Motivated by the new year, and the two weeks of holiday cookies I ate, I was back out there this morning for a little hike with my dog Bullet. Earlier this week, I mentioned that one of the side quests I’m currently tackling is the 21.5 miles of the Wapack trail, and I figured I’d head back out that way to take my dog on an easy section of it.
Today’s portion covered the area from the Wapack Trailhead across from the old Windblown Ski Area, heading north up to the Sharon Ledges Trailhead. Including a couple of roads and a utility corridor for some power lines, this is the only part of the Wapack I could really do without—and it’s exactly why, while hiking it today, I decided to take yet another side quest and bushwhack my way up to Conant Hill. One has to make things interesting, don’t they?
It’s way icier here right now than it is two miles north at the foot of Burton Peak.
Two Halves Need a Bridge
The Wapack Trail really has two distinct sections to it. There is a north section that includes the Pack Monadnocks, Temple Mountain, and Burton Peak, and a south section that includes Barrett Mountain, New Ipswich Mountain, Pratt Mountain, Nutting Hill, and Mount Watatic. Connecting these two pieces is a section of trail that is half hiking trail and half road—Temple Road and Old Peterborough Road to be exact—and it was on Old Peterborough Road that I found a clearing to ascend Conant Hill. Actually, what I found first was a car.
Every time I come across an old automobile relic in the woods, I think: Oh, what stories could you tell? And this one looked like it had great ones. It’s a 1949 Plymouth Deluxe of some kind, which I can tell you not because I am a car guru who knows his stuff, but because I have found the best possible use for ChatGPT. I put a few pictures into Chat after my hike, and it promptly guided me to the 1949 Plymouth. I have to admit—I was impressed.
Not much to see here: only a couple of homes and this “Little Library” on Old Peterborough Road
Finding Conant Hill
A hiker on Peakbagger.com posted a GPS track of Conant Hill, so I knew I was in the right spot when I passed the Plymouth. Bullet seemed to know as well. Using his sixth-dog sense, he bounded past the car and ascended the little hill without waiting for my consent. Following, I waded through some tree branches and overgrowth, but it wasn’t too bad. According to the hiker’s review, this area is being logged by the owners, which is why there is a little more clearance than a typical wood line. But at the top, I still had to funnel my way through some low-lying evergreen branches in order to reach the summit, which surprisingly had a cairn. Two of them, in fact—plus a little wall.
It always blows me away what you find in these remote areas. What were people doing out here years ago? Why the old car? Why the cairn up top? What’s the wall all about? Who owned this land? I’ve got so many questions.
Cool, right? Man, if this car could talk.
The Divine Loop
There are so many stories, waiting to be unearthed again. Waiting to be understood again. Whenever I take a hike like this, expecting to find nothing but instead finding plenty, my imagination blooms and I can’t wait to get back to my desk to write. Hiking feeds the body and the mind, places and their associations spark curiosity, and the things I see lead me to stories.
It’s my favorite circle to walk in.
There wasn’t much of a view from the summit, but it was curious to find a cairn. I had low expectations for this excursion and as usual, the path exceeded them.
Field Notes:
- I couldn’t find much online about Conant Hill, but it was likely named after the Honorable John Conant, which Conant High School and Conant Cemetery were named for, in neighboring Jaffrey.
- This section of the Wapack Trail goes by a couple of homes but the road hike is pretty bare of scenery and hospitality. It feels much better when you are on the actual trail. If you don’t have the stomach for odd-feeling trails, this section of the Wapack is probably not for you. To be honest, I doubt I’ll be back this way unless I’m running a longer stretch of the Wapack during the summer months.
- The parking lot across from Windblown is an ice luge right now. Bring your spikes and make sure your car has four-wheel drive, or you may not get out of the lot. If you’re not looking to hit this part of the Wapack, the parking area is also the access point to Kidder Mountain, which I could easily see hiking again. There is a trail that takes you there, even though none is present on the map below.
