Today, Columbus Day, my daughter and I hiked Mt. Monadnock in the dark and cold of a Fall New Hampshire morning - 4:30am, 20 degrees F. By headlamp we ascended the rock and ice of the Marlboro trail. We reached the summit plateau at 6:00am and walked to the peak against 40 mph winds.
We found a nook facing east near the summit and talked while the twilight of dawn illuminated the falling leaves at peak color 3000 feet below.
At 6:53am, the first pixel of the sun appeared in a horizon shaded in blue, violet, orange, and yellow. We watched as it rose into a circular fireball too bright to view, then began our hike down. By 8:45am we were enjoying hot oatmeal and green tea at nearby East Hill Farm.
A sunrise together on the mountaintop with windchills below zero - priceless.
I've hiked up to watch the sunrise many years ago and it is definitely worth it. It looks like you had some really nice views.
ReplyDeleteMy brother and I just hiked Monadnock this last weekend as well. We took the Pumpelly Trail which was an excellent hike and the day turned out great.
One of the world's great mountains! My dad tells me that when he was in high school, once a year on some random day, the headmaster would appear in the cafeteria at breakfast and announce "Mountain Day". Classes were canceled, the buses would pull up, and everyone would be shuttled off to climb Mt Monadnock.
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