Mt. Monadnock via White Arrow, Smith Summit, Great Pasture, Mossy Brook, Cart Path (Monadnock State Park)

Mt. Monadnock via White Arrow, Smith Summit, Great Pasture, Mossy Brook, Cart Path (Monadnock State Park)

Hike Type: Lollipop Loop

Distance: 5.18 miles

Elevation: 1,693 feet

Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes (2 hours, 16 minutes moving)
Hiking Challenges: Monadnock Redliner (2x)

The Hike

Still running on the high from last week's NH48 and 52WAV grand finale, I wanted to finish one more hiking challenge this weekend - my second round of hiking all the trails on Monadnock! I only needed Mossy Brook and Cart Path, but I added on the summit and Monte Rosa for funsies. I woke up at 5:00am and got slightly delayed on my departure due to a mouse sitting (and pooping) in the middle of my kitchen. I was able to trap it under a large tupperwear and placed the laundry detergent on top to keep it sealed - thankfully Ray dealt with the disposal. I stopped at the Leominster Cumberland Farms for breakfast and definitely overate, oops! I was at the Old Toll Road trailhead just after 7:00am and joined five other cars. My tummy was in a mood and I only was able to lightly christen, so this was going to be interesting! It was a cool 47 degrees out with clear skies and a bright, orange sunrise through the trees from the trailhead. My pack was feeling comically lighter than last week's with half as much water and no champagne!

[7:15am - Old Toll Road]

I decided to keep the beginning of the hike low-brain and followed the Old Toll Road up. The foliage along the road was a mix of greens and yellows, but with a decently bare canopy overhead - definitely a strange foliage season with the drought! I was feeling comfortable with my long sleeve wool shirt from Backcountry, shorts, and liner gloves. I was moving quickly, though, just to keep comfortable. 

[7:26am - Old Toll Road/Parker Trail]

[7:35am - Old Toll Road/Cart Path]

Just after the junction with the Parker Trail, a little mouse scurried across the trail (which was fitting considering how I started my day...) along with many, MANY chipmunks. Next was the junction with the Cart Path, which started the lollipop portion of this loollipop loop. When the Old Toll Road turns sharply right and becomes my dream home's driveway, the White Arrow Trail continues ahead.

[7:37am - White Arrow Trail]

[7:38am - White Arrow Trail/Old Halfway House Site]

The trail's grade does not really increase once on the White Arrow Trail (initially), but it becomes very rocky. I crossed paths with my first person of the day (he was running down the trail), and then arrived at the Halfway House Site, which had a nice view out to the lowlands and also to a high crag of Mt. Monadnock, which was drenched in sunlight.

[7:40am - White Arrow Trail/Royce Trail]

[7:41am - White Arrow Trail/Fairy Spring Trail]

The trail was flat for a slight moment after the Halfway House Site, passing the Royce and Fairy Spring junctions, and then the real climb began! The White Arrow Trail climbed a nice section of steps followed by a moderate climb in the foods that led to another short walking break. Person #2 crossed paths with me here and offered up a "Howdy!" There was another steady moderate section after the walking break and I could hear people having conversation through the woods on the Side Foot Trail. I was moving quickly, enough to get my heart rate up, but not enough to full knock me down - feeling good! 

The red squirrels started to wake up and simultaneously lose their minds around 7:50am, my big breakfast was NOT feeling great in my tummy, and the White Arrow Trail began to steepen and climb up to the junction with the Amphitheatre Trail - the trail was a little wet in this area.

[7:56am - White Arrow Trail/Amphitheatre Trail]

The steepness levels out again after crossing with the Amphitheatre Trail into a lovely little grove that I remember from one of my early Monadnock hikes of still having ice in April (I now know how normal that is). The White Arrow Trail climbs out of the grove and then leaves the tree line, leading to the summit on a rough, scrambly, and beautiful trail. There were hazy morning views to Gap Mountain and beyond, and once higher up, the sun felt absolutely divine. It was a bit windy, but I felt good as long as I kept moving.

I got a little off-trail a couple of time, as my vision was impaired due to the sun shining directly into my eyes. Near the final scramble, I caught up to two guys who were hiking with jeans and walking sticks (like, the actual stick kind). I passed them after the scramble, and made it to the shockingly empty summit!

[8:13am - Mt. Monadnock Summit]

I planned to "hit and quit" the summit - one because I was cold, but also because I was stressing about the mouse situation at home. I tested out my new cheap-o anemometer from Amazon, and it read the wind at 15-20mph and 50 degrees, which all added up! It was really beautiful up top, even as the wind tried to make me do a pirouette when it hit my bag. 

[8:18am - Smith Summit Trail]

From the summit, I found my way to the Smith Summit Trail (medium difficult to find at first glance - between the White Arrow and M/D) and started my scrambly descent. This trail reminds me of an advanced game of connect the dots - it's not easy to follow in the slightest, but there will always be another dot to connect to, you just have to find it! 

Eventually, the Smith Summit Trail leaves the open, expansive views and dipps into the trees, which was a welcome reprieve from the wind. 

[8:33am - Smith Summit Trail/Amphitheatre Trail]

[8:37am - Smith Summit Trail/The Tooth]

A little while after dipping back into the trees, the trail opens up again in a slabby area and passes the junction with the Amphitheatre Trail. This leads to the rock formation known as The Tooth, and I continued to follow the Smith Summit Trail all the way to Monte Rosa, which had a little steep push at the end to the famed weathervane.

[8:40am - Monte Rosa]

I took just a few photos of the view out, the view up to Mt. Monadnock, and the weathervane on Monte Rosa before working my way over to the Great Pasture Trail, which was not easy to find without GPS (and a good guess).

[8:44am - Great Pasture Trail]

The Great Pasture Trail follows a series of slabs at first, marked by just a few carins, and then has its trail sign further down, which was very weathered and hard to see/read. There were great views up to the summit from the slabs, so I wasn't complaining! 

The trail follows a few cairns down and eventually turns left into the woods and plummets down. Thankfully, while the Great Pasture Trail is only blazed in one direction, it was the direction in which I was traveling, so I was always able to find the next yellow rectanglular blaze. The trail soon bottomed out in a beautiful mossy area, which to my understanding is where the Mossy Brook begins.

[8:51am - Mossy Brook Trail]

The Mossy Brook Trail is an absolute delight with just a few sections of possibly slippery footing. It very gradually descends alongside the Mossy Brook in question on the right, and then it crosses over the trickling waters and follows, now on the left. I did feel some... lower abdominal pressure in this area, but thank goodness it soon passed. The yellow rectangular blazing continued on this trail, and before I knew it, the trail turned left and became the Cart Path. 

[9:03am - Cart Path]

[9:12am - Cart Path/Royce Trail]

[9:13am - Cart Path/Old Halfway House Trail]

The character of the trail immediatley changed once on Cart Path. Softwoods changed to hardwoods and the lush, green forest was now open with leaves on the ground and ferns dusted around. It meandered throughout the woods, crossing an old stone wall, and eventually passing the Royce and Old Halfway House Trails before ending at the Old Toll Road.

[9:14am - Old Toll Road]

[9:23am - Old Toll Road/Parker Trail]

I mentally cruised down the Old Toll Road at this point, and was surprised and delighted to not be swimming upstream (I imagined that on a beautiful Sunday, this would be a super busy area - apparently not!). I passed the Parker junction and continued on down, soon arriving back to the porta potties for some unfinished business, and then back to my car for a quick change and a drive to Walmart...

[9:35am - End of Hike]

While my drive home was relatively painless, I was STRESSED about the mouse. I picked up a ton of steel wool and poison from Walmart (in addition to my weekly groceries), and we spent the rest of the day mouse-proofing out kitchen. It's been a few days at the time I am writing this, and so far, so good!

Step-by-Step

- Park at Old Halfway House trailhead.

- Start hike on Old Toll Road.

- At terminus, continue onto White Arrow Trail.

- At summit, descend via Smith Summit Trail.

- At terminus, turn right onto Great Pasture Trail.

- At terminus, turn left onto Mossy Brook Trail.

- At terminus, turn left onto Cart Path.

- At terminus, turn right onto Old Toll Road.

Map of Monadnock State Park

Photo Album