Nice photos. Thanks for the shot of Spiltor. That's my first night's stop.Originally Posted by Chickety
How long did it take you to go up and down Dublin Trail?
Frosty
We actually hiked up the Marlboro Tr. and then took the Dublin down (as not to have to back track anywhere)
The trip down Dublin to Old Troy Rd took us 1.5 hours (and we were going slow because of all that ICE)
From the summit to the campsite was about 3.5 hours
campsite - Nelson Rd was 1.5 hours (with lots of picture taking and stopping at the Gorge, which was beautiful) The gorge is very close to the campsite and it's not steep at all to get there (like the guide book says)
FYI - Last year it took us 3 hours to get from Rte 9 to Pitcher Mtn, from there it was less than 5 hours to the town of Washington
We will be back out there on Monday....maybe we'll cross paths! Planning to pick up where we left off on Nelson Rd - Rte 9 and then who knows!
Have fun!
Thanks for the info. I know I won't be able to leave until Sunday afternoon, but I'll try to start as early as possible so as not to set up camp in the dark.
My plan is to take it slowly, stop at Spiltor, Crider Shelter, and Washington Shelter, but if it's that quick to Washington, I'll probably keep walking and skip Crider.
If you start from 9 and hike north, you'll probably pass me (unless you start early and get on the tgrail before I do). I'll be at Spiltor Monday night.
Hope to see you on the trail!
Tom (who will be the tall, bearded guy stumbling along, map in hand and quizzical look on face)
attemted MSG thru-hike cut short due to icy wet conditions at Monadnock
Well we made it over Grand Monadnock anyways.
Monday night my boyfriend and I camped out at Monadnock state park. We had inteded to start the MSG, no-bo, that day, but that morning was quite busy with finalizing plans for our trip to Springer next Sunday, so we decided to begin hiking on Tuesday morning.
Tuesday morning was quite wet and a little chilly, so we waited until 10:30 or so to begin the ascent of Grand Monadnock via the White Dot trail. It was drizzly and very foggy. About 1/4 of the way up we started noticing all of this ice on the ground. Many of the trees were covered in ice on their leaves and it was off and on hailing. A big chunk of ice hit me right in the back of my head and I accused my boyfriend of throwing ice at me until another one hit my in the head again just as I was saying "yes you did!!!!"
This was my first hike at Grand Monadnock and when we finally reached the halfway sign we were a little discouraged. We kept thinking for sure that the top was within sight. Especially after we passed the EXTREMELY MISLEADING "top" sign with arrow. I plan to write a letter to monadnock state park telling them to move the sign up maybe another thousand feet or so. The upper part of the mountain was very icey. Especially the part that is open rock face. It was so icey in fact that we had to use our hiking poles to crack open the ice on the rocks so that we would have sturdy footholds. Most of the time we were practically crawling up the ice cold runnoff streams because at this point, the wet rocks and the water were safer to walk in than walking over the ice. When we neared the summit the wind started to pickup and by this time we were both soaked through with sweat and rain. Plus it was hailing and raining on us like, well I can't think of a good simile, but it was like hell. At the top we had a lot of trouble locating the Dublin trail too. There was a few moments there were I just thought to myself, this is it, we're going to die on top of this mountain, at least our bodies will be well preserved... but that was all just crazy/hunger/madness talk. We used my compass to find south and headed that way until we finally found the Dublin trail and began the descent. The Dublin trail was a lot more like the Dublin River. I had a few nasty falls on the way down too once I was starting to get really tired. Once we got below the treeline I never felt so relieved in all my life. We decided to cut the trip short then and there at the trail register at the bottom. We walked about 5-7 miles or so on backroads to Route 101, and then walked another 3 miles along 101 trying to hitchhike. By this time the rain was pouring and it was getting pretty dark. Thankfully, some very kind college kids picked us up and gave us a ride all the way back to our car. About 30 cars passed us before them spalshing water on us as they whizzed by. I think those kids may just have been my our first trail magic. The ascent of the mountain took us about four hours, the descent 3 hours (what with all the falling over), and than another 2 hours roadwalking. Quite a day. I think I will wait until summer or early fall to attemt another thru hike of this trail. It is not as fun during the rainy season. Frosty, if you're reading this I hope your traverse of the Monadnock went better than ours. On the good side, this was still a great shakedown for us, and we feel very confident of our strengths now. Plus, the morning before our climb we got our pack weights down a lot to both of us carrying about 30 lbs with 4 days worth of food. I can't wait to hit Springer Mountain next week. Even if it rains for a month at least it won't be hailing!!!! -I hope. See you all on the trail!!
-Lorac and Hobo Joe
The woods are lovely, dark and deep/ but I have promises to keep/ and miles to go before I sleep. ~R. Frost
Chickety, I attempted a thru of the MSG starting last SUnday morning, starting at Monadnock Ranger Station. White Dot was fine going up (south-facing slope), but I was done in by Dublin Trail on the way down. Took an awful spill and bounced off a couple rocks, grabbed a tree to stop myself, and wrenched my back. Made it to Childs Bog outlet that night and camped there. Next day back hurt, and had to quit at Rte 9.
Will probably go back next week and finish. I still get a twinge in my back when I twist a certain way, though it is higher up, almost between myshoulder blades, so I might have just pulled a muscle when I stopped myself. I ruined a pair of gloves (tore the palm out of the left one) trying to grab rocks to stop myself before the tree saved me.
Tom
Frosty
Holy moly!
That ice was awful, your fall could have been alot worse. Though any type of back injury stinks, hopefully it is just a pulled muscle and you will be back out on the trail soon.
OSL and I had cars spotted at Nelson Rd (right after Childs Bog) and at Rte 9 last Monday, too bad we didn't see you to save you any hassle you went through.
On a good note.........the weather looks to be beautiful for this upcoming week!
I posted more pictures on the same link as above for Section 5 (Lovewell Mtn) and it is a great section!! The Max Isreal campsite is in a wonderful area to camp, lots of moose sign and very quite area.
Have fun when you get back out there!
Sounds like you weren't alone taking spills on Dublin Trail though, Lorac and Hobo Joe had a similar Dublin Experience. It can only get better!
Heh heh. Well, I didn't have much ice going up White Dot, but plenty coming down Dublin Trail. Once past Old Troy Road, the trail was fine, except that I'd hurt my back a bit on one fall.
It was more sore the next day, so I left the trail at Route 9. I'm going to finish it starting May 1.
I started a Trail Journal on it. Right now it only has my bummer misadventures of Day 1. I'll put Day 2 in this afternoon. After May 3, it should make for more fun reading as what else could possibly go wrong? (Should I have said that?)
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=58358
Frosty
Chickety - I found your note!
Chickety, I was finishing the northern half of my MSGT hike this past weekend, and yesterday was atop Lovewell. I went to sign the trail register and saw your "Hello Frosty" note. I can't tell you how nice it was to see it, and what a surprise it was. Thank you.
At the summit with me was Steve Hansen, who owns some of the land on which the MSGT runs. He was doing some trail maintenance. He enjoyed my shout of laughter when I saw the note, and also that people were deriving so much pleasure from the trail. With so many Nat'l FOrest trails in NH, I tend to forget that the MSGT is one of many trails that run mostly on private property with the permission of many landowners.
Again, thaks for the note. It really brightened my day!!!!
Frosty
Frosty - You're welcome!
Congrats on finishing!!
I knew you'd be passing through there at some point! You're welcome for the hello, glad it brightened your day!!
If the weather holds out, OSL and I will finish it next Monday, then I'll try to set 3-4 days aside sometime and backpack it all at once. It is a beautiful trail.
Alas, I finished the norhtern part, but still have a hole in the middle south of Washington. Just a day hike. I'm going out of town until mid-June, but then I'll do the missing bit.Congrats on finishing!!
I knew you'd be passing through there at some point! You're welcome for the hello, glad it brightened your day!!
If the weather holds out, OSL and I will finish it next Monday, then I'll try to set 3-4 days aside sometime and backpack it all at once. It is a beautiful trail.
I also would like to do an end-to-end backpack, perhaps early July. My summer plans include the Long Trail, and Ikeep thinking about hiking from Long Island Sound to North Pack via the RI North-South Trail, the MA Mid-State Trail, and NH Wapack Trail.
So many trails, so little time.
Frosty
Frosty - found your note!
Hey Frosty!!
OSL and I finished our MSGT hike today! Saw your note in the mailbox (thanks!!) and Happy Late Birthday!!
Loved the walking the Sunapee Ridge! And Lucia's Lookout, amazing! What great views in all directions!
When we got near the Sunapee parking lot, OSL saw that the white blazes continued on where we were turning off.............
"Where's that go?" he asked.
I told him about the Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge trail and his eyes lit up...........
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