Man-Nad Knockin’
Yesterday my friend Janine and I decided to climb Mt. Monadnock, which some say is the second most hiked mountain in the world after Mt. Fuji. I don’t know about that, but I do know that it’s a 3165-foot pile of relentless bare granite that’ll challenge even seasoned hikers.
Although it was nearly December, we had great weather. It was sunny and about 50 degrees at the base, and although there was a light breeze, we went up the lee side of the mountain. So the climb was pretty pleasant until we got within about 50 feet of the summit, when we were exposed to a cold wind and 40 degree temperatures.
The White Dot “trail” was basically a boulder-strewn washout gully, and it ascended a number of very improbable ridges of unrelieved rock. It made for a very tiring ascent, and we still had to be very careful with our footing during our descent down the “less steep” White Cross “trail”.
Although we went less than 3.5 miles in total, the bare rock and steep slope often reduced us to hands-and-knees, and we were hard-pressed to get up and down in four hours.
The only thing in my experience I can compare it to is my ascent up Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh, which isn’t a very good simile. Arthur’s Seat isn’t especially rocky, and there’s a smooth road that leads halfway up. Once you leave the road it’s just as steep, but it’s mostly sod rather than rock, and Arthur’s Seat is only 825 feet: a mere third the height of Mt. Monadnock.
The view from the top was unobstructed and breathtaking, although it was a bit hazy in the distance, and we couldn’t stay long at all, because we were already pushing our time limit for the descent before sunset.
Much of my childhood was spent climbing around rocks on the craggy coast of Maine, so I really enjoy and I’m pretty comfortable clambering over rugged terrain. The one thing that I missed in my childhood which now causes me trepidation is crawling around on the edge of a 400-foot drop. Ascending is easy, but coming back down again can be pretty nerve-wracking.
And lots of respect to Janine for getting through the entire trek, too. She’d been up Monadnock once before, in a mist that slickened the rocks and made for a hair-raising experience.
It was my first time on the mountain, although I’ve biked the road up 2200-foot Pack Monadnock, 15 miles to the northeast. Overall, it was a great but draining experience. And now I have a real good idea why they call New Hampshire “the Granite State”.