My office mate and fellow hiking fanatic Barry just returned from a trip south of the border to climb New Hampshire's Mount Monadnock. It was his first visit to the storied summit and a milestone on his lifetime hiking checklist. Barry not only came back with his usual tales of another fine hike--pleasant trails, fantastic views and so forth, but with a very interesting, and unexpected, little factoid...

Mt. Monadnock has long been regarded as the the second most climbed mountain in the world (yes, in the world) behind Japan's Mt. Fuji. Well, they went and built a road up Mt. Fuji and ruined that idea, so Mt. Monadnock (still thankfully roadless) has now apparently taken over the top slot as the No. 1 most climbed mountain on Earth. Whodathunkit?

Armed with this new information, I will, of course, have to journey back there for another trip to the summit. And despite all the hype, if you pick the right day the crowds aren't that bad at all, and the view from the 3,165 ft. peak is well worth the drive to get there. I highly recommend it.

Now, I wonder... What's the most climbed mountain in Maine? Bradbury? Katahdin? Cutler? Cadillac? Hmmm.