Greetings from the Wapack Trail

Blue skies and beautiful views on the North Pack Monadnock Summit

My dog and I's hike up to the summit of North Pack Monadnock was a little spur of the moment, as I hadn't originally planned to hike today. However, my furry friend was bouncing off the walls on Saturday, itching to get outside, so I figured a quick hike this morning would be just the trick. We set off for this northern most peak along the Wapack Trail just about an hour west of Manchester.

Starting at the northern terminus of the Wapack Trail, this hike was a 3.2 mile round trip, gaining 950 feet of elevation on the way up. I was worried about how damp the trail would be after all the rain we got yesterday, but I was happy to see there were only a few minor muddy spots. None of the small stream crossings along the way were running swiftly either, so it ended up being a "hike as usual" kind of day.

One of the many yellow triangle blazes along the "pine needle soup" trail

The first half of the hike was a gradual climb that felt like a leisurely walk in the woods. For most of the time the trail looked like a pine needle soup with rocks and roots bubbling up to its reddish surface. Yesterday's rains made all of these little obstacles a smidge slicker than they would be usually, so I took a few slippery side steps here and there. With every little stumble my dog would stop and look back at me as if to ask "Can't you navigate this path? It isn't that hard!"

After about halfway a few steep pitches popped up that really got my legs burning. The slick, smooth rock surfaces on the climbs made the ascents slightly more challenging, but nothing crazy or particularly hard to maneuver. On one of the climbs I almost stepped on a small milk snake, who quickly coiled his head back at me when my lime green hiking shoes got a little too close for comfort. I was able to side step him while he froze long enough to grab the picture below.

Milk Snake Along the Climb

The final push up to the summit was reminiscent of the gradual climb at the start, but with smooth rock in place of the pine needles. The blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds created a wonderful backdrop as I took a gander at the nearby summits of South Pack Monadnock and mighty Mount Monadnock further away (see below). On top of the view, the breeze on the summit made two things my dog and I were happy to see disappear for a brief moment: the bugs and the humidity.

View of Mount Monadnock from North Pack Monadnock Summit

We couldn't have asked for a much better day on this short section of the Wapack Trail. I know this trail doesn't get as much credit as bigger traverses around the area, and that the Pack Monadnock summits don't get as much love as Mount Monadnock proper, but I love this stretch of hiking in the southern part of the Granite State. It's great if you still want to get some rock scrambles in like the summit of Mount Monadnock without the arduous climb, and if you're just looking into the idea of doing a traverse, there are several stretches along this 21-mile trail to get your feet wet (Well, hopefully not too wet. Aim for some dry days to start). The Wapack Trail can give you that Goldilocks level of adventure that's just right for your hiking style.

Here are the hiking time breakdowns from my trek today:

• Start at Wapack Trail northern terminus trailhead - 9:41 a.m.
• Summit of North Pack Monadnock - 10:38 a.m. (57 min., 1.6 mi.)
• Leave summit of North Pack - 11:00 a.m.
• Return to northern terminus trailhead - 11:40 a.m. (1 hr 59 min., 3.2 mi.)

If you'd like to learn more about the Wapack Trail, I highly recommend you check out the Friends of the Wapack Trail website.