You Are Here: Wantastiquet-Mondanock Trail

Chipping away at this long trail. Per some intel from a fellow hiker, I drove to California Brook Rd in Swanzey to do an out and back on the Wantastiquet-Monadnock Trail. When I arrived initially at the point where the Class VI portion of California Brook Rd begins, I saw some No Trespassing signs that threw me off.. but the more I looked at them, I believe they were referring to the land alongside the road itself, as there was a sign that said "Pass with Caution" and "Unmaintained Road" so I figured they wouldn't have those signs if it was forbidden to access. So I carefully headed down as far as you could drive. For a Class VI road, it was actually in really great shape. A couple rough spots, but nothing compared to some of the Class VI roads I have driven down to access a trail ;) I parked in a small cleared area just before the trail intersection and got myself ready. Once on trail, I needed to do an out and back in each direction, so I headed to my left first. It was about 1.5 miles back to the last place I reached in April, but totally different conditions as it was snowy back then. I was surprised that there was quite a bit more actual trail than I had anticipated, I was expecting a Class VI type road the entire way, and while there was definitely some of that, there was also a lot of trail. It was rather overgrown in some places, but thankfully well blazed so I had no navigation issues. It was very leafy on the trail portion which hid lots of rocks and roots. I really didn't enjoy this section so much, so by the time I reached the small pond I had chosen as my turnaround point in April, I decided I was done for the day. I backtracked to the car and instead of doing an out and back in the other direction, called it a day. Fast forward a week, and I came back to grab the next out and back section. Expecting more of the same from last week, I was pleasantly surprised that this section was much more pleasant. There was still more trail than I had anticipated, but there were no overgrown sections, which just makes Class VI walking so much nicer. I actually went a little further than I had planned as I was enjoying myself so much. Once I reached the Horatio Colony Preserve along Forest Ave (Class VI), I ventured down Bailey Brook Trail for just over half a mile, choosing a random spot that I could easily identify on the map as my turnaround point. There was absolutely nothing of scenic value along this entire section, but I did see 2 porcupines! I have just over 3 miles left in Horatio Colony Preserve to finish the Wantastiquet-Monadock Trail in full.

Strava Activity

Strava Activity Part 2