You might fall on your butt, so make sure you have the right shoes.

This past Saturday, the weather was beautiful!! 41 degrees and sunny!  WOOO!  Yes, I know.  I am a true New Englander when I think that 41 and Sunny is gorgeous.  We just had a LITTLE snow, so I knew I could find a trail that I could walk.

Right off of 101 West, in the middle of Temple, on the way to Keene, you may have noticed or even been to, Miller State Park.  If you take a right, heading West, into the Park, you'll see the beginning trail for the South Side of Pack Monadnock.  According to Trailfinder, here's a description of the trail I hiked on Saturday:

Wapack Trail from Miller State Park entrance to summit of South Pack: (1.4 mi) This yellow-blazed trail starts with a steep scramble, skirts ledges, and passes two caves before heading into a spruce forest and reaching the summit. It is a section of the longer Wapack Trail, a 21-mile footpath that extends south from this region to Mt. Watatic in Ashburnham, MA.

I admit, I didn't know any of the above description of the trail before I left and to be honest, if I did, I probably wouldn't have gone.  I highly recommend the mountain, no matter what shape you are in.  You don't have to go all the way to the top, but I bet once you get on that trail, you'll want to.

I hiked the trail not only for the exercise on a beautiful New England day, but also for my Mom who passed away three years ago yesterday.  She couldn't walk toward the end of her life and I wanted to take her memories with me to the top.  She would have loved the view.

Big thank you to John and John, two older gents who helped me up when I fell on my butt coming down the mountain because there was a significant amount of ice.  They were years older than me, had the right shoes and in waaaay better shape.

 

 

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