle, which twisted and hit on a large rock. But a few minutes of rubbing and parental attention were enough and he bounded up and was off again.

Yes, this is the trail.
Look for Thing 2 in the background.

This is a tough, but rewarding, hike. After hiking in the West for the past four years, I was not fully prepared for the humidity and the number of people on Monadnock. But it did remind me of all that I miss from Eastern hiking too -- the birds, the deciduous trees, and the salamanders!