One Day in October on Mount Monadnock

Each year, some 125,000 hikers climb New Hampshire’s Mount Monadnock, touted as the world’s second-most-climbed peak. Many come in autumn; on Columbus Day weekend alone, more than 1,000 people may stream up Monadnock’s well-worn trails. Last year was no exception. During a time in which we were all looking to connect with the outdoors, Monadnock’s allure grew even stronger.

We saw that firsthand last fall on a sparkling mid-October Sunday. Visitors from as far away as New York, Connecticut, and Ohio made the climb to the 3,165-foot summit. They came for the color and views, of course, but for other reasons too. To honor a loved one. To celebrate a healthy body. To catch a sunrise with a few friends. Some were making their inaugural ascent; others were continuing a tradition that had begun many years before. We talked with them along the route and at the summit, and here are some of the folks we met.

“Can We Climb That?”

Craig Horval, 34, Cuyahoga Falls, OH

I had never heard of this mountain. I’m just out here visiting a friend in Rindge. We were driving around, looking at the sights, and I looked up and saw it. “Can we climb that?” I asked him.

We aren’t even above the trees and so far it’s been sweet. I’ve seen some great views. It’s not like Ohio. When I saw how big it was I thought it was a big deal. Something like 3,000 feet.

My buddy told me there are a lot bigger mountains out there. But this is a start. Put your boots on and start climbing. That’s what we’re doing. Maybe I’ll do some bigger mountains after this one.

Fresh Start

Kathy Colmenares, 68, Royalston, MA; Kathy Kilhart, 68, Orange, MA

Kathy K.: This is the first time I’ve been up here with my new knee, which I just got in July. I made it. I feel great. How can I not? Look at this weather. It’s a 10. Just perfect.

Kathy C.: I come here in all seasons, except for winter. I have a couple of favorite trails that I’ve hiked so many times I don’t even have to pay attention to the blazes—I know them that well. It’s kind of meditative for me. I can just let my mind wander.

Kathy K.: We’ve hiked a lot together, haven’t we? Mount Washington… a few years ago we did Half Dome in California. But we like to come back to this hike. You just never know what you’re going to see. We’ve seen weddings up here.

Kathy C.:We’ve been up here and there was a big dance group that brought big speakers and performed on some of the rocks. That was something.

Early Risers

Torin Kindopp, 16, and Sam Dodson, 17, Chesterfield, NH; Marty NelLigan, 17, Keene, NH

Torin: A bunch of us on the cross-country team made plans to hike to see the sunrise. It was beautiful. When we started you could just barely see the ground, and it got better from there.

Marty:There was a group of girls who were kind of loud when we got up there. And then there was us.

Torin: [Laughs.] We were probably the loudest ones up there!

Sam: Well, we were trying to stay warm.

Marty: At least we were smart enough to bring enough layers. This one kid on our team decided it would be funny if he hiked up shirtless. I think he may have regretted that.

Sam:But then he put on a vest, fancy shirt, and a blazer. It was hilarious.

First-timer

Mariana Chavez, 37, Hollis, NH

This is my first time up, and I hate it! I’m just kidding. But my friend did say it was going to be like a walk, and she lied to us. I realized that about 15 minutes into it. This isn’t a walk. But it’s beautiful up here and gorgeous. I just love the views and being here with my son and friends. But ask me tomorrow how I really feel about it because I know my legs and bum will be sore.

Season’s End

Nihal Atawane, 31, Boston, MA

Winter is coming. I’ve got some dread about that and so I was looking for something to do to take advantage of the fall weather before it gets depressingly cold. A friend recommended Monadnock. I’ve never hiked it but I’m with a few friends of mine that I went to school with at Boston University. We decided to make a day of it.

My friend was right: It’s hard to beat the views. But I wish I were in better shape. He said it was going to be easy. Guess that’s kind of relative. I’m realizing now he’s probably in better shape than me. But you know what? I have the day off tomorrow. I can recuperate.

Girls’ Day Out

Corinne Saucier, 20, Old Town, ME; Julie Webster, 21, Danvers, MA; Brigid Griffin, 20, Ashby, MA; Akansha Deshpande, 20, Attleboro, MA

Corinne: We’re all students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and it’s our finals week. We thought we’d do this before finals.

Akansha: Brigid said we should do it. Do you want to do an eight-mile hike? I think we were just excited to leave campus, but I’m not a hiker. So every time I saw like another steep run I was like, This is the worst thing that ever happened to me!

Julie: I’ve never hiked before but I love being outside. When we got near the mountain Brigid was like, we’re going to scale that one, and I’m like, yes! Let’s go.

Brigid: [Laughs.] I didn’t take it easy on them.

Akansha: And now we gotta go back down.

Corinne: I love it here. I love hiking. I hike a lot in Maine and I’ve been missing it. This is like the best hike since I’ve started at WPI that I found accessible. Thanks, Brigid. It’s amazing.

Sibling Bond

Danielle Diers, 45, Boston, MA; Nathan Krakow, 40, Portsmouth, NH

Nathan:We were going to meet our sister, who lives in Putney, for a little sibling hike but she couldn’t make it, so it’s just us two. We grew up around here. We hiked Monadnock as kids.

For me, being up here it’s like a sense of home. There’s something comforting about just driving into Peterborough, coming down Route 101, and seeing [the mountain] on the horizon. You know where you are.

Danielle: It’s like when you think about the compass pointing north. The view, and seeing where you grew up and recognizing spots—it’s special.

Sweet Rewards

Hannah Russell, 9, Hooksett, NH

We did a couple of 4,000-footers this summer. Some of those were hard. So was this, but I loved the rock scaling near the top. That was a lot of fun. But not as much fun as our snacks. We’ve got peanut butter sandwiches and apples for lunch. But the best part is the candy corns my mom brought. I got to eat those on the way up. That’s been the best part. And then after we get back down we’re getting pizza. I can’t wait.

Back At It

Jason Nero, 40, and Kara Nero, 37, Jaffrey, NH

Jason: We live right at the base of the mountain, so we’ve hiked it a lot.

Kara: I’m just getting back into it. I had some chronic health issues. It’s been hard, but it feels really good to be back out here. I used to come out here a lot with the kids.

Jason: It’s always a challenge, but that’s part of what I like about it. It’s comforting in that way. About 10 years ago me and a buddy were going through some pretty tough times, and this was a place we could come to where we could get away from everything and figure stuff out.

Kara:There’s a peacefulness you find, especially when we like to hike, which is early in the morning.

Jason: Every single time you hike it’s different. As you’re looking at it all—the sun, the clouds, the trees—and you’re feeling the breeze, the world feels still. We need that.

A Time to Remember

Philip Keyes, 62, Acton, MA; Nathaniel Keyes, 35, Cambridge, MA 

Philip: One of the reasons we decided to do this was because my late wife, Nathaniel’s mom, died a few years ago, around this time. We did this hike many years ago and wanted to do this as a father-son tribute to her life.

Nathaniel: Just being up here again, there’s a lot of love and nostalgia. I used to hike this on school trips. For a kid, especially, you can’t beat it.

Philip: We brought more food and water than we probably needed. [Laughs.] I think we thought it was going to take a little longer. We made good time, right? I told Nathaniel, “Maybe we should get in a bike ride later.” But we’ll probably take our time up here to gather our thoughts and remember the last time the three of us came up together.