Hiking New England: North Pack Monadnock

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NORTH PACK MONADNOCK - GREENFIELD, NEW HAMPSHIRE

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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.

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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.

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Hiking New England: Pinnacle Mountain & Rose Mountain

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PINNACLE MOUNTAIN & ROSE MOUNTAIN - LYNDEBOROUGH, NEW HAMPSHIRE

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Peaks: Pinnacle Mountain (1,703 ft) & Rose Mountain (1,730 ft)

Location: Lyndeborough, New Hampshire

Difficulty: Easy

Trails: Helen's Trail & Snowmobile Trails

Trailhead: The trailhead is located directly across the street from 444 Mountain Road in Lyndeborough, New Hampshire. There are no signs indicating the trail so it is quite easy to miss - Helen’s Trail starts between a telephone pole and an old rock wall.

Parking: Small parking to the left of the road if heading from Center Road. There will be a flagpole and mailbox to the left of the parking area.

Miles: Roughly 2.7

Recommendation: This set of trails connect three peaks for an easy day hike with spectacular views of Mount Monadnock and Crotched Mountain. Mosquitos and ticks were abundant so take preventative measures.  

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It's so nice to be back home again in beautiful New Hampshire recently relocating south from western Maine last month. The holiday weekend, and a very brief window of sunshine, offered an opportunity to have my first camping trip of 2017 so a fellow photographer and I took to exploring just outside the sprawling suburban areas of Nashua about 30 miles from downtown.

Finding the trailhead on Mountain Road was tricky as the small paper signs have eroded with time. The trails themselves are also not particularly well marked aside from the occasional yellow reflector or handmade wooden sign pointing the way. Starting on Helen’s Trail off of Mountain Road, rock walls lead the way through the thick forest. Soon you will reach a stream to cross as you pass through the evergreens and into a slow grade. After about 15 minutes you reach the top of The Pinnacle with views of Mount Monadnock in the distance. 

Heading down from the summit of The Pinnacle is a steeper grading into the woods bursting to life with wild low bush blueberries and maple trees. Come July, the blueberries should be ripe for picking making for some amazing trail snacks. The trail eventually turns into snowmobile trails offering flat and even crossing between mountains. 

A few days before in preparation for the adventure, I had prepared some lentil chili and rice that easily packed into my cooking supplies. A fellow camper had kindly left a metal grill to use for cooking so we warmed some naan, topped the chili with avocado and reveled in our well deserved meal as the sun set. After dinner and s’mores we explored the area surrounding our camp finding deep purple cones forming on a spruce and cairns pointing the way to Mount Monadnock.

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WAKING UP IN A CLOUD

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At 4am with the moon still lighting up the sky, the birds greeted us with song beckoning us from our tent. During the night the clouds descended to where we slept. I have always loved the atmosphere fog brings to a photo and here was an opportunity to capture the magic. Although we had hoped for stars, the cool morning breeze made up for the overcast skies. 

On hike down from Rose Mountain, the conditions were right for encountering New Hampshire's State Amphibian, the eastern newt, with an absolute minefield of the little guys crossing the trails, just as we were. There were hundreds - so much so it was important to be mindful of each step so as not harm them.

All in all this was an amazing little hike I hope to frequent while I am staying in the area.

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VANGUARD KINRAY 48 BACKPACK & VANGUARD ALTA CA 234AT TRIPOD

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The last few years for quick day hikes and a few overnights I've been using my Vanguard Kinray 48 Backpack. There are plenty of pockets for storage and anything extra can be clipped via carabiners. Unfortunately this isn't a style that Vanguard makes anymore but it's served me well in my travels.

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