A visit to Madame Sherri’s place

September 18, 2016 / Ellen Kolb

With a car and several hours at my disposal this weekend, I decided to head out to New Hampshire’s southwestern corner for a visit to the Madame Sherri forest in Chesterfield. I average about one hike there per decade. Believe me, it rates more. Only my distance from the area keeps me from more frequent visits.

The castle staircase: a signature spot in Madame Sherri Forest.

And who is the Madame Sherri who left us with the remnants of a castle? The Forest Society tells you all about it on a page that includes important information about the trails on the property.

I was a little concerned when I arrived at the trailhead and found the parking area filled and the roadside lined with “no parking” signs. I managed to find a tiny spot that accommodated my tiny car. Here’s a tip: the kiosk at the far side of the parking lot has a little notice card informing visitors that overflow parking is available a short distance up the dead-end road across from the trailhead. Too bad the sign can’t be seen from the road, but I’ll remember the parking arrangements for next time.

Once on the trails, I crossed three bridges over dry streambeds. The area’s drought is not easing. All the more remarkable, then, that wildflowers continue to bloom. I love the icy-blue asters still flowering.

Indian Pond may be lower than usual, but it’s still a beautiful spot.

Indian Pond, Chesterfield, New Hampshire.

And then there’s the castle, which rates a respectful nod at each visit. Imagine what the full structure must have looked like in its glory days. The kiosk at the parking area actually has some good photos and historical information about the site.

I picked a wonderful day for a drive, with Monadnock dominating the scene between Dublin and Keene. I had actually planned to make several stops yesterday: Madame Sherri, Gap Mountain, and a short visit to Monadnock’s lower slope. Once in Chesterfield, though, I decided to enjoy the forest. More trail time, less car time. I don’t regret the decision.

The Granite State Walker at Madame Sherri’s castle.

Forest Society invites all to discover NH

May 27, 2016 / 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 payoff for you and me: a patch. I’m a sucker for patches. My favorite in-state patch so far is the Tower Quest from the New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands (earning that one was great fun!), but the Forest Society is tempting me with a patch of its own.

The Granite State Walker at the Merrimack River near Forest Society’s HQ in Concord, NH

The Forest Reservation Challenge involves visiting 33 of the Forest Society’s New Hampshire holdings. No deadline that I can see, 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 (I illustrate this post with Exhibit A). 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.

Whether I earn the patch or not, I’m going to have fun on the trails.

Like fall, without color

March 1, 2016 / Ellen Kolb

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If you peer closely at the photo, you’ll see ice on the this southern New Hampshire trail. I was in Horse Hill Nature Preserve for an hour on the first of March for cryin’ out loud, and this is as close to winter conditions as I could find. A sign at the trailhead warned about muddy conditions, but I had no trouble in regular athletic shoes. Boots would have been overkill. A sweater and thin gloves were my only concessions to the weather.

My snowshoes remain in the basement. I know winter’s far from over, and I may yet this month rave about a beautiful day in fresh powder. That won’t be happening this week, though.

All the local paved trails are clear. Dirt trails have some ice in shady spots. Overnight freezes make for some interesting texture in muddy areas. On a Seacoast trip I took a few days ago, it felt like fall at Odiorne Point in Rye and Peirce Island in Portsmouth.

I haven’t investigated the auto roads up Pack Monadnock and Mt. Kearsarge lately, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were in good condition for pedestrians with light traction aids. Let me know if you’ve scouted out those paths.

First Day Hike 2016: Hollis

January 1, 2016 / Ellen Kolb / 2 Comments

Woodmont Orchard, Hollis NH, New Year’s Day.

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 visited.

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I didn’t even mind the snowmobile that passed me at one point. It would have been churlish of me to object to the exhaust fumes when people like the sled’s cheerful and careful driver maintain the trail I was on.

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 a whole lotta years, I discovered new trails in what I thought was a familiar place.

New Hampshire is really 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, Round Pond Road

December 26, 2015April 3, 2024 / 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.

North Mountain seen from Round Pond Road. This must be a wonderful birding spot at dawn and dusk.

I don’t know what agency or company owns this odd square-shaped antenna on North Mountain.

Round Pond, harshly lit on a brilliant sunny day. The pond is about two and a half miles from where I parked on Reservation Road.

A side trail off Round Pond Road leads to the Boulder Field, where the woods are full of large glacial erratics. Dozens of rock climbers were nearby practicing their craft.

I heard a pileated woodpecker hammering away on my way to the pond, and saw this (but no woodpecker) on my return walk.

Cheshire County drive

December 11, 2015April 3, 2024 / Ellen Kolb / 4 Comments

I spent this foggy and snowless December day driving from the Merrimack River to the Connecticut River and back, stopping for walks now and then. Visibility was too limited to make a mountain hike worthwhile, but rail trails and roadside parks made for fine stops.

I chose a short segment between the nicely-restored depot in Troy and Rockwood Pond in Fitzwilliam – a round trip of just over four miles on a wide, straight trail. Conditions were fine. The only sounds were from birds and my own steps. No ice or snow, just a bit of mud on the southern half of the walk. I’m told that on a clear day there’s a splendid view of Mount Monadnock from the shore of Rockwood Pond. I thought this morning’s fog on the pond made for a pretty good view on its own.

No one else in sight, and hardly a sound besides birdsong.

Swanzey was next, and I managed to work a pair of the town’s famed covered bridges into my route. Pleasant as they were, the most exciting sight of the day was a bald eagle I spotted as I was driving. (No photo. Why couldn’t it have come into sight while I was walking?)

Thompson Bridge in Swanzey, complete with sidewalk.

The village of Ashuelot is in Winchester, with a covered bridge of its own.

Bridge in the village of Ashuelot, Winchester NH

After business in Brattleboro, Vermont – the main purpose of my trip – I took the more-or-less direct route back east, along New Hampshire routes 9 and 101. I stopped for a half hour at Chesterfield Gorge, a small roadside state park on route 9.

Enjoy Chesterfield Gorge with just a three-quarter-mile loop walk from the parking area.

Wilde Brook, which cuts Chesterfield Gorge.

The ride home took me past Monadnock, invisible in the persistent fog. It’s strange to look across Dublin Lake and know the mountain is right there yet out of sight.

As the photos show, this is a very mild late autumn. In a fit of irrational exuberance, I almost tossed sandals in the car before I left home. Good thing I refrained; there was just enough mud and chill to make me glad I wore sensible shoes.