Climbing Boulders to the Top of Mt Monadnock

Yesterday we joined friends Ed and Li and eight others for a hike up Mount Monadnock in Jaffrey NH. The day was bright and a fall chill was in the air, and when we reached the state park at the base, we had hundreds of fellow hikers to join us in the ascent. Here's a photo posted by Dave on the 'Net.

Monodnock is a rocky mountain, and the climb really was that--clamboring over boulders, over long faces of granite, we were scrambling between large and small rocks where the trail is just a white dot showing which rock to scale next. Unlike other mountains, where a trail takes you winding up and around to the top, Monadnock just points you up and says 'climb over those rocks.' But when we all got to the top, joined by dozens of others, it was exhilharating, looking out 360 over the surrounding countryside.

It's the biggest mountain for fifty miles around, so there is nothing but view, and the way down was even steeper, jumping from rock to rock. Some chile and a few beers back at Ed and Li's house made those sore legs feel a little better.