Wow. Why haven’t I done any hiking since March? Early this morning I strolled up to Stoddard, NH and had a very enjoyable hike up Pitcher Mountain. I wanted a nice and easy hike somewhere on the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway to try out some new Inov-8 trail runners while wearing my overnight pack with a goodly amount of water stowed. I was treated with some very nice views for very little effort.
Pitcher Mountain is a 2,153 feet (656 m) monadnock located in southwest New Hampshire. The mountain is traversed by the 50 mile (80 km) Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway and offers 360 degree views from its open summit. Lower elevations are wooded with species of the northern hardwood forest type; small stands of coniferous red spruce cling to the upper slopes. A fire tower stands on the summit and a dairy farm occupies the east shoulder of the mountain. Pitcher Mountain is part of an extensive area of heath barrens and blueberry fields that continue north over Hubbard Hill and Jackson Hill.
I have some pics here: http://tobit.hlrse.net/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=22
I want to hike this trail again real soon. Next time, however, I want to hike up even earlier in the morning, before sunrise, so I can be there as big red awakens. This trail is super easy to follow and should be no problem, with a good headlamp, for such a hike.
I’m going to try and spend a lot of time hiking in this area this season so I can try and get in shape for a thru-hike of this trail in October. Next week, I am off to try and tame Mount Monadnock again.
