"Great hike and awesome views. I think the jury is out on whether it's best to take a clockwise or counter clockwise route. The West trail is shorter, but definitely steeper. Saw what I think was a black woodchuck on the ground, which casually spotted me and then slowly climbed a nearby tree." — trailspotting • Nov 5, 2020

"Could have bare- booted but wanted to break a nice, posthole-free snowshoe trail. Lots and lots of ice on trees. Some were broken as a blowdown but most were birches that merely bent over to the ground. Beautiful views of Mt. Monadnock from the observation platform. Only issue was with small saplings and brush between end of Gregg trail and in open girls before Lower Link/Shannon's Trail junction. Because they were bent over to the ground by ice and frozen to the snow, they effectively made nice little "velcro" loops that easily hooked snowshoes! On return trip, temp had already risen and with melting problem went away. Beautiful walk on Shannon's trail through the forest and an easy rock-hop across stream which was flowing; no ice bridge yet. Climb up from Bennington trail junction was a a little slippery. MSR snowshoes did very well, less so coming back down where built in crampons had little purchase. Beautiful views today from picnic table below summit but couldn't figure out how to actually get to true summit. No markings and lots of steep slabs. I'll go back next weekend to try again with crampons rather than snowshoes. Happy New Year! " — rjnick • Jan 1, 2020

"Solo morning hike starting from Francestown trailhead, then hiking along the ridge line and looping back via Shannon's trail. Saw a bunch of wildlife, the highlight being a porcupine climbing a tree. Numerous view points to the northeast/east, then later towards the south and southwest at the Pack Monadnocks and Monadnock. Great views, but visibility limited due to humidity. Met an older couple staying in the area for a wedding, they hiked up the access road to the communication tower." — gullyhiker • Jul 22, 2017

"I'm pretty sure I was the only person on the mountain that afternoon, which can be a little unnerving. Easy hike, though not well-blazed. I took a wrong turn near the summit and ended up by the ski lift, which looked rather haunted in mid-June. Found my way eventually to the real summit (no views) and the ledges just below (lovely views to the south)." — RSperling • Jun 13, 2015

"Second solo hike. :-) A quick one on a hot day. It took 2:23 to go 3.96miles (which includes the 25 minutes spent at the top). The mosquito's kept me moving, and the views were pretty spectacular, thanks to a clear day. The trail is flat for quite a while, and then the last part to the summit is a bit steep. The trail is not well marked, especially at the start of Shannon's Trail (from the Gregg trail), and as you're coming up to the summit, but you can still navigate your way to the top. Great, fun, quick hike with impressive views. Awesome! " — KeepCalmClimbOn • Jul 5, 2013

"Ascent For our first 2,000+ hike of the year we decided to stay pretty close to Manchester. Crotched was a bit of a mystery in preparation. I wasn't able to find any officially named or mapped trails to the summit. So, I took to Google maps and found what looked like some hike-able trails starting at the ski area and working up the eastern side of the ski trails to the summit. Turns out I was right, but much more so than I expected. We hit the hill on a glade right that started just behind the mountain's large maintenance area on the far side of the dirt parking lot from the main entrance. We followed the glade until we ran into a small hut to the side of the trail. We noticed a sign on a tree hidden behind the hut that read "Alicia's Trail." Again, I had no research to support a choice here, but it was heading off in a good direction and it looked to be in fair condition, so we went with it. Turns out this was a pretty good trail, the lower portion was a bit hard to spot on occasion, but otherwise didn't cause any problems. We crossed a small glade after just over a half-mile of hiking and the trail opened up to be a much cleaner, clearer, semi-marked trail. Above the gl..." — nickwheeler • May 4, 2013

"Unfortunately, overcast. On the way up, I spooked a bunch of turkeys in the middle of an open field, and on the way back, I saw a small bird in the middle of the path that did not move until I reached out and almost touched it." — MotherConfessor • Jun 18, 2012