Fumbling Around In The Woods: Mt. Monadnock (3,165 ft) 9-29-18

Distance: 5.85 mi.
Elevation: 1,598 ft (overall) 1,892 ft (total)
Time: 1:23 (Bald Rock) 2:26 (Summit) 3:38 (Total)
Trails: Halfway House Trail, Sidefoot Trail, Hedgehog Trail, Smith Connecting Link, Red Spot Trail, Pumpelly Trail, Smith Summit Trail, Smith Bypass, Fairy Spring Trail, White Arrow Trail, Toll Road

After a family function in the middle of the day, I wanted to get in a hike of Mt. Monadnock in the afternoon. I chose to start at the Toll Road trail head today so that I could use the old Hedgehog Trail to get up to Bald Rock
Like normal, I took the Halfway House Trail instead of the Toll Road. I enjoy walking in the woods much more than up a dirt road, and the trail doesn't really have anything that makes it much more difficult in my opinion
I enjoyed the walk through the nice woods the trail follows and was up to the Old Halfway Site in what seemed like not much time (for the distance at least)
After a short break at the Old Halfway House Site, I headed up the Sidefoot Trail which is currently missing its sign. I took this trail for a little ways until I hit the old junction of the now abandoned Hedgehog Trail
There is no longer a sign for the Hedgehog Trail and the start of it is now made to blend in so people that don't know it won't accidentally take it and end up in the wrong spot
The trail was abandoned a few years ago, partly due to how eroded the bottom section of it had gotten. There isn't much top soil in this area and the trail was a bit of a low spot, so it was going to be difficult to divert water away from it with waterbars or anything similar
The middle and upper sections of the trail go through some nice areas though with good smooth footing which makes the trail still enjoyable
From Bald Rock I headed up the Smith Connecting Link. This trail now officially ends at the White Cross Trail, but I planned to follow the rest of the old route all the way over to the Red Spot Trail. I like all of this trail, but near the end it goes over some nice open areas as well
Next I went up the upper end of the Red Spot Trail and hung a left onto the Pumpelly Trail to get to the summit
The summit wasn't too busy for a Sunny Saturday, but it was later in the day than most people would hike here
For my route down I took the Smith Summit Trail since it doesn't seem as steep as the White Arrow and also avoids the crowds
I bypassed Monte Rosa today as I was already a bit later than planned. I then went down the Fairy Spring Trail
From the Old Halfway House Site I did take the road back to the truck rather than the trail. It was nearing sunset and again, I was a bit behind my expected schedule