Michelle, Clover and I ran and hiked the southern end of the Wapack Trail on a warm winter day (it galls me that I can write such a thing of New Hampshire!) a couple months back.

The Wapack starts off Route 119 in Ashburnham, Mass., where it joins the Midstate Trail, and it heads promptly and fairly steeply up Mount Watatic. That section would be tough to run, though we ran parts on the way back down.

Watatic was once a ski hill, and there’s a gravel road up at the top that looks as though it would be a fabulous mountain training run… I just don’t know where it starts! The top is rocky and wide open, with great views all around. We had to look closely to find the other trail down; the old ski trail looked inviting, too.

North of Watatic the trail drops through woods and wetlands before climbing a series of peaks – Pratt, New Ipswich and Barrett – that feel more like one long ridge. The views are fabulous, but you’d best slow down or stop to enjoy them; the trail requires attention to keep your footing.

We saw an awful lot of people hauling large packs on the Wapack, most of them Scout groups, apparently. They looked as though they were geared for weeks in the wild, and were moving accordingly.

The Wapack Trail runs for a total distance of about 21 miles, and running it end to end is high on my list of things to do. It wouldn’t take too long to park cars at each end; Route 31 gives you a pretty straight shot from one end to the other.

We hiked and ran about eight miles to a point somewhere in the Windblown Ski area… it was strange to suddenly come upon their signs, ski runs, shelters and such, after so many miles of mostly single-track hiking trail.

The trail continues up and over Temple Mountain and then over Pack Monadnock and beyond (see earlier post on N. Pack), but I’ve yet to do that middle stretch, excepting a scramble up Burton Peak and back.

You can learn more about The Wapack, and get a nice trail map, by picking up the trail guide at EMS or from the trail web site.