Somehow, through a lifetime of living in and adventuring through the Northeast, neither Morgan nor I had been to Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire. I think it was somehow too near to be “worth” making large plans to travel for specifically while too far to be an easy spontaneous day trip.
On a Saturday night we decided that we both wanted to spent the next day outside in a new place and Monadnock fit the bill perfectly. We only had to make it home for a 3pm meeting Morgan had. I woke up early to feed animals and walk the dog and we hit the road from Springfield at 6:30am with hot coffee ready to warm us on the chilly November morning.
We got to Monadnock to find a couple dozen cars already parked. I’ve heard that Monadnock is the most hiked mountain in the country, and I believe it given how many folks were there early on a cold late fall morning.
The air was cold but the leafless trees allowed the bright sun to filter through, warming us quickly as we hiked the steep trail. Given the popularity of the trail, we hadn’t expected it to be quite as challenging as it was! The hike was certainly well within our ability but was short and steep and sweet. We covered vertical distance quickly and soon had a nice view behind us whenever we took a moment to turn around and breathe.
Approaching the summit, things began to level out and we left the tree cover. The mountain tried its best to blow us off with gusty winds. We made it up to the summit to rest in the company of a couple dozen other hikers, but our recovery was short lived with nowhere to hide from the high winds. With a schedule to keep anyway to make it back to Springfield for Morgan’s meeting, we began our descent back towards the trees in search of slower air.
We took an adjacent trail down that provided different sights and similar terrain, both pretty tired but also happy to have the opportunity to spend a full day outside in a time of year that’s normally too cold to do so. We made it back to the car and on to home, arriving with about five minutes to spare. Perfect (lucky) timing.
I think we’ll go back in warmer weather someday but also I’m hesitant to do so with an impression of how busy it might be. Regardless, it was nice to finally make it to an iconic hike and we had a great day!