Marlboro Trail - Marian Trail - Mossy Brook Trail - Cart Path - White Arrow Trail - Monte Rosa Trail - Smith Summit Trail - Marlboro Trail
"Disaster squad strikes again"
Distance: 6.0 miles
Elevation: 2293 feet
Time: 5 hours, 7 minutes
Hiking Challenges: Operation Alaska Benchmark Challenge, 52 Hike Challenge, Summit Beer Society, Monadnock Redliner, [52 With a View]
The Hike
Back on the big rock! It's been a minute since my last hike (Middle Sister and Chocorua) due to the start of the school year, but it was time to get back in the saddle! Weather wasn't looking phenomenal up in the whites, but looked good for Monadnock! Plus side, it's an hour plus closer to home. The plan was to hike the Marlboro Trail, with some smaller trails to make it a loop. The drive in started on a nice dirt road, and then turned into a brutal one. Very slow going, one puddle had a rock jutting out that did scrape the bottom of my CRV, but thankfully the rough portion wasn't too long. There was a porta-potty at the trailhead, so I did some business, got suited up with Gen, and got started!
The first bit of trail was a lovely walk in the woods with a gentle incline, passing a couple of abandoned roads, before starting the climb. As the trail climbed, clouds kept rolling in and out with their classic smell. Further up, the steepness increases, and we passed somebody who saw us huffing and puffing and said "take your time, you picked the steepest one!" - which I don't think is entirely true (I think Spellman is steeper, but I haven't dealt with that yet), but we took the advice (whether we wanted to or not). Eventually, about halfway up the mountain, the trail opens up with some great views and also calms down the steepness - soon after is the junction with the Marian Trail. We didn't see much in terms of views due to the clouds, but we could see a peak at the land below.
The Marian Trail started off with a steep descent with lots of scrambling, and then mellowed out into some scenic woods with lots and lots of moss. There was one section of wet slabs that I avoided, but Gen made it down fine. The Marian Trail terminates in the middle of the beautiful woods, and leads to a choice of the Great Pasture Trail and the Mossy Brook Trail - we thought about taking Great Pasture up to Monte Rosa, but Gen pointed out that the mountain is still in the clouds, so we followed Mossy Brook to extend out trip.
The Mossy Brook Trail quickly became my favorite trail on the mountain so far! Just beautiful walking through moss-covered woods with an appropriately named mossy brook on the side. Just gorgeous! The Mossy Brook Trail terminates at the Cart Path, which is truly just a continuation of the lovely woods. All of this was a great break after the climbing earlier in the day, and definitely worth the elevation loss. The Cart Path crosses the Royce Trail, and then terminates soon after at the Old Toll Road. We followed the Old Toll Road to the White Arrow Trail, and then took a break at the Halfway House site. Lovely peanut butter sandwich!
Continuing our journey, we intended to take the Fairy Spring trail up to Monte Rosa, but we ended up on the Monte Rosa Trail instead, so we took it. It started off gentle and then immediately climbed straight up into some beautiful woods, and then eventually opens right up to the weathervein on Monte Rosa! The views were finally improving and for a brief moment, we could see the summit! We took a moment to enjoy and then started the final leg of the journey - the climb up the Smith Summit Trail to the top of Mt. Monadnock.
The Smith Summit Trail involved a good deal of scrambling, but never anything that felt dangerous, but most things felt steep. We (I) took many breaks on this final push, and the scrambling was very fun! Initially it dipped in and out of the woods, and one section I had to christen due to my poor dinner choice the night before... The closer we got, the more the clouds burned off, and more views revealed! Really amazing rock formations on this mountain. The trail climbs right up to the summit, where there were a fair amount of people. It wasn't as swamped as I've seen it before on busy fall weekends, but there were at least 20-30 people out and about. We booped the summit maker, and then found a nook to take a sit and crack out summit beverages (Kirkland Seltzers, like the classy kids we are).
The Dublin/Marlboro Trails were clearly marked from the summit, and the upper stretch was beautiful with a few short scrambles.... and then it DIPS down. We named this trail a "butt trail" since we spent most of the time doing the classit "sit and scootch." All fun and nothing that felt absurdly dangerous, which was very nice. There were a few wet spots, and Gen did take one hard (but impressive) fall, but overall we escaped unscathed.
We hit the end of our loop at the Marlboro/Marian trail junction, and once we passed the steeper section of Marlboro it was smooth sailing back down the mountain. Gen took one potty break and then we were cruising to the parking lot! The lot had filled up, but it wasn't unreasonably packed. Still room for 6-7 more cars. We were tired and sore, but this was a great hike!
Step-By-Step
- Start hike at Marlboro Trail parking area after CAREFULLY driving on Shaker Farm Road.
- At jct. with Marian Trail, turn right onto yellow-circle-blazed Marian Trail.
- At terminus of Marian Trail, veer right onto yellow-rectangle-blazed Mossy Brook Trail.
- At terminus of Marian Trail, continue to follow footpath onto Cart Path.
- At terminus of Cart Path, turn left onto Old Toll Road.
- At terminus of Old Toll Road, continue straight onto White Arrow Trail.
- At jct. with Monte Rosa Trail, turn left onto Monte Rosa Trail.
- At terminus of Monte Rosa Trail, enjoy views from Monte Rosa, and turn right onto Smith Summit Trail.
- Summit Mt. Monadnock.
- Find sign for Marlboro/Dublin Trail, follow sign and cairns.
- At "Jim's Junction," follow signs for Marlboro Trail.
- Complete loop at jct. of Marlboro/Marian, continue on Marlboro Trail.
- Complete hike at the end of the Marlboro Trail.
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