The Monadnocks Are (Fortunately Not Really) Killing Me Part 2: The Real Monadnock And SOTA Winter Bonus Points
Spontaneous winter hiking when you live in Boston is not really a thing. With the sun setting almost as soon as it rises and the nearest sizeable mountains minimally 2 hours away if the traffic is at all reasonable, its not easy to sleep in on a weekend, wake up, and decide over a leisurely cup of coffee that “hey, I want to hike a mountain today.” That’s why I can’t figure out why AA1F and I keep doing exactly that.
“There’s 60% chance of rain in Jaffrey at 3pm, and the sun is setting at 4:21pm today. We can probably get on the road at 11am and get there by 1pm. Think we’ll have time?” Sure! Because to me, time is a personal, relative concept. Of course we will have time! There’s nothing but time!
Mount Monadnock is possibly the most climbed mountain in the world. In fact, you have to make reservations to simply park at the trailhead now. And pay $15 bucks. The blizzard the week before had dumped 14 inches of snow on the trail, and today, New Year’s Eve, there was hardly any left. The couple days of 50°F+ weather had made the trail a mixture of wet rock, slush, stream bed, and ice. The visitors’ center was renting headlamps and microspikes to less experienced hikers. Its been a long time since I hiked Monadnock and its 3.8 mile roundtrip trail. We chose the White Dot. I did not pay much attention to this sign when I passed it, or perhaps I would have chosen the less steep White Cross Trail. Especially since it was close to 2pm, and I knew we would be coming down in the dark.
AA1F took pictures of signs. I of course was hiking at my usual slow pace and it was quite foggy, so there were not a lot of pictures of me or scenery to take. And just like it says…0.95 miles into the trip, i.e. halfway.
AA1F and I met up again for the approach over the bald summit. I expect the temperatures were now in the 40s, it was raining, wind was strong enough to push us around, and visibility could be measured in a few dozen feet.
None of this was enough to stop AA1F from posing for the perfect adventurer shot…
As soon as we were in the activation zone we started calling cq on 146.52FM.
We made it to the summit, with the sign pointing the way to RT 124 above and the actual summit survey marker below. Ken KB1HXO and a few other local hams were our heroes for the day! We got our 4 contacts and never had to break out the HF rig. Mount Monadnock (W1/HA-009), at 3119 feet elevation, was worth 4 SOTA points. And with winter bonus points, and additional 3.
I did a little happy dance around the geomarker. Which apparently did not please Mama Nature who attempted to blow me right off the side of the mountain. Did I mention that the sun was setting a 4:21pm? My last contact was made at 3:55pm.
By the time we got back to this trail marker on our way down, the sun had officially set. This was only a tenth of a mile from the summit. This would be one of the most treacherous descents we have ever made in the dark. Monadnock, despite its short trail and popularity, had a 1900 foot elevation gain from the headquarters parking lot, most of which was made over a mile and half, and included many areas of rock scrambles where hands as well as feet were necessary for the climb. We had opted to not use our microspikes on the way up, and to put them on for the way down.
This is me descending down a rock staircase in the pitch black by headlamp.
There wasn’t a whole lot to photograph as the entire mountain was buried in darkness. So a New Year’s Eve selfie smooch it was!
So there you have it. Another cold winter descent of a monadnock. In this case, THE monadnock, Mount Monadnock!
(Just a quick note: AA1F and I may look a bit goofy. Our gear choices are not always top of the line branded outfitter purchases. We carry full frame packs on day hikes. We have radios tucked into our shoulder straps. We wear duck boots. When I am not wearing crocs that is. Rangers and strangers routinely ask us if we are prepared for the elements at a single glance at our get-ups. I hike very slow uphill and like to complain about it to every passing hiker. Let me put it this way…we look inexperienced. We are not. My point is, don’t do this. Night hiking, particularly in the kind of conditions that we were in on Mount Monadnock, is extremely dangerous. AA1F and I have hiked 100s of mountains together for nearly 30 years. We are very aware of our limits and capabilities. After 3pm, we saw only 1 single other person and were by far the last vehicle in the parking lot by the time we got down. Seriously, don’t do this.)
Yours,
KM1NDY