After a potluck dinner and an evening of enthusiastic—if not always pitch-perfect—karaoke, we set off the next morning for Mount Monadnock State Park. There, we split into two groups. 10 of the more daring souls climbed 3,165’ high Mount Monadnock, a hike rated as “moderate” to “hard” with an elevation gain of 1,771’ over a round-trip distance of about 4.5 miles. The rest of the group chose a comparatively level hike of a couple miles, which was still plenty challenging.
Mount Monadnock is one of the most frequently-climbed mountains in the world. But that doesn’t mean it was easy. As Deryn Graieg, who went with the group of climbers, put it:
“To say it was steep is an understatement! Once we were above the tree-line, we had magnificent views of the surrounding area below…but also of the rest of the climb to the top that was still ahead of us. When we finally reached the top, we perched on the rocky summit, congratulated each other, and enjoyed our well-deserved lunches and snacks surrounded by unbelievable views. The trip back down a rocky ravine that passed for a trail was every bit as steep and challenging—but what a sense of accomplishment we felt at the end!”