Previous page of Hiking Trails on Mt. Monadnock--Red Spot

Distance from parking lot to summit: about three miles.

Ascending time: About two hours and 15 minutes.

Descending time: About one hour and 30 minutes.

Trail marker: a vertical white bar

The Spellman Trail. Undoubtedly my favorite route. When you turn right where the Red Spot Trail branches off to the left, the Cascade Link levels off and passes through evergreen, mostly hemlock, forest for a couple hundred yards. The Spellman Trail comes in from the left along a straight and level stretch of trail. Both trails through this section are quite narrow, typically allowing only single file travel. (Note that in 1998, the trail crews cut back the branches and smaller trees along these two trails, making the junction much more obvious than it had been. In the "you can't win" department, while this does make it easier to find the Spellman Trail, the early sections of the trail have lost much of their intimate and mysterious nature.)

The Spellman Trail continues along a level or slight incline for a couple hundred yards, then it turns to the left and traverses a steep section of mountain side, and crosses over a small stream. After climbing for maybe 20 yards, it levels off again.

The trail continues runnning more or less level for one hundred yards or more until it runs straight into a very steep slope. This is a wonderful spot to take a short break, drink some water, and catch your breath. You're at the bottom of the longest steep section of trail on the mountain.

When you're ready to go on, you start up a steep section that has taken on a different character than the level forest floor you've been on. You find yourself scrambling up large, steep rocks, using your hands as much as your feet. While you've got a lot of overhead cover for the first hundred yards, and the trail has lots of damp soil filling the areas between the sloping rock faces, the trees thin out quickly and the rocks become the primary base of the trail bed. Stopping to catch your breath, you should turn to check out the fantastic views. About every minute. Or less.

This section of trail rises some 500 or 600 feet in a horizontal distance of about 1/4 mile. Acrophobic people may not like this trail (especially for descending), because there are many sections where you might feel that you'd fall quite a distance if you turn to look away from the slope. (Actually, in the worst sections you'd probably fall no more than 15-20 feet, and it would really be sliding or tumbling rather than falling. Still, there is real danger.) After what seems like a never-ending climb, the trail becomes less steep and some cover is provided by the evergreens. Take a few minutes to catch your breath, then continue the last 300 yards or so to the junction with the Pumpelly Trail.

Challenging physically and (for some) mentally, the Spellman route is about three-quarters of a mile longer than the White Dot Trail, and it's definitely more interesting. Surprisingly, though, it doesn't take that much longer than traveling the White Dot, largely because Cascade Link and the Pumpelly Trail are comparatively level allowing you to move with reasonable speed. When in my best shape, I've done this route in the same amount of time it would take me to do the more direct routes.

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Last update and copyright © 13 September 2003 by Wayne Brink, email: