Trip report
Temple Mountain Hike
Hiking/Walk DATE: 04/13/2014 - 04/13/2014
Trip/Event Location: Peterborough, NH
US
Trip Leader(s): Gandalf , JDNnh
Max # People: 15
Trip Guiding / Event Fee: No, I will not be asking participants for money
Difficulty Level: Moderate
The Temple Mountain ledges offer a great ridge walk with majestic views of neighboring Mount Monadnock and an almost surreal environment of rock ledges decorated with 10-foot-tall rock cairns and
...- The trailhead is located on Temple Road in Sharon, New Hampshire. It is NOT the trailhead off Rte. 101!
- If you are driving from Manchester, take Rt. 101 West, pass the height of land where the trailhead for Pack Monadnock and Temple Mountain is, and as you descend to Peterborough take a left onto Rt. 123 South.
- Travel on Rt. 123 South for 4.0 miles and then turn left onto Temple Road.
- Drive for 0.7 mile on Temple Road then park on the right in a small dirt parking area.
- We'll be driving a blue Toyota FJ Cruiser.
Trip Report/Photos
It's been a while since Jon and I led a hike in Southern NH. This time it was a few peaks in the Wapack Range: Burton Peak [2,010 ft.], Holt Peak [2,055 ft.] and the Temple Mt. Ledges.
We encountered scattered showers on the drive to the trailhead however once we arrived it stopped for the rest of the day. There was a stiff wind out of the west which kept things cold. Clouds reduced the distance of how far we could see from the outlooks. The Wapack trail had no snow however the sloping rocks were wet and slippery. The only time we encountered a lot of snow and mud was on the descent from Holt Peak to the Temple Mountain Ledges which is north facing.
About 0.4 mile into the hike we reached the open Sharon Ledges which allowed for some views; one was called the Roger Myrick Outlook with a view towards Mount Watatic. After Burton Peak there was a grand view of Mount Monadnock. We then bagged Holt Peak and took a group picture. We then hiked over to the Temple Mt. Ledges at which point the sun came out! We had lunch by these two tall rock cairns but we discovered afterwards the ledges were a bit further so we decided to check them out. There was a partial view from the ledges but what captured our attention were the stone chairs.
The walk back to the trailhead was much more pleasant with sunny skies and we were able to enjoy the views that were hidden when we hiked in. What a fine group of hikers! Thanks to all for a great hike. Nicely done, everyone!
There are 41 photos in Album (Note: Move mouse pointer over larger pic and click on NEXT for better viewing)
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