Trip/Event Location: Jaffrey, NHUS
Trip Leader(s): shep5
Max # People: 12
Trip Guiding / Event Fee: No, I will not be asking participants for money
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Join me for this 6.25 mile hike up Mount Monadnock (3165 foot elevation). Mount Monadnock is one of the most climbed mountains in the world and makes for a perfect day hike, particularly this
We will meet at the park headquarters. From the center of Jaffrey, take Rt 124 West for 2.2 miles. Turn right onto Dublin Road and follow for 1.3 miles. Turn left onto Poole Road and travel to the park ranger parking kiosk.
There is a park fee of $5.00 per person.
Look for a gray Hyundai Elantra or look for me near the HQ building.
For GPS Users: 42.843808, -72.074363 (116 Poole Road; Jaffrey, NH)
Since everyone had dropped off the list, I arrived at the park headquarters a little late...by about 9:15AM. It was mostly sunny with a definitely chill in the air (around 40).
I quickly got ready and headed to the start of the White Dot Trail. As the most traveled trail on the mountain this was pretty wide, but narrowed as it approached the trail split for the White Cross Trail. I made it to this point in little time...by 9:30. I continued on the White Dot Trail to the junction of the Cascade Link, which only took another 5 minutes. This trail meandered through the woods passing the junction with the Harling Trail until it eventually met up with the Birchtoft Trail. At this point the trail turned up the mountain and passed the junction for the Red Spot and Spellman Trails. I continued on as the trail began to climb more aggressively. By 10AM there were eastward views from ledge after ledge. It was becoming more cloudy, but the views and the autumn color were wonderful. By 10:20 I reached the Pumpelly Trail and headed westward towards the summit. As I emerged from the trees along the ridge, the wind increased and the temperature was more brisk. In another 15 minutes I crossed over the Town Line Summit and by 10:45 I had met up with the upper junction for the Spellman Trail. I continued along the Pumpelly Trail and it was colder and more exposed as this section was particularly exposed to the wind for much of the remaining way to the summit. At 11 I reached the upper junction with the Red Spot Trail and in only 15 more minutes I was standing on the summit of Mount Monadnock (3165'). There were maybe a couple of dozen other hikers up here, but it was hardly crowded yet. The views were great in all directions. I stayed on the summit for only about 10-15 minutes before deciding to continue with the day's hike.
The original plan was to descend the summit via the Smith Summit Trail; however, I decided I would make this hike a bit longer. I headed down the western side of the mountain following the Marlboro Trail. I passed Jim's Junction at 11:30 and pressed on until I reached the junction for the Marion Trail in about another 20 minutes. I took this trail to circumnavigate around the mountain for the return. This has always been one of my favorite areas on the mountain, as it has usually not been used by alot of other hikers. After re-entering the trees and descending a little further, I decided to take my lunch break near a moss-covered brook (noon). After lunch I continued on and by 12:20 I came across the intersection with the Great Pasture Trail. This trail climbed the shoulder peak known as Mount Rosa. This trail was fairly steep in grade, but it took little time to reach the peak and its weather vane. It was 12:30 and the views looking back towards the mountain were good. I continued to re-climb the mountain to the junction with the Amphitheater Trail. Taking the Amphitheater Trail I passed through the the steep ledges of the Black Precipice and crossed the White Arrow Trail. By just before 1PM I joined the Smith Connecting Trail and headed south for Bald Peak, which only took a few minutes. This sub peak had good views back towards the mountain and over the surrounding areas. Here the trail became the Cliff Walk and descending this I passed over Thoreau's Seat and met up with the Lost Farm Trail. There was another open ledge near this junction. After this the trail meandered down the mountain back towards the park headquarters. At almost 2PM this intersected with the Parker Trail and shortly thereafter passed the town reservoir before reaching the trailhead again. It was 2:15PM and the parking lots were totally packed. I called it a day and drove home.
It was a great day out on the mountain. The autumn color was peak and was beautiful. Even the company was fantastic (the other voices in my head were rather kind to me during the day)!
Total distance and elevation gain: Approximately 8.0 miles with about 2400 feet in cumulative gain.
Outdoor Fitness Level: Very Strenuous
