Trip report
Monoosnoc Ridge hike
Hiking/Walk DATE: 05/22/2010 - 05/22/2010
Trip/Event Location: Leominster, MA
US
Trip Leader(s): katahdin55
Max # People: 15
Trip Guiding / Event Fee: No, I'm not making any money running this trip
Difficulty Level: Easy to Moderate
We'll hike the northern portion and a couple of side loops of the 11-mile trail that follows the Monoosnoc Ridge, a range of 1000- to 1200-foot hills on the western fringes of Leominster. Despite the
...From Boston and other points east: Take route 2 to the route 190 exit, exit 33. After exiting, continue straight on Mechanic Street extension rather than bearing right onto the route 190 on-ramp. At the lights, continue straight on Mechanic Street, which after about a mile intersects Main Street in the center of Leominster. Continue straight across Main Street; here Mechanic Street becomes West Street. Follow West Street for about .9 miles and bear left on Granite Street (look for the blue Leominster High School directional sign). After about a mile Granite Street becomes a dirt road (rough, but passable); shortly thereafter you'll see the trailhead parking lot on the right. I'll be the tall guy with the green Subaru Legacy.
From the west: take route 2 to the Merriam Ave. exit and go south on Merriam. After a bit over a mile, turn right on Gibson St., and almost immediately left on West St., and then again almost immediately take a sharp right onto Granite St. Follow above directions from there.
From the south: take interstate 190 to the Mechanic Street exit (the last exit on 190 before it intersects route 2). The off ramp merges with the route 2 exit 33 off ramp. From there, follow the directions in paragraph 1.
Trip Report/Photos
Twelve GO members - ranging from a few grizzled veterans to a couple of new recruits - hiked Monoosnoc Ridge together on a beautiful sunny Saturday. They were joined by the occasional black fly (or, according to some participants, swarms of same). The road to the trailhead parking lot proved to be one of the main challenges of the day - resulting in a minor delay. Black flies and bone-jarring roads - who needs the Maine Outback when you can find it all right here in central Massachusetts! Once everyone had arrived safely, we climbed North Monoosnoc Hill, where we enjoyed our first vista of the day. Our commanding view of the Twin Cities Plaza and Kappy's Liquors redeemed whatever travails had gone before. The rest of the hike included some level ridgetop trail (with a couple of hog wallows that required circumnavigation), a stop at an abandoned quarry (where Steve and Don clambered up the piles of blocks), and a relatively steep climb to the summit of South Monoosnoc Hill, where we enjoyed our second panoramic vista of the day (alas, no Kappy's, however). Then it was back to the parking lot, the rigors of the entry road, and a visit to Gardner Ale House, for pizza, stromboli, burgers, and pints of microbrew. Bliss. A wonderful day with a great group of guys.
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