The route I decided to take up Mount Monadnock was a little over three miles, and took about two hours to the summit. This included a few minutes where I stopped to take pictures, or to remove layers of clothing. Having never hiked Monadnock, and not really knowing which trails would provide the best experience, I decided to ascend via the Cliff Walk trail, because if there are two words I like to see together in a sentence, they are “cliff” and “walk.” This is a lesser traveled trail, so I had it to myself until almost all the way to Bald Rock, which is probably 2/3-3/4 of the way up.
Here was the first indication that this wouldn’t be an ordinary hike. I had no idea what was to come. There were no more ladders, but there were plenty of rocks.
One thing that the Cliff Walk had going for it was that it contained a few spots with some preview vistas. To be honest, the view from the top is so stunning, why not save it for the big reveal?
Here’s a picture of Mount Monadnock, taken from Bald Rock on the way up the Cliff Walk. Probably the best thing to recommend that particular route up is this view of the mountain.
This was taken from partway above the treeline. You actually can’t see the summit from here, it reveals itself when you crest that ridge. It’s impossible for this picture to give you a sense of the scale here. If you zoom in, you will see that there are people in this photo, no bigger than dots.
It tooks some effort, but I made it to the top!
I found a little nook that protected me from the substantial wind, and ate my lunch.
The route I took down was more direct. Aside from a bit of reverse rock scrambling to get below the treeline, the walk back was peaceful and uneventful.
If I had it to do over again, I would probably take a more direct route. The Cliff Walk trail meanders a bit, and descends a few times on the way, so I was always aware of losing the ground I had just fought so hard to gain. It also has a fair bit of rock scrambling below the treeline, while there is plenty of that waiting for you above. I would have been better off saving my scrambling muscles for the final push to the top.
One thing that I found surprising was how many older folks I saw, both along the way and at the top. This hike is no joke, and it really took it out of me, but when I got to the top there were people up there who appeared to be ten, fifteen, maybe even 20 years older than my 54 years. It gives me hope that I may have years of hiking head of me as I age ungracefully.