2008 Solstice Hike - Wapack Trail End-to-Ender
by John Klebes
Continuing our summer solstice tradition for our sixth year Rick, Ed, and I took on the Wapack End-to-Ender. A 1-day thru-hike of the 21-mile Wapack Trial that follows a skyline route along the summits of Watatic, Pratt, New Ipswich, Barrett and Temple mountains and finally ascending the Pack Mondanocks! The Wapack trail has a generous helping of open ledges and rocky peaks providing breathtaking views of Mount Monadnock, the Berkshires, the Green Mountains, Boston, and the White Mountains. While 21-miles may sound a little easy for Ed’s Death March Mania I can assure you this trail has its share of ups and downs.
Leaving the house around 4am we meet up at the northern trailhead at around 6:30am. After staging cars we were on the trail at 7:45am. In Massachusetts the Wapack trail shares a common path with the Mid-state Trail as we climbed steadily up Mt Watatic stopping to check out the remains of an old lean-to shelter and wildflowers along the trail.
From Mt Watatic we enjoyed very nice, but hazy, views from the open rocky summit. Dropping down off the summit we were soon crossing the boarder into New Hampshire. Hiking past the Binney Pond we saw signs of a very active beaver population and more dragon flies than you have ever seen in one place lighting on the bog bridge by the pond. A stone wall jutted out into the pond a testament to the changes the beavers had made to the area.
As we climbed Pratt Mountain we had a great view looking back at Binney Pond from an overlook before continuing on to New Ipswich Mountain. Next we climbed Barrett Mountain where a stop to check out the Mountain Top Shelter finds us relaxing in the camp chairs that someone left at the shelter. We just couldn’t resist resting for a long spell enjoying the views from this restful spot.
From here we passed many old ski trails before droping down to a road crossing near the remains of the foundation from the Wapack Lodge, once a leading center for skiing during the 1920’s and ‘30s, but destroyed by a fire in 1993. This was followed by Conant Hill, Burton Peak and Holt Peak (Temple Mountain). Lots of ferns by the side of the trail and higher up blueberries everywhere! We should plan a return to this berry paradise when they ripen.
The section over Burton and Temple is called the skyline and is covered with huge stone cairns and sculptures of rock art all along the ridge. Most of the Wapack follows along, or is criss-crossed by, some of the best condition classic New England stone walls I have ever seen.
We enter Miller State Park and are treated with a steep ascent to the summit and fire tower on Pack Monadnock while worrying if we might be hit with a thunder storm. Our luck holds and we miss the storm. Then on over our final summit of North Pack Monadnock before hiking down to the car around 7:30pm. ~John Klebes
Past Death March Hikes: The tradition all started in 2003 with Ed’s Presidential Traverse on the solstice. We followed in 2004 with the Devil’s Path in the Catskills and in 2005 the Franconia Notch/Pemi Loop. In 2006 we tried something different, a 2-day traverse of the 50-mile Monadnock-Sunapee-Greenway. And followed in 2007 with a 36-mile Old AT meets New AT in Connecticut. And now we add the Wapack End-to-Ender to the list for 2008.