Monoosnoc Ridge hike

Twelve GO members - ranging from a few grizzled veterans to a couple of new recruits - hiked Monoosnoc Ridge together on a beautiful sunny Saturday.  They were joined by the occasional black fly (or, according to some participants, swarms of same).  The road to the trailhead parking lot proved to be one of the main challenges of the day - resulting in a minor delay.  Black flies and bone-jarring roads - who needs the Maine Outback when you can find it all right here in central Massachusetts!  Once everyone had arrived safely, we climbed North Monoosnoc Hill, where we enjoyed our first vista of the day.  Our commanding view of the Twin Cities Plaza and Kappy's Liquors redeemed whatever travails had gone before.  The rest of the hike included some level ridgetop trail (with a couple of hog wallows that required circumnavigation), a stop at an abandoned quarry (where Steve and Don clambered up the piles of blocks), and a relatively steep climb to the summit of South Monoosnoc Hill, where we enjoyed our second panoramic vista of the day (alas, no Kappy's, however).  Then it was back to the parking lot, the rigors of the entry road, and a visit to Gardner Ale House, for pizza, stromboli, burgers, and pints of microbrew.  Bliss.  A wonderful day with a great group of guys.

We'll hike the northern portion and a couple of side loops of the 11-mile trail that follows the Monoosnoc Ridge, a range of 1000- to 1200-foot hills on the western fringes of Leominster. Despite the proximity of the "twin cities" of Leominster and Fitchburg, the trail has a very rural feel.  We'll begin by climbing a moderately sloping side trail to the summit of North Monoosnoc Hill, where we'll be rewarded by sweeping views to the north (with route 2 and Twin City Plaza in the foreground, for those into strip malls).  We'll then proceed south along the Monoosnoc Ridge Trail, to a side loop that descends, skirts an abandoned quarry, and then ascends rather steeply to rejoin the main trail at the top of South Monoosnoc Hill.  Shortly we'll take another side loop to an overlook with a commanding view of Mt. Wachusett and its "foothills".  From there we'll head for home, via the main trail and a side spur.  Total distance will be approximately 6 miles; total time about 3 hours.  Bring a snack, water, and other appropriate gear.  After the hike, a visit to the Gardner Ale House (about 15 minutes west in beautiful downtown Gardner) might be in order, for some of the best pizza and micro-brew in New England.