Ascending Mt. Monadnock

As we approach our one year anniversary here in New Hampshire I find it unacceptable that the Endacott family hasn't ventured to the top of the most frequently climbed mountain in North America. So Jackson and I went to climb it. Mt. Monadnock is climbed by over 120,000 people each year and is second only to Mt. Fuji which sees about 150,000 climbers each year. Mt. Monadnock was first climbed in the middle of the 1740's and its base was used for sheep pasture land in the 1800's. The top of Mt. Monadnock is bare rock, although not because it is above natural tree line. The summit is 3,165 feet above sea level. The top is bare because fires were deliberately set to the mountain 3 times. The first two times the mountain was set on fire, the intent was to clear the land for grazing. The third time a fire was set, it was to destroy the dens of wolves who had taken up a convenient place to live right next to some fat sheep. The top of the mountain lost a great deal of its soil to erosion and trees never grew again. That's why Mt. Monadnock currently looks like this (not my pic).


Even though Mt. Monadnock is about 70 miles from the Atlantic coast, it is possible to see it from a ship on a clear day. Unfortunately yesterday was not a clear day. The mountain has been the inspiration for art and literature. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote a poem after visiting the mountain:

Thousand minstrels woke within me,
"Our music's in the hills; "—
Gayest pictures rose to win me,
Leopard-colored rills.
Up!—If thou knew'st who calls
To twilight parks of beech and pine,
High over the river intervals,
Above the ploughman's highest line,
Over the owner's farthest walls;—
Up!—where the airy citadel
O'erlooks the purging landscape's swell.
Let not unto the stones the day
Her lily and rose, her sea and land display;
Read the celestial sign!
Lo! the South answers to the North;
Bookworm, break this sloth urbane;
A greater Spirit bids thee forth,
Than the gray dreams which thee detain.

There's more, but seriously... Yawn...

It was a nice day to climb yesterday. Jax and I drove the 25 minutes to the state park parking lot and then we started up the slope. The first mile of the trail we chose was a road that used to lead to a hut halfway up the hill. It burned down about 40 years ago. Jackson found himself a walking stick to help him out.



The trail then turned into a wooded trek up a rocky slope that also serves as a water runoff in the spring. Jackson really liked climbing up the rocks and sliding down the biggest ones.



We had to stop for lots of water breaks and Jackson was really good at finding rocks to rest on.



As we got further up the mountain the trail became a lot steeper and the climbing became a lot tougher. Jackson poses here in front of some of the rocks we climbed.



Once we got above the tree line it was a lot harder to follow the path. Fortunately, Jackson was very adroit at finding the white arrows that are painted on the rocks to help climbers stay on track. In the picture below you can see one of the white arrows that Jackson found just a bit further up ahead.


Finally (after 2 hours) we made it to the summit. Here's a (hazy) pic of the view of our climb. The water you see in the distance is very close to where we parked our car and started our hike.





Jackson poses moments after he conquered the summit.

There were about 30 people at the summit when we got there. It was very windy.


Jackson eats a granola bar for some energy before we head down.


Jackson and Daddy pose together at the top.

When we reached the top I promised Jackson that if he made it all the way down the mountain without complaining (tall order!) that I'd take him out to eat some dinner after we got back to Keene. He decided that he wanted to go to Chili's because, "They have the best pizza in the whole world!" The entire way down the mountain he talked about how he was looking forward to his Chili's pizza. He didn't complain (much), which might have had something to do with the fact that I carried him piggy back for the last mile after we made it to the gravel road. I was really proud of Jackson and he was very excited that he climbed a mountain at only 4 years old! We drove straight to Chili's and Jackson promptly ordered the Macroni & Cheese.