The Metacomet-Monadnock Trail (M&M Trail) is a hiking trail that traverses the Metacomet Ridge of the Pioneer Valley region of Massachusetts and the central uplands of Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. Although less than from Boston and other large population centers, the trail is considered remarkably rural and scenic and includes many areas of unique ecologic, historic, and geologic interest. Notable features include waterfalls, dramatic cliff faces, exposed mountain summits, woodlands, swamps, lakes, river floodplain, farmland, significant historic sites, and the summits of Mount Monadnock, Mount Tom and Mount Holyoke.The Metacomet-Monadnock Trail Guide, 10th edition. (2005). Amherst, Massachusetts: Appalachian Mountain Club. The Metacomet-Monadnock Trail is maintained largely through the efforts of the Western Massachusetts Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC). Much of the trail (but not all) is a portion of the New England National Scenic Trail.
Trail description
The Metacomet-Monadnock Trail extends from the Connecticut/ Massachusetts border through Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin, and northwestern Worcester counties in Massachusetts, and Cheshire County in New Hampshire. The southern terminus of the trail is located in southeast Southwick, Massachusetts, at Rising Corner Road and is identified with a kiosk. Geographically it begins near the gap between West Suffield Mountain and Provin Mountain, southwest of the city of Springfield; the northern terminus is located on the summit of Mount Monadnock in southern New Hampshire. The Metacomet Trail in Connecticut and the Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway Trail in New Hampshire continue where the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail leaves off. These trails extend the overall hiking possibilities another to the south (along the Metacomet Trail and its logical extension, the Mattabesett Trail), and farther north into central New Hampshire.
Other long hiking trails that intersect the M&M Trail include the Robert Frost Trail (Massachusetts) in the Pioneer Valley region, and the Tully Trail in the Royalston area. Significant networks of shorter hiking trails intersect the M&M trail, most notably on the Holyoke and Mount Tom ranges, in Wendell and Erving State Forests, on Northfield Mountain, and on Mount Monadnock."Tully Trail." The Trustees of Reservations. Retrieved November 20, 2007.
The M&M trail is primarily used for hiking, backpacking, and in the winter, snowshoeing. Portions of the trail are suitable for, and are used for, trail running, mountain biking, and cross-country skiing. Site specific activities enjoyed along the route include hunting, fishing, horseback riding, boating (on the Connecticut River), bouldering, rock climbing, and swimming.Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. Retrieved November 20, 2007.New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation. Retrieved November 20, 2007.Ryan, Christopher J. (1996) "Holyoke Range State Park: Eastern Section," 4th edition. Map. Amherst, Massachusetts: Hamilton I. Newell Printing.
Southern section
The southernmost of the M&M Trail traverse a northern section of the trap rock Metacomet Ridge which extends from Long Island Sound to the Massachusetts/ Vermont border. This ridge, rising hundreds of feet above the Connecticut River Valley in Massachusetts, is a prominent landscape feature. Mount Tom, at above sea level and with vertical cliff faces of several hundred feet, is the high point. From south to north, the M&M Trail uses the ridges of Provin Mountain, East Mountain, the Mount Tom Range, and the Holyoke Range. Abrupt vertical cliffs with visible talus slopes and frequent viewpoints are common throughout. Views are generally to the west on Provin Mountain, East Mountain, and the Mount Tom ranges; and to the north on the Holyoke Range. The Connecticut River cuts through the ridgeline between the Mount Tom and Holyoke ranges in Holyoke, Massachusetts, and the Westfield River separates Provin Mountain from East Mountain in Westfield. Historic features along the trail include the Horse Caves on Mount Norwottuck, the ruins of the 19th-century hotel Eyrie House on Mount Nonotuck, and the refurbished Mount Holyoke Summit House on Mount Holyoke. The Mount Holyoke Summit House has been restored as a museum, open during weekends in the summer. The trap rock ridges and talus slopes are also home to several unique microclimate ecosystems that support species of plants that are unusual or endangered in this part of New England, and are a seasonal migration path for raptors.Farnsworth, Elizabeth J. (2004)."Metacomet-Mattabesett Trail Natural Resource Assessment." , Retrieved November 20, 2007. Viewsheds from the ledges include agrarian land, suburbs, small towns, river corridors, the eastern Berkshires ridgeline, metropolitan Springfield, and the skyline of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Northern section
Where open to public access, the remaining of trail follows an elevated plateau of 400 million year old metamorphic rock punctuated by occasional monadnocks.Raymo, Chet and Raymo, Maureen E. (1989). Written in Stone: A Geologic History of the Northeastern United States. Chester, Connecticut: Globe Pequot. The terrain is a rural and largely wooded, post-glacial landscape with sparse viewpoints, deep ravines, and a few bare mountain summits. The trail follows the western edge of this plateau in a northerly direction, then jogs east along the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border before turning north again to reach Mount Monadnock. Prominent features on or easily accessible from this part of the M&M Trail include, from south to north, Rattlesnake Gutter (a boulder-filled chasm), Ruggles Pond in Wendell State Forest, the Millers River, Farley Ledges, Briggs Brook Falls, Northfield Mountain and reservoir (a hydroelectric reservoir carved out of a mountain top), the historic Hermit Cave, Crag Mountain, Mount Grace, Highland Falls, and Royalston Falls. In New Hampshire, the trail crosses the summits of Little Monadnock Mountain (in Rhododendron State Park), Gap Mountain, and Mount Monadnock. All three of these peaks have exposed summit ledges. Mount Monadnock is the most prominent peak of southeast New England. At high, it is higher than any mountain peak within and rises above the surrounding landscape. Its bare, rocky summit provides expansive views.
Trail communities The M&M Trail passes through land located within the following incorporated towns. In Massachusetts (from south to north): Southwick, Agawam, Westfield, West Springfield, Holyoke, Easthampton, Hadley, South Hadley, Amherst, Granby, Belchertown, Pelham, Shutesbury, Leverett, Wendell, Erving, Northfield, Warwick, Royalston; and in New Hampshire: Richmond, Fitzwilliam, Troy, and Jaffrey.
History
The Metacomet-Monadnock Trail receives its name from the Metacomet Trail in Connecticut, of which it is a logical extension, and from Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire. The name Metacomet is derived from Metacom, the 17th-century Native American leader and son of Massasoit of the Wampanoag tribe of southern New England. The term Monadnock is an Abenaki-derived word used to describe a mountain. It has come to be used by American geologists to describe any isolated mountain formed from the exposure of a harder rock as a result of the erosion of a softer rock that once surrounded it.
The M&M Trail was designed in the 1950s by the late Professor Walter M. Banfield of the University of Massachusetts Amherst as an extension of the Metacomet Trail in Connecticut. The route was constructed utilizing newly blazed paths, abandoned farm roads, and existing hiking trails (many of them several hundred years old) where available. Portions of the route on Mount Monadnock and the Holyoke and Mount Tom ranges date back as far as the 18th century. Early trail-building was supported by various summit resort hotels popular in the 19th century. Such resorts once stood on Mount Holyoke, Mount Nonotuck, Mount Tom, and Mount Monadnock (at the Halfway House site). Most of them had burned down or had become defunct by the early 20th century and never recovered. Encroaching development and modern transportation hastened the demise of these businesses by shifting tourism to more remote and exotic locations. Many of these properties were eventually bought, taken, or donated for inclusion in various state parks.Mt. Holyoke Range Historical Timeline. Retrieved November 20, 2007.Baldwin, Henry I. Monadnock Guide 4th ed. (1989). Concord, New Hampshire: Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.
The terminus of the trail, Mount Monadnock, barren from to its summit and known for its fine views and rugged topography, was once mostly wooded. Fires deliberately set in the early 19th century by nearby farmers concerned with wolves denning in blowdown snags resulted in the denudation of the mountain. The fires burned so hot that the soil was destroyed and subsequently washed away. Since then, the summit has recovered to the degree that it appears natural and scenic, although it is still very barren and reminiscent of the alpine peaks of the White Mountains to the north. Vegetation has begun to slowly reclaim some of the ledges and ravines, but the process of soil generation on windy slopes will likely take many hundreds of years.
As described in #Conservation and maintenance of the trail corridor below, the M&M Trail is part of the New England National Scenic Trail.
Landscape, geology, and natural environment
The geology and natural environment of the M&M trail can be divided into two distinct sections: the Metacomet Ridge of the Pioneer Valley and the upland plateau of central Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. One common denominator, evidence of recent glacial activity, can be found throughout all parts of the M&M Trail. Such evidence includes glacial erratics, glacial scouring, glacial striations, deranged drainage, mountain notches, U-shaped valleys, highland swamps, and roches moutonnées, so called "sheepback mountains" because they often resemble the shape of a sheep in profile. The extremely steep south and/or east faces of these hills were carved by the movement of glacial ice down lee slopes.
The Metacomet Ridge