Months after reading about the Chesterfield (NH) Conservation Commission's work to link Wantastiquet with Monadnock, I finally got out to Chesterfield to take a look at the area a few days ago. I hadn't been there since a trip to Pisgah State Park about 3 years ago. I'm impressed at the work the Commission's volunteers have done! Thanks to all of you! Obviously, a lot of people are cooperating to make these good things happen.
I started from the Madame Sherri Forest trailhead off of Gulf Road. There's a network of short trails throughout the forest, with a couple of them stretching out to nearby hills. I took the Ann Stokes loop to Indian Pond in order to pick up the trail to Wantastiquet Mountain. I've been up Wantastiquet a couple of times from the east (Hinsdale), and I was curious about whether it's now possible to follow an established trail up the west side from Madame Sherri. Short answer: yes. The trail from Indian Pond isn't blazed or flagged but is fairly well-beaten and clear.
If the Wantastiquet-Monadnock Greenway is ever completed -- and I'd love to help make it happen -- it'll extend eastward from Madame Sherri Forest, cross Rt. 63 at some point, and head through Pisgah on its way to Rhododendron State Park. From there, the greenway could pick up the M&M trail on Little Monadnock, taking hikers straight to Monadnock. Wouldn't that make a fine day's travel?
