
We hadn’t hiked much this spring, so we headed up Mt Monadnock one Sunday during a brief break in the rain. The wind forecast was good, so we brought our kites. We saw our first glimpse of the mountain driving west from Jaffrey. It looked bleak. Thick gray clouds engulfed the shoulders and top of the mountain.
The rocks were soaking wet from heavy damp air on top of cold ground. We found a variety of small critters including an ant and a beetle in a life of death struggle for lunch. The beetle escaped and ran away. The spring had been so cold and damp that most of the lady slippers did not bloom. They put out two leaves and stopped there.
A bit after the bend where the Marlboro trail turns to climb steeply uphill, Isaac complained his heels were hurting. This was the second time he had issues with blisters this year. His new lighter-weight socks didn’t seem to have helped. I bandaged his heels and flattened out the socks as much as I could.
Shortly before the intersection with the Marion Trail, the Marlboro trail pokes out of the trees onto open slabs. Here we found the wind we anticipated for flying kites. The ravens soared above us, zooming left and right. The rocks were drier here. I presumed because of the wind. The wind direction wasn’t favorable for flying kites right there. We needed to continue up to the ridge. The weather up top looked milder than when we started. There was now space between the summit and the bottom of the clouds.
From the ridge, Isaac could see up to the summit. He decided reaching the top was more urgent than flying kites. We continued up to the peak. There we found the wind far too strong to fly kites. It was also late enough that we chose to just head back down.
Hiking back down was slow. Isaac had to carefully scramble and climb down the rocks. Thankfully they had all dried off before we descended. Just above the tree line, we saw Tyson’s dad flying a scenic ride around the mountain. We found a few iridescent green beetles on the rocks. Once we reached level ground, Isaac charged off faster than Tyson’s knees could keep up.
All Photos
- caterpillar -- Comments (0)
- Emilie and Isaac inspecting a caterpillar -- Comments (0)
- Isaac climbed a rock -- Comments (0)
- Mushroom -- Comments (0)
- View through a rotten log -- Comments (0)
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- Tyson -- Comments (0)
- Lady slipper -- Comments (0)
- Isaac and Tyson at the bend where the trail gets steeper. -- Comments (0)
- Emilie and Isaac hiking up -- Comments (0)
- Applying blister pads to Isaac’s heels. -- Comments (0)
- Beetle right after escaping an ant -- Comments (0)
- Isaac and Tyson trying to climb a slippery rock -- Comments (0)
- Flowers -- Comments (0)
- Ravens soaring -- Comments (0)
- Isaac photographing the aquatic life -- Comments (0)
- Isaac’s picture -- Comments (0)
- Tyson ready to go after lunch -- Comments (0)
- View out to Perkins Pond and Gap Mountain -- Comments (0)
- Junction with the Marian trail -- Comments (0)
- Bunchberries -- Comments (0)
- Emilie and Isaac surveying the view from the Marian trail -- Comments (0)
- Isaac and Tyson scrambling up the boulders -- Comments (0)
- Isaac following Emilie up a slab -- Comments (0)
- Isaac jumping across a water feature near the summit of Monadnock -- Comments (0)
- Ravens soaring -- Comments (0)
- Dublin and Marlboro trail junction -- Comments (0)
- Emilie and Isaac being blown off the summit of Monadnock -- Comments (0)
- Tyson and Isaac on top of Monadnock -- Comments (0)
- Still windy hiking back down -- Comments (0)
- flower -- Comments (0)
- Cotton grass in an alpine bog -- Comments (0)
- Tyson heading down -- Comments (0)
- Emilie helping Isaac down climb a steep slab -- Comments (0)
- The ash wasn’t blooming yet -- Comments (0)
- Green beatle. -- Comments (0)
- Blueberry flowers starting to wilt -- Comments (0)
- Tyson still favors his kneed hiking down -- Comments (0)
- Isaac caught by a sudden gust of air -- Comments (0)
- Sheep laurel or relative growing in a crack -- Comments (0)
- Raven still soaring -- Comments (0)
- Harvey flying a scenic tour around Monadnock -- Comments (0)
- Over half way back down to Perkins Pond -- Comments (0)
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