A pair of real Granite State walkers, covering NH north to south

August 24, 2016February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb / 1 Comment

How many miles have I walked this year? A couple of hundred, if my journal is accurate, averaging a measly couple of dozen each month. Well, my knee hurt for awhile. The weather wasn’t always nice. I was busy. Blah, blah, blah … and just think, I fancy myself the Granite State Walker.

IMG_20160824_121749 — The last few yards of a 200+ mile walk.

Today, I met a couple of real Granite State walkers. Wendy Thomas and Griffin Nozell, mother and son, just finished walking the length of New Hampshire, beginning at the Canadian border in Pittsburg and ending today in Nashua at the Massachusetts state line. They chose road walking rather than trail hiking, and in the process they built an online community that cheered them on all the way.

I joined Wendy and Griffin for the last couple of miles of their trip, just to meet them. I’d been following their travels via their Facebook group, Border-to-Border New Hampshire.

IMG__201608237__122832 — Wendy Thomas and Griffin Nozell, at the end of their border-to-border walk.

Thanks, Wendy and Griffin, for your fine company and conversation! I especially loved sharing impressions of Pittsburg, where they found the same warmth and hospitality that have made all my hikes up there so memorable.

They tell their own story better than I can. Link to Wendy’s blog, Lessons Learned From the Flock, for her introduction to their journey.

And you know what? It turns out that Wendy and I are neighbors. We live in the same town, about a mile apart. We didn’t meet until today.

Wendy plans to write up her travel notes for her blog, entitling the first post “Spoiler Alert.” She’ll have observations and insights different from those of someone hiking off-road. I urge you to head over to Lessons Learned From the Flock to read more about the border-to-border hike.

Griffin and Wendy have left me feeling inspired and encouraged to plod on, sore knees and all, always discovering more things to love about our Granite State.

Summer drive to Benson Park, Hudson NH

July 16, 2016February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

Hot day, feeling sluggish, mulling over a list of places to go: I finally just got in the car and started driving.

IMG_20160716_115806 — _{Along the Haselton Farms trail in Benson Park}

Zipping through NH Rt. 111 in Hudson enroute to yet another Forest Society property (I’ll get that patch if it kills me), I realized that I was near Benson Park. I hadn’t been on the property in years – since it was Benson’s Wild Animal Farm, in fact. I made a quick detour, found the park, and walked three good miles on its trails and paths. The trails I chose weren’t crowded, even with a couple of Pokémon Go groups intent on doing whatever it is they do.

Download a trail map before you go. I settled for taking a photo of the map at a kiosk on site. Kids, don’t try this at home; batteries are fickle friends.

The history of the property is available on the Town of Hudson website. Indulge me as I recount a grossly oversimplified version: once upon a time in the town of Hudson, New Hampshire, there was an amusement park called Benson’s Wild Animal Farm. The Finer Minds at the state capital decided that a Circumferential Highway would ease all of Nashua’s traffic problems. (I hear you tittering over there in the back.) The Benson’s property was bought up by the state to mitigate the expected loss of wetlands for the highway project. Years passed, and the Circumferential Highway project quietly expired, leaving only exit 2 off the Everett Turnpike to remember it by. Eventually, the Finer Minds released the Benson’s property to the town of Hudson.

More years passed, many people put enormous efforts into rehabilitating the property, and Benson’s Park is now a Hudson jewel with a playground, dog park, memorials, and a trail network. The longest single trail, Haselton Farm, is about two and a half miles long; many shorter ones allow for extended hikes.

On the Haselton Farm trail, some of the pavement remains from the Wild Animal Farm days, and the occasional sewer-access cover along the way serves as a reminder that this used to be a more developed area. On this 90-degree summer day, the trail was wonderfully shady, and a light breeze made bug repellent unnecessary.

This was the best spur-of-the-moment stop I’ve made in a long time. It’s great fun to find a place like this fairly close to home.

IMG_20160716_124751 — _{9/11 memorial at Benson Park, featuring a beam from the World Trade Center.}

Forest Society invites you to discover New Hampshire

May 27, 2016February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb / 3 Comments

Call it the Society for Protection of New Hampshire Forests, the SPNHF, or the simpler Forest Society: however you say it, here’s an organization that wants to show off its holdings. The Forest Society has issued us a challenge. The payoff for you and me: a patch.

The Forest Reservation Challenge involves visiting 33 of the Forest Society’s New Hampshire holdings. At this time no deadline has been set, which is a good thing, since the 33 holdings are scattered all over the Granite State. These things take time. For all of us with either limited time or a limited budget for gas, there’s a “Tier 2” challenge: visit several properties in one region of the state, plus answer questions about each property. Alas, selfies are involved, which is a mild annoyance for those of us who are not photogenic. That’s how the good folks at the Forest Society know that we’re not just using old photos from our friends’ collections.

The Forest Society’s web site explains the challenge in full. I’m going to give it a try. You may find, as I’m discovering, that some Forest Society lands are actually fairly close to home. Some may be close to routes you already travel regularly. I’m looking forward to re-visiting some favorite spots and discovering new ones.

Bretzfelder Park, Bethlehem New Hampshire — Bretzfelder Park, a Forest Society property in Bethlehem NH

Whether I earn the patch or not, I’m going to have fun on the trails. I’ll post about my progress.

Update: how long did it take me to finish the Challenge? Read all about it!

Blossoms in a dry season: Nashua River Rail Trail

April 24, 2016February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb / 3 Comments

ground cover plants with small purple petals — photos by Ellen Kolb

I’ve spent nearly three months hobbling with a knee injury. It was a triumph for me to cover three miles in an hour on the Nashua River Rail Trail this morning.

It’s bone-dry in my area, as in most of New Hampshire. Even so, buds and blossoms are turning up. A week ago, a few sprigs of grass were poking through the dry leaves at trailside. Today, bluets and violets were blossoming, and there’s much more greenery despite the drought. Rain is forecast for later this week – and a day of that should brighten up the trail in earnest.

What’s new in your area? What’s blossoming in spite of the weather?

First Day Hike 2016: Hollis, NH

January 1, 2016February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb / 2 Comments

winter day, grey sky, apples clinging to a leafless tree — _{Woodmont Orchard, Hollis NH, New Year’s Day. Photos by Ellen Kolb.}

The New Hampshire state parks people added Silver Lake State Park to the list of locations for guided First Day hikes, and I think this one’s a keeper. The state park abuts town conservation land with trails maintained by the local snowmobile club. With the area’s first measurable snowfall of the season having fallen just a few days ago, boots were all the equipment I needed to join the fun. I left in the car every accessory except my camera and a map, and spent an hour on trails I’d never before visited.

snowmobile on trail — _{Multi-use trails in Hollis, NH}

I didn’t mind the snowmobile that passed me at one point. People like the sled’s cheerful and careful driver maintain these trails.

Days like this remind me why I started this blog. Silver Lake State Park is where I used to take my kids swimming when they were little, and I thought the lake itself was all there was to it. Today, after living in the area for many years, I discovered new trails in what I thought was a familiar place.

New Hampshire is a tiny slice of the republic, and the southern tier is even tinier. Yet here in what looks like an insubstantial part of the map are parks and trails that most New Hampshire visitors and even some residents will never see. Every year, I find something new: a little trail connecting two urban parks, country roads with drivers who don’t mind sharing the pavement with pedestrians, a Hollis trail connecting Silver Lake with Woodmont Orchard. I want to drink it all in and come back for more.

Pawtuckaway State Park, Round Pond Road

December 26, 2015February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

The snowless days are ending; I’ll be shoveling my driveway in just a few days, if the forecast holds. This was my last chance to visit some nearby trails before winter conditions set in. I had planned to walk up a hill with a pretty view, but decided at the last minute to stick to level paths. I went to Pawtuckaway State Park and explored the northwest corner of the park via Reservation Road and Round Pond Road.