Best way for an Allston rocker to experience nature

So your band played last night at the Middle East but nobody was there, your date left with a bouncer in the middle of your set, and you smoked too many Basic menthols with the grizzled guy at the bar who kept saying "I luff yer moosick" and buying you shots of peppermint schnapps. Now it's morning, you're feeling a bit oppressed by the demands of gigging in Boston, and you just want to get away from town for a little while. Well, pop into your '72 Dodge Dart and head north over the border into New Hampshire, following Route 124 into Jaffrey. Only 45 minutes from Boston, you'll soon find yourself at the base of Mt. Monadnock, the second most frequently climbed mountain in the world. Park your car in the lot maintained by the New Hampshire State Parks Department, throw on your leather jacket, follow the signs to the trailhead, and start hiking.

Once you get on White Cross trail (or one of the many others leading directly up), try not to be alarmed if you hear loud rustling in the leaves next to the path-- it's probably just an adorable chipmunk fending for insects to grind up in its tiny mandibles. Chipmunk, you know, as in Alvin and the, your favorite band in the third grade? Relax. You're in nature, remember? Gaze at the sunlight peeking through the high branches of lovely white birches and look carefully for the odd-looking multicolored fungi nestled beneath in their roots. Don't eat them, though. They aren't magic mushrooms. Near the summit, just beyond the timberline, you'll encounter giant boulders to scramble over and feel each one of those menthols constricting your breathing (and probably taste each of one of those shots rising in your throat), but persevere in your trek. At the bare, scrubby top of the mountain, spectacular views of the White Mountains and the surrounding area will enhance your thinking like no bong hit you've ever taken. I mean, dude! Before you know it, you'll be back in Boston stuffing a slice in your mouth, rubbing the mud from your red Chucks, and thinking about what you'll wear to the next gig before your bandmates have even gotten out of bed. Rock on.

Monadnock State Park, Jaffrey Center, New Hampshire. (603) 532-8862.