Limitless Adventure: Monadnock State Park
What’s up, everybody? My name is Ian, and this is Limitless Adventure!
We’re here at Gilson Pond Campground in Monadnock State Park, and today we’re gonna show you a nice, long hiking loop up the eastern slope of Mount Monadnock, starting right from the campsite.
We’re starting out on the Ravine Trail, which follows this brook right to Gilson Pond through a really attractive hemlock ravine.
Now we’re taking the Pond Loop, which connects to Birchtoft Trail. There are some really beautiful views of the mountain here at Gilson Pond — such a peaceful area, just a short hike from the campground.
Now we’re turning off onto Birchtoft Trail to start our climb up the mountain.
The terrain on Birchtoft has been rather gradual, and there are some amazing old stone walls that run through here, reminding us that this all used to be pasture.
After a two-mile gradual climb, we’ve reached the Cascade Link junction. We’re gonna follow this one all the way up to Pumpelly.
We’re starting to get our first open views off of Cascade Link. Down below, we can make out Gilson Pond, Thorndike Pond, and the Wapack Range.
The Old Man may have fallen, but there are still some really great rock formations here in New Hampshire — like this one known as The Imp, right off of Cascade Link.
We’ve had about a mile of moderate climbing, but we’ve made it to the junction with Pumpelly Trail. Now we’re gonna make our way up the ridge.
I’m starting to understand why this is one of the more attractive trails here at Mount Monadnock. I can really feel a chill in the air, and I’m noticing a difference in the makeup of the treeline here. There’s a lot of ledge in the path, but I’m looking forward to some scenic views up ahead.
Right past the Spellman Trail is this really cool glacial erratic known as The Sarcophagus — for obvious reasons.
Another interesting feature along this trail are these alpine bogs, which are surrounded by this beautiful cotton sedge.
Further up on Pumpelly Ridge, this exposed rock gives you incredible sweeping views on both sides.
We’re about a mile up from Cascade Link, and we’ve reached the Red Spot Trail junction. The summit is about a half mile from here, but we’ve had our fair share of views, so now we’re gonna make our way down to the campground.
As is the case with most of Monadnock’s trails, Red Spot is generally steep and rugged, so make sure you come prepared and be careful.
We just met back up with Cascade Link. Up ahead, we’re gonna peel off onto Birchtoft, which will bring us right back to Gilson Pond.
That was an awesome hike! After a long day on the mountain, it feels great to get back and relax by the campfire.
Download transcript (TXT)
