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SATURDAY, JULY 9, 2005
Grand Monadnock was a terrific challenge, and even though the summit was clouded over, blocking our view, it was well worth the effort. The sun did peek through at a few spots on the way up, and on the way down (see photo at right), offering glimpses of a vista I will have to get more of on another visit here. The first thing I did after I got home on Saturday (after showering and eating) was to buy a new pair of hiking boots. Boy, what a difference! Going down Monadnock was harder in some respects because my legs were tired so they were shaky. And many of the large boulders were slick, so I sat down and purposely slid on my butt several times since it was the safest way to travel. The photo at right was taken at the summit. We could be almost anywhere since the clouds "fogged" us in, blocking the scenery just beyond. The landscape had an interesting eerie quality about it. There was a good wind and the temps were lower, so we sought shelter to eat lunch. On page 64 of Grand Monadnock by Julia Older and Steve Sherman, there is a photo captioned, "Ladies and gents on the summit, c. 1860s." The women are wearing long skirts and some can be seen holding parasols. Not my idea of good hiking clothing. |
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 Fog on our way up  The summit's just over this hill, I promise  The summit |
 Recent rains left little pools  Are we there...  Rock crystals - looks like waves in the rock. |
 A dip before the next hill  yet?  Rock crystals |
 Heading down into the mist |
 A cave--luckily no one was home |
 Waterfall |
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I liked the fact there was vegetation growing
everywhere on Monadnock, particularly around the summit--no asphalt as on the top of poor
old Wachusett. On our descent, we
encountered other climbers who some of us labeled (enviously, at least me)
"Mountain Geeks." I watched
these people run down the mountain while I carefully picked my way down, hoping my ankles
would still be
in one piece once I got to the base. Of course, with my new hiking boots, I'll come back
and run the mountain too... yeah, right.
I found this website: Hiking Trails Mt. Monadnock. While not the official website, it gives interesting information about trails and events taking place on the mountain, including the upcoming Mount Monadnock Celebration of Dance on August 27, 2005. Sounds pretty cool. |
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Six-pack of Gatorade - $2.99 Admission to Grand Monadnock - $3.00 New pair of hiking boots - priceless |
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