Mount Monadnock rises 2,000’ above the surrounding terrain of New Hampshire. The uppermost 300’ of this 3,165’ peak are above the tree line, an artificial tree line that exists due to the loss of topsoil there after farmers in the region set fire to the mountain to clear it of wolves during the early 1800s.
I’ve climbed this one three times in the past five days, summiting twice, getting caught up in the rescue of a hiker with a broken ankle the other time, and I’m going back this weekend with a female friend and we’re going to try another route together. I thought I’d share a look around the place for those not lucky enough to have visited the world’s second most climbed peak after Mount Fuji.
The Monadnock State Park Headquarters is the location for the trailheads of White Dot and White Cross, the only two trails which I’ve tried so far. They’re named for the painted blazes that mark the way where the trail isn’t obvious. These two share the path at the beginning and the end, but diverge in the middle, with White Dot being essentially 1,807’ of surrealist boulder staircase, while the smoother White Cross is just a few hundred yards southwest. The steep starts early with these two; this view is less than five minutes from the trailhead.
The blazes that define White Dot, with one being seen right in the middle of this photo, are an absolute necessity for navigation; the easier, softer way through this would have one wandering off to the northeast.
The last bit of the trail below the tree line is the hardest – fifty feet of boulders and bare granite faces that sometimes requires a two hand scramble to traverse.
The climb is, of course, well worth the effort:
And the summit itself is a place of sublime beauty, with cairns marking the way in places where it makes no sense for the little painted blazes to be used.
Even at the very top Monadnock is damp, like the rest of New England, with little pools accumulating due to the frequent rains.
The completely bare mountain top described in the Wikipedia article about Monadnock has begun to recover slowly, with little marshes springing up in places where water has accumulated. Unless drought driven fire strikes this mountain will eventually be as green as its neighbors.
Save half your strength on this mountain; the way down is almost as trying as the way up.
There is camping with showers but no electric/water hookups - $23 a night and you’re across the parking lot from the trailhead. If you need to check in occasionally for work whilst camping there is a nice coffee shop standing all alone at the intersection of highway 101 & 137 which was recommended to me by one of the park rangers. If you need to hit an outfitter first there is a Sam’s location in Keene, New Hampshire, and if you travel just a bit farther to Brattleboro, Vermont you can find a Sam’s and many other interesting things to do.
OK, I sound like a travel brochure, but I’ve really fell in love with the region – mountains, forests, kayaking, and I hear tell of beaches, too, but I’ve yet to investigate those.