52 With A View: Mount Monadnock

Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020 - So far I have done four of the "52 With A View":

Today I'm going to tackle the closest one: Mount Monadnock - I can print a smaller map in the future!

I don't know - this "50 With A View" still look like a lot of mountains!


I am stopping by the Bedford Library, so this should be a great afternoon hike:


This morning I discovered that there is a "Parking Policy" at New Hampshire State Parks, and that I need to purchase a parking pass for the day. It is $15 (plus $1 for handling), but I got a $15 credit because of my Lifetime-Senior National Parks pass (I still had to pay the processing fee). So my first stop was Headquarters:

A nice lady at the booth clarified the situation: There are six parking areas for Mount Monadnock, only 3 of which need a parking pass. Pumpelly Trailhead does not need a pass, but since this is their only funding, "THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SUPPORTING OUR STATE PARKS!!!!".

I drove up-and-around, and parked right across from beautiful Dublin Pond:


and headed up Pumpelly Trail at 1:14


Very pretty (and flat) trail for the first mile-and-1/2:


Then you hit some pretty-steep uphill:

Which breaks out onto your first-of-many sections of "slab hiking" - looking forward:

and looking back:



I really like this ridge-line:


And sometimes you break out, and can see where you are going:


Looking back, you can see the cairns that I will need to follow on my way back down:


Following a guy on my way up:


Graffiti from 1871:


Up on the summit at 3:13





Views from the summit:




A few minutes later, heading back down Pumpelly Trail:

Can you see the hiker-in-red?

On my way back down, a pretty view of Thorndike Pond:


A final photo, at 4 PM, of where I'm heading::


I finished at 5 PM - 8.45 miles in 3 hours 46 minutes:



I got home 2 hours later, to a great dinner and a hot bath! Thank you God for this Wonderful "52 With A View" Day!

Driving music from my ripped-in-2000 cds:

Ray Charles - Anthology, 1988


Joni Mitchell - Song to a Seagull, 1968 debut album


"Cactus Tree" lyric:

"There's a man who's climbed a mountain
And he's calling out her name
And he hopes her heart can hear three thousand miles"

The Temptations - Anthology, 1986 double-cd

42 songs, including "My Girl", "Ain't Too Proud To Beg", "I Wish It Would Rain", "Cloud Nine", "Psychedelic Shack", and "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)". Pretty Cool.

Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about visiting Art Museums and National Parks (and hiking in the Rockies)
hyperlink: dixonheadingwest
http://dixonheadingwest.blogspot.com/