NORTH PACK MONADNOCK - GREENFIELD, NEW HAMPSHIRE
Peak: North Pack Monadnock (2276 ft)
Location: Greenfield, New Hampshire
Difficulty: Easy/moderate
Trail: Wapack Trail
Trail-head: The trail-head is located on Mountain Road in the Wapack National Wildlife Refuge. Trail maps are located in a container attached to the sign.
Parking: There is a large parking lot on Mountain Road, extremely hard to miss.
Miles: Roughly 1.5 miles
Fees: None
Recommendation: North Pack Monadnock is the northern most peak on the Wapack Trail system of 22 miles spanning from Massachusetts to Southern New Hampshire. The Wapack Trail is a historic trail, the first ever interstate trail system in The United States. From the top of North Pack you can continue on further another 1 mile via the Cliff Trail loop or even further on Wapack South 2.3 miles to summit Pack Monadnock and venture into Miller State Park.
While exploring the side roads and dirt paths of rural New Hampshire, I accidentally stumbled upon this trail-head and made a mental note to explore. North Pack Monadnock is the northern most peak on the Wapack Trail system of 22 miles spanning from Massachusetts to Southern New Hampshire. Completed in 1923, the historic Wapack Trail is first ever interstate trail system in The United States. With well marked trails in yellow, this hike is easily done solo as it is difficult to get lost if you stay on the paths. If your intent is to summit only North Pack Monadnock, you would have no problem completing this hike in a couple of hours.
Starting in the hard to miss parking area of the Wapack National Wildlife Refuge, you will soon find your direction via signs and rock walls. There are trail maps available in a bin attached to the Wapack sign.
After about .5 mile you will come to a stream to cross before heading up a path with visible roots and marvelous trees.
Beautiful Mountain Laurels lead the way through this section of trail on either side. Late Spring or early Summer will bring delicate white blooms, a small visual treat to stop and enjoy.
The trail is well manicured with wooden foot paths over the wetter areas.
This passing storm over the mountains was my first glimpse of the surrounding area after a small scramble of granite, soon followed by paths winding through a massive forest of magical ferns.
As you are nearing the top, large granite shelves soon brought paths lined with low brush blueberries and juniper. I stopped for a moment to soak in the scenery with some small snakes sun bathing on the warm rocks.
As you reach the top you are treated to decent views of the surrounding mountains as well as a large pile of rocks marking the summit. Being a quiet Wednesday afternoon I had the mountain to myself.
From the top of North Pack there are a few trails I want to explore when I have the time. The Cliff Trail leads through 1 mile of what I hear to be amazing views that connects to Ted and Carolyn's trails before looping back to The Wapack Trail. You can continue your journey even further on Wapack South 2.3 miles to summit Pack Monadnock and venture into Miller State Park. These trails are all well marked from the summit.
Overall, I found this hike to be easy with low grading and fairly nice views. Hopefully I'll be back to try other trails in the area.