You Are Here: North Pack Monadnock

When life gives you lemons, grab your squad and go hike a mountain. That's exactly what I did today. Weather was beautiful, if not a little hazy. We headed for North Pack Monadnock in Greenfield to hike Ted's Trail and Carolyn's Trail with a little out and back on a section of the Cliff Trail to reach the actual summit. I had read Ted's Trail was the more scenic of the 2 in this section, and that turned out to be true. Laura, Vanessa, Mindy (Laura's pooch) and I got a little later start than normal and the street was already busy with cars. There is a pullout with room for 3 or 4 cars, then it's roadside with all the obvious precautions about keeping the roadway clear. We did encounter a lot of people on both the way up and back, but thankfully it never felt overwhelmingly crowded. Ted's Trail starts off gradually, crosses a few brooks (all bridged) before reaching the intersection where Carolyn's Trail forks off to the right. We kept to the left on Ted's Trail, which slowly started to climb, but nothing crazy. The best part was it followed a brook for a quite a while, with lots of little cascades. It was so pretty. As the climb continues along the brook you actually reach a waterfall, which is beautiful. It's only a baby waterfall, but so peaceful. A bridge allows you to get right up and personal with the waterfall too! After that area, the trail moves away from the brook and continues to climb before reaching some ledges with lovely views south into Massachusetts. We stopped here for lunch. At the intersection of Ted's Trail and the Cliff Trail, a spur continues a few yards further with the best viewpoint of the day. Highly recommend taking this short spur. Unobstructed views across to Pack Monadnock and surrounds. We headed north on Cliff Trail which gently climbs to the summit of North Pack. A really large cairn and signpost mark the summit. There aren't any great views as the trees are starting to fill in, but there is one peekaboo view straight across to Monadnock which is pretty. Back down Cliff's Trail a little way and we took Carolyn's Trail down. It starts off rather steeply with some ledges and views, but then re-enters the woods and is a pleasant hike back down. The most exciting part on this trail, was we reached a signed intersection that said "Wet Season Trail" and "Dry Season Trail". We could see a boardwalk on the Dry Season trail and thought that might be fun (even though it is wet season right now with higher water from snow melt).. we headed down that way only to quickly discover it was in fact flooded over! Back to the intersection and onto the actual Wet Season Trail we went. We rejoined Ted's Trail and arrived back at the trailhead. The road was filled with cars this time, that's what happens on a perfect weather day!

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