Elevation gain: 1840 feet
Trails used: White Dot Trail, White Cross Trail.
Highlight(s): 360 degree views from summit and ledges of Mount Monadnock, various trails to use.
I know. Who in their right mind would do Mount Monadnock, one of the busiest hiking areas in New Hampshire, on a nice summer day? Normally, I detest hiking this mountain and I have only done it two other times (once in summer and once in winter) so that says something about this hike, or my desire to do it.
About a week ago, a Facebook post went out from two of our hiking friends from Quebec who was going to finish their New Hampshire 3k list and were going to finish it on Mount Monadnock. At first, I wasn't going to go because of the insanity I knew would be around. No one said they were going on Facebook, and not knowing if anyone was going at all, made our decision to go an easy one. I had people go on my New Hampshire 3k finish and it made it that more enjoyable and memorable in the long run.
Mount Monadnock is located in Jaffrey and Dublin, New Hampshire. It is also the highest point in Cheshire County. Mount Monadnock's claim to fame is that it is the second most hiked mountain in the world after Mount Fuji in Japan. There are numerous trails that you can use to reach the summit of Mount Monadnock, and the bald summit offers 360 degree views into New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont.
Mount Monadnock is on the New Hampshire 200 Highest List and New Hampshire 3k list.
Mount Monadnock Trails website
Monadnock State Park
We headed up the White Dot Trial that starts at the Monadnock State Park Headquarters building off of Poole Road. The White Dot Trail is easy to find: just follow all the people.
Desi beginning the hike up the White Cross Trail, which we hoped would be the least used of the two trails we could take up to the summit of Mount Monadnock, the White Dot Trail or White Cross Trail.
The White Cross Trail is the less steep alternative to the White Dot Trail, and often used for descent in conjunction with the White Dot Trail.
There are several view points along the White Cross Trail like this one looking towards the peaks in the Wapack Range, heading into Massachusetts.
This area is known as The Switchback and has a nice little set of stone steps you can use if you don't want to climb the granite slabs.
There were views looking toward Pack Monadnock from the White Cross Trail.
A zoomed in view of Mount Wachusett in Massachusetts from the White Cross Trail.
Baby cedar waxwings in their nest waiting for the mother bird to come feed them. It was probably a monumental task due to all the hawks flying around the summit area.
We get views towards Bald Rock from the White Cross Trail as it climbs out of the trees, right around the Smith Connecting Link and just below the summit of Mount Monadnock.
The summit area of Mount Monadnock comes into view just before the junction with the White Dot Trail, which continues to the summit.
Looking up to the summit area of Mount Monadnock. We sat a few hundred feet away from the junction of the White Dot Trail/White Cross Trail to see if Jean and Julie were heading up. We waited here for about 45 minutes, then decided to head down the White Dot Trail.
Just as we were heading down the White Dot Trail, here comes Jean, Julie and Victor so we did an about face and headed up to the summit of Mount Monadnock. This is looking towards North Pack Monadnock and Pack Monadnock just below the summit of Mount Monadnock.
The views looking down to Bald Rock and over to Gap Mountain as we climb to the summit of Mount Monadnock.
Jean, Julie, Victor and Desi almost to the summit of Mount Monadnock.
Jean-Sebastien Roux, Julie Chevalier and their son Victor on the summit of Mount Monadnock (elevation: 3165 feet) which marks the completion of their New Hampshire 3k journey.
The last parting shots of Bald Rock as we descend from the summit of Mount Monadnock.
Yes, trail etiquette is dying slowly and we saw everything today from barefoot hikers, to huge groups of kids and parents but all of this was to be expected. It was still a nice day out as the clouds and wind kept it comfortable enough for hiking. The views are always decent from the summit of Mount Monadnock and if you don't mind a crowd (or mob scene), this hike is top notch. It was nice to join Jean and Julie as they finished their New Hampshire 3k's and look forward to hiking with them in the future.
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