New England GGG #3 Springtime!

[Ryan Linn]

Hey New Englanders!

I'm planning on hiking the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway sometime in April, and thought, "why not invite the other crazies along?" It's a perfect trail for early-season ultralighters– mostly flat with moderate hills and pretty woods-walking, mostly low elevation to avoid mud season hell, several shelters to camp at, and perfect length for a weekend trip.

The Greenway starts at Mt Sunapee and goes to Mt Monadnock, about 55 miles. First campsite is a tentsite 4 miles in, or a shelter 8 miles in. Depending on people's schedules and how fast you want to hike, two or three nights would be ideal to get to Monadnock.

I've got all kinds of free time without a job, but just to throw some dates out there, how are the weekends of April 14 or 21? I can also do weekdays, but we'll see what everyone's availability is like.

[Steven Adeff]

either of those weekends works for me, though I wouldn't be able to take a day off work so I'd be driving up Friday evening and would have to drive back Sunday night.

that also means if anyone wants to carpool up from the Boston area around that time frame I'd be amenable to that.

[Jeremy Osburn]

I want to get a few good trips in this summer so once the temps average in the 50's at night (the poor pup has no fur) I will probably be spending some time in the Catskills.

[Steven Adeff]

Jeremy, post a trip announcement when your ready to head out, I too want to get some time in the Catskills this year!

[Jeremy Osburn]

I have a non-light guy that will hopefully get to join on a trip or two. I had to cancel the Winter presidential traverse on the guys a few days before we were supposed to leave so I can't bail on him again.

[Robert Dolan]

ah I'd LOVE to go on this or any future day or mutliday/overnight adventures… though i'll be in london for those weeks this up coming april..

i'll have to keep an eye out for future ones!

[Clint Hewitt]

Either weekend is good for me.

Are we thinking three days.

I would be getting there around 630 Friday.

I like the sound of it, 55 miles three days, time to get the legs moving a bit!

Hike in 8 and split the remainder between Saturday and Sunday, depending where we decide to camp.

[Jake D]

hmm if it was 3 nights i might be tempted.

depends on the daily mileage i think.

Jake

[Ryan Linn]

I definitely have time to make it a three-nighter. I just proposed the two-night plan for all those folks with jobs :)

Getting in late on friday might make life a little tough, since finding the trailhead and then getting to the campsite might not be as straightforward as other places. Also, parking at the various trailheads isn't a sure thing. The best place for parking is the Mt Sunapee ski resort, and one trail does go to the summit and the Greenway from there, but it's a dull trail. More importantly, hiking in at night might be a little dicey. I guess we did it at the first get-together…

Three nights would also probably be better for most people in case we end up stopping to smell the roses.

[Clint Hewitt]

yea back to the cubicle just in time for summer!

I hear something slowly softly walking away from me…I look around and see my soul, for just a moment glance back, with a slight grumble say: "man I am outta here…reckon one us gotta go for a walk."

So I guess you dont sell your soul to the devil your soul just needs to go for a walk.

Unfortunately I can not take days off for a while since I just started.

I would rather do this hike in three nights. Makes it tough to fit in a weekend

Maybe if I hike out really really early monday morning.

[Ryan Linn]

Well, congratulations on getting a job, Clint. I know the timing probably seems to suck, but it sounds like you've been trying to get a gig for a while… sometimes it's worth a little bit of the soul to be able to eat and pay the bills.

Three nights would be more ideal, yeah… see what you can come up with. Driving from Monadnock back to Maine in the early hours of the morning would be a pretty long haul… maybe not the best idea.

[Steven Adeff]

I'll be better able to take Friday/Monday's off later in the year, until the end of May though we're in our busy season so the only person allowed to take time off is the guy getting married at the end of April.

anyway, in the past, as one of the resident year round cubicle residents, I plan all my hikes to be possible in two days, though I have base camped Friday night to get early starts Saturday morning. I plan to do a few of these this summer as well, so hopefully our newly cubicled friends can possibly join on some of these. But I think for anything that requires 3 days of hiking should be planned out more specifically so we can take the days off or use 3-day holiday weekends.

[Jake D]

ha.. so this could be a hike of the fun-employed. and quite a contrast since Ryan's system is truly dialed and mine is only slightly lightweight and just coming along ;)

[Clint Hewitt]

Thanks Ryan, yea it has been a while and it feels pretty good to be earning some scratch again. Being able to eat is nice.

I am going to see if I can work out some time off, seem like reasonable people, maybe if I work an extra day somewhere I could finagle it.

[Ryan Linn]

Okay, so for the people who think they can make it to this one, any thoughts on which weekend is better? 14th or 21st? The weekend of the 21st works better for me (and Earth Day! We can all be tree huggers!)

Also, about the mileage:
The Greenway plus the approach trail to Sunapee and the return trip down Monadnock total about 52 miles. Definitely possible, but it'll be a haul. Especially since we'll need to do some car shuttling at either end.

Most likely campsites for friday night are either Lake Solitude (a very pretty lake on Sunapee with lots of space for tenting, but no lean-to), or Moose Lookout Lean-to, which is a little further south along Sunapee's ridgeline. Lake Solitude would leave us with a total of 50 miles for Saturday and Sunday. I think we can do it. We'll need pizza or something at the end, though.

[Steven Adeff]

either works for me, though I think the 21st would also be better for me.

[Clint Hewitt]

21st works better for me.

[Ryan Linn]

Sweet. Let's say Friday the 20th through Sunday the 22nd. Time to start getting my three-season backpacking stuff together after a winter in storage…

[Clint Hewitt]

Awesome works for me! Im going to start doing what I can to get my hiking legs under me. I am looking forward to getting out there and opening the season with a great trip.

[Clint Hewitt]

This is contingent on who comes but how will the car situation work?

Pre and Post trip?

[Ryan Linn]

Depending on who gets there earliest, we can leave my car at Monadnock, and I can get a ride with someone to Sunapee. The rest of us can meet at Sunapee or elsewhere (whatever works, but Sunapee is very close to I-89). We can leave the rest of the cars at the ski resort parking lot at Sunapee. Then on Sunday we'll pile into my car and head back to Sunapee to retrieve cars. Everyone can hop right on 89 to get back home.

The parking lots at the ski resort are huge, so we shouldn't have trouble there. The parking lot we'll be using for Monadnock is big enough for a dozen or so cars, and it's the lesser-used trailhead, so also no problem there. I may go check out that trailhead this week to make sure it's not blocked by mud.

[Jake D]

I think i'm out for the Sunapee trip.. too many miles per day this early.

have fun

[Pete Anderson]

IN.

I have a car and will be coming from Boston-ish if anybody wants to carpool/split gas or whatever.

[Clint Hewitt]

Are there any better maps out there?

http://www.msgtc.org/map

[Ryan Linn]

Yep. I have the guidebook, which comes with a very nice map of the trail, made by AMC. I also live just down the street from Toadstool Books in Keene, which is one of the few places you can find the guidebook. If anyone wants a copy, I can go check it out at the store and see how much it costs. I think it's $18. There may also be a stand-alone map for $10. The Greenway's website has a mail order form for these things, but no web store. Old school.

I'm going to make some phone calls today about parking and leaving cars, just in case. Long term weather report looks promising, so far.

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