Trip report

Pack Monadnock Day Hike

Hiking/Walk DATE: 02/06/2016 - 02/06/2016

Trip/Event Location: Peterborough, NH
US

Trip Leader(s): Robert.L

Max # People: 12

Trip Guiding / Event Fee: No, I will not be asking participants for money

Difficulty Level: Easy to Moderate

Join me Saturday, February 6th, for a day of fun easy to moderate hiking at Miller State Park, Pack Monadnock.

If you’ve been thinking of trying winter hiking, this one is for you!  The

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Driving directions to the location and spot to meet at:

Directions:  Park Address is 13 Miller Park Road (Route 101), Peterborough, NH  03458.  We’ll meet at the gate for 9:45am and start hiking promptly at 10am.  Parking is along the roadway.  To my knowledge there is no winter fee for parking.


Trip Report/Photos
Featured Photo

What a beautiful day – Just when you think you know what you are in for – Mother Nature changes her mind.  In preparing for the trip we had fully expected to be hiking on earth mixed in with a bit of mud and ice – but Friday’s storm changed the whole experience.  The forecast called for an inch of snow but turned into a major snow event that closed schools in many places for the day.  I hustled to clean up the drive; This opportunity wasn’t going to be missed.

Jim and I were the only hikers for this hike.  Our morning started at 9:50am at the head of the Wapack Trail, 1.4 miles from the summit of Pack Monadnock.  On arrival there were 4 cars – a few folks headed up the toll road, some headed up Marion Davis and we headed up the Wapack – untouched by anyone – the trail was ours to make.  Snowfall totals seemed to fluctuate between 6 to 8 inches with an under layer of ice in some areas.  We sported our micro spikes and headed up. The morning temperature started at 28 degrees and remained there most of the day.  The climb up was easy going and pristine.  The air was crisp and clean – ahhhhhhhhh, to breathe fresh air.

At the summit we paused for snacks, hydration and bumped into some hikers who were intent on sledding down – unbeknownst to me the toll road is apparently a fun slide though the hikers were concerned that the recent snowfall wasn’t quite enough.  I may be sliding down the toll road in the near future!!

We continued on the Wapack Trail to summit North Pack and this is where this hike gets beautiful.  We followed the trail and quickly descended into an area that seemed protected from the winds – the snow clung to the trees and the fresh fall made sure each step we made would be the first.  The forest was ours and we took great pleasure in the scenic path.  Having hiked at a decent pace, we decided to loop east along the Cliff Trail which granted us more trail time, snow scapes and a modest challenge of scaling some rocks to reach the summit of North Pack.  Because the snow was new, we were fortunate to be following in the footsteps of a gentle woodlands creature… was it a fox, coyote or bobcat… we’ll never know, but the tracks were clear!  (Personally I think Jim was just day dreaming, lol).

At the summit we bumped into a gentleman who was patiently waiting for his hiking buddy who was not far behind him, they hiked up 1.5 miles from Old Mountain Road.  We chatted a bit, took in the views and marveled at how far we could see, the skies were clear all day.  We carried on and stopped at Carolyn’s Trail Head with views looking north for lunch.  From there we continued along the path and eventually found and followed our footprints back to the summit of Pack Monadnock.  With only 1.4 miles left in our Journey we set afoot down the Marion Davis trail which had seen a lot of activity during the day.  The trail was considerably packed, slushy and at times muddy.  It didn’t matter, we were outside enjoying the day – we didn’t want it to end.  We arrived back at the car at approximately 4pm with the sun setting behind the hilltops.  We pit stopped for coffee and made our way home – a brilliant sunny day, a modest journey of roughly 8 miles – and feeling refreshed and rested.  It is good to be experiencing this life.  Thank you Jim, for a great day!!

  There are 43 photos in Album (Note: Move mouse pointer over larger pic and click on NEXT for better viewing)

Members That Participated

Robert.L

Outdoor Fitness Level: Very Strenuous


Bowdoin, ME


United States
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