For 2 years, the Monadnock Sunapee Greenway (MSG) trail was in the back of my mind. The idea of thru-hiking this relatively obscure trail in New Hampshire was planted while chatting with an L.L. Bean employee while purchasing a daypack for my highpointing North Carolina hike in 2019. He mentioned it with enthusiasm, but I just wasn’t in the mindset at that time for a multi-day trek through what I considered to be the “low country” area of New Hampshire.
What’s the saying, live and learn? Well, I did come around and found the inspiration to plan, train and gear up for the Monadnock Sunapee Greenway (msgtc.org) trail and, along the way, learned how wrong I was about my assumptions about this trail.
I decided to hike it in 3 days, which I knew would be aggressive, but I never imagined how grueling it would be trekking 54 miles.
I set out for the hike on April 23rd and coordinated a pickup ride at Mount Sunapee on the afternoon of April 25th.
MSG: Day 1
Day 1 Stats
Started from: Mount Monadnock State Park
Destination: Crider Forest Shelter
Start time: 7:15 am
Total elevation gain: 3,379 ft
Total mileage: 20.6
Total hike time: 10:23
Starting from the parking lot, I decided to take the white cross trail to the summit. It’s the most direct and quickest route (I summited in 1.25 hours). One of the things about the MSG hike that I don’t get is that the hike up and milage to the summit of Monadnock and the hike down from Sunapee are not part of the core trail milage, nor are they considered part of the trail.
The temperature that morning was 38 degrees and the trail was a combination of frozen mud, melting ice and solid ice.
At this early part of the hike, I was adjusting and getting familiar with the heavy pack. The total weight of it was somewhere between 35-40 lbs. The heaviest I have had on my back for any long period of time, so naturally, I had some concerns about how my body would hold up.
MSG: Day 2
Day 2 Stats
Started from: Crider Forest Shelter
Destination: General Washington Shelter
Start time: 8:00 am
Total elevation gain: 2,283 ft
Total mileage: 15.4
Total hike time: 8:25
I got a later start to the trail on day 2 because the mileage to the next shelter, up in Washington, N.H., was just over 15 miles, which at the time seemed like an easier day over that of day 1.
Day 2 was a Saturday and the best weather of the 3 for the trek. Daytime highs were in the 60’s. After sleeping open-air with overnight temps in the mid-thirties, the warmth of the morning sun was very nice.
This section of the trail starts with an aggressive dirt country road walk with steep hills. After about 2 miles, I reached an intersection, and into the forest I went.
You can see from the map that the point at which I veer off the road (just south of Stoddard) is actually a new section of the trail. This brought me up and over Parker Mountain (1,820 ft) for the first 5 summits on day 2.
Read More: Pitcher Mountain and day 2 of thru-hiking Monadnock Sunapee Greenway
MSG: Day 3
Day 3 Stats
Started from: General Washington Shelter
Destination: Mount Sunapee
Start time: 5:45 am
Total elevation gain: 5,283 ft
Total mileage: 18.1
Total hike time: 13:22
Day 3 was by far the hardest day and one I will soon not forget. Like day 2, there are many summits on this stretch of the hike, and each of them over 2,000 ft. On paper, these may not look like a big deal, but let me tell you, after clocking a combined 36 miles the two prior days, a heavy pack, and the knowledge you have an 18-mile day ahead, these suckers seem like 5kers.
- Lovewell Mountain, 2,473 ft
- Kittredge Hill, 2,140 ft
- Lucia’s Lookout, 2,500 ft
- White Ledges, 2,700 ft
- Mount Sunapee, 2,743 ft
Surprisingly, Mount Sunapee is not actually a steep climb because this trail’s back end is along a ridge.
Read More: Lovewell Mountain and day 3 of thru-hiking Monadnock Sunapee Greenway.
Concluding Thoughts About Monadnock Sunapee Greenway Thru-Hiking
Be Sure to Read The Daily Trek Summaries
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
This is a great backpacking trek, especially for someone’s first, like in my case. In retrospect, I do wish I had worked out the planning to complete the hike over four days instead of three. I feel this way because due to the amount of stress I was putting my body and mind through, I didn’t have a chance to break focus and soak up the experience. Instead, the 3 days felt like work. However, and at the risk of wavering on my previous statement, the fact I completed this hike in 3 days brings an extreme sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. If I had done this over four days, I might not have experienced the full test of my abilities, which is exactly what ended up happening.
