I just discovered The Hiking Priest YouTube channel, featuring Fr. Marcel Martel from right here in New Hampshire. I see some familiar places! Enjoy the link.
Wapack Trail
Construction this spring at Miller State Park
A favorite tactic of mine for enjoying Pack Monadnock without crowds is going to Miller State Park midweek. That option will be on hold for awhile this spring, as major work on utility infrastructure in the park will begin in April. Read on the New Hampshire State Parks website about the project and its schedule.
Access to trails and the auto road will be limited at various times.
I won’t complain much about the inconvenience. As a southern New Hampshire resident, I benefit from assorted utilities and modes of communication whose infrastructure needs to be set up on hills. At the same time, I appreciate the fact that such set-ups are subject to public hearings and environmental considerations.
It’s a good idea to check out the state parks website before heading to any state park. A few are retaining a reservation system for parking, first established to manage last year’s COVID crowds. A few miles away from Miller and Pack Monadnock, Monadnock State Park requires a reservation AND a $15 parking fee (ouch!), which covers up to 6 people per vehicle. Know before you go.
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Golden Time
As Octobers go, this one has been a beauty in my corner of New Hampshire. We’re in that annual golden time, post-bugs and pre-ice. Literally golden, too. The trees are glowing.
October on Nashua River Rail Trail
Pulpit Brook Trail, Bedford and Amherst
Pulpit Brook trail, Bedford NH
I hadn’t visited Bedford’s Pulpit Rock conservation area in years. A recent mailing from the Bedford Land Trust advised me that the Pulpit Brook trail from that property now extends into Amherst and the Joppa Hill farm. When I compare a newer map of the Pulpit Rock area to my old map from 1997, it’s striking to see how much the conservation area has been expanded with the cooperation of area landowners. I like seeing a greenway linking towns.
Mid-October: some leaves are just starting to turn.
Silver Mountain, Lempster
The Forest Society’s Five Hikes in Five Weeks program led me to this unassuming little hill with fine autumn views. The drive in was a little hairy: Lempster Mountain Road is paved and fine, and from there South Road is unpaved and sort-of fine, until it isn’t. The last few tenths of a mile of road before the trailhead feature a single lane with deep ruts. It must be all kinds of fun in mud season. At least it’s dead-flat.
But after a couple of minutes of bouncing along…what’s this? A parking area with decorative stone posts. On a dirt road in Sullivan County, no less.
From the parking area, the woodsy walk up to the open summit of Silver Mountain is easy.
Autumn on Silver Mountain, Lempster NH
Silver Mountain summit cairn; Mt. Ascutney in the distance at right
Kidder Mountain, New Ipswich
Here’s another spot I hadn’t visited in ages, just off the Wapack Trail. I had hiked up to Kidder with my son about fifteen years ago, and I recalled it as another one of those easy hills with great views (like Silver Mountain, come to think of it). I’m sorry I waited so long to come back.
The summit vegetation has grown in over the past few years, but the views to the south and southeast are still satisfying. There’s a great view of the southern Wapack Range from Barrett Mountain to Mt. Watatic.
Southern Wapack Range seen from Kidder Mountain, New Ipswich NH
On my recent visit, I shared the summit with a young family. One of the children was a boy, maybe five years old. He surveyed the Wapack Range, and announced excitedly, “I see a volcano!” His dad took the news calmly. The boy wanted a livelier response. “I see lava!” At that point, I thought okay, I’ve got to see what this is about.
At right: Mt. Watatic, faintly marked with old ski trails that spark the imagination.
I moved a little closer to see what the boy was pointing at. It was little Mt. Watatic just across the border in Massachusetts. It had a ski area long ago, and there are still faintly-discernible ski trails. To a five-year-old, those old trails looked like lava flows. I hope I never forget the look on that little boy’s face as he watched Mt. Watatic expectantly, hoping against hope that it would blow its top and show those Monadnocks who’s boss.
Sometimes the best part of a hike isn’t the hike.
Happy October!
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Temple, January 1
I made my customary New Year’s Day drive out to the Monadnock region, deciding at the last minute not to do the fun little 5k race (walk, in my case) in Temple that would have set me back $20. Instead, I continued to the Wapack trailhead in Sharon. No trails or uphill work for me this day – lazy, out-of-shape, call me what you will. I did my 5k on local roads, blessedly free of traffic and ice.
Temple Road in Sharon; Mt. Monadnock in the distance
It wasn’t a brisk walk. I kept stopping to take pictures. Most of the photos are unusable thanks to midday’s harsh lighting. I like this one, though. My route today was flat, except for the gentlest rise on Temple Road where I got a glimpse of Mount Monadnock.
Have a wonderful new year, with plenty of Granite State walks.
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Pack Monadnock, before the summer crowds
Poor Pack Monadnock. Everyone takes pictures from it, while relatively few take pictures of it. This post perpetuates that gross injustice. I would welcome a reader’s photo of Pack Monadnock, since all of mine (taken from North Pack) are dreadful.
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- The winter’s tree litter has been cleared from the road.
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- T for Temple: marker at the town line along the auto road.
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- Any ideas what the B is for?
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- Temple Mountain; old ski trails still visible.
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- Mt. Monadnock, 12 miles away as the crow flies.
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- Quiet on the summit, which will not be the case in July.
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- North Pack Monadnock peeking over the brush
Location: Miller State Park, on NH Rt. 101 between Temple & Peterborough. Today: 40s, sunshine, clear day. A Boston day, as I call it whenever the skyline is in view. The gate to the paved auto road was closed, but the large parking lot was accessible, and it was full this afternoon. The entrance kiosk was unstaffed, but there was a box where I could deposit the park’s admission fee. Hikers were spread out on the various trails. I walked up the auto road with very little company, despite all the cars parked at the base. The fire tower cab was locked, but the stairway and landings were open for my viewing pleasure.
I set out today to walk south on the Wapack Trail from Sharon into New Ipswich, hoping to reach Kidder Mountain. That’s a lovely little hill, quite an easy climb, with great views. The trail section leading to it, alas, is currently a stream bordered with mud. Springtime, you see. A quarter mile of that was all I could take. Miller State Park & Pack Monadnock made up for that.
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Go pick some blueberries!
I headed to Temple Mountain on this sunny Sunday to enjoy a couple of hours along the Wapack. I packed a lunch, but I needn’t have bothered: there were enough blueberries on the bushes to feed me & anyone else who might happen along. I stopped to eat at the Berry Pasture, with a fresh breeze in my face and Monadnock dominating the view to the west. Can’t beat that.
Not that I’m encouraging anyone to bail out of work this week, but I highly recommend a berry-picking trip to a hill or mountain near you — and soon.
Granite State Walker 