Midweek on Old Toll Road, Mount Monadnock

May 15, 2017February 25, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

When the Forest Society announced its challenge last year, offering a patch for anyone visiting 33 specified Forest Society properties, I jumped on board immediately. Since then, I’ve had fun discovering some new trails. Others, like those on Mount Monadnock, are already familiar. The Forest Society has a reservation on the mountain that blends seamlessly with Monadnock State Park.

On my most recent visit to Monadnock, my indifferent level of fitness ruled out a summit hike. I settled for an easy walk to the Halfway House clearing via the Old Toll Road, featuring a wonderful view to the south with Gap Mountain foremost.

Gap from Halfway House_Monadnock — _{The view south from Mt. Monadnock’s Halfway House clearing. Photos by Ellen Kolb.}

The Old Toll Road begins at the well-marked state park parking lot on NH Route 124 on the south side of the mountain. (Post-Covid update: the state park now charges a $15 parking fee, which covers a driver and up to five passengers. Reservations can be made online. See the Monadnock State Park web page for current information.)

The Old Toll Road has a packed crushed-gravel surface, well-drained, and wide as a boulevard. It’s an uphill path for sure, but easy going until it ends at the White Arrow Trail. I walked up the Road, picked up White Arrow for a short distance, and soon I reached my destination: the Halfway House clearing, named for an inn that once stood there.

Old Toll Road, Spring — _{Old Toll Road on Mount Monadnock, mid-spring}

I looked up to the summit and saw no hikers. That’s unusual. Normally, the summit seen from that distance looks like an anthill.

DSCF1650 - Copy — _{A peek at Monadnock’s summit from the Halfway House clearing}

A cool breeze kept the bugs away on the overcast day. I knew I was likely to be rained on any minute. I didn’t care. A midday midweek visit to New Hampshire’s most-climbed mountain rewarded me with solitude, and solitude on Monadnock is meant to be savored.

Midday Ride on the Nashua River Rail Trail

April 28, 2017February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

I broke away from work on this weekday just long enough to take my bicycle out for the first ride of the season on the Nashua River Rail Trail, starting in Nashua, New Hampshire and heading south into Massachusetts

IMG__201704117__035415 — Feature from mural along NRRT. Ellen Kolb photo.

I like the mural in Groton, in the underpass crossing Route 111. I think local students must have painted it. It’s a map not of local streets, but of the Boston and Maine rail lines, including the decommissioned one that now serves as a trail. Nice bit of history, paying respect to the trail.

A beaver resisted all my attempts to photograph it. I almost missed it, in a swampy area alongside the trail: only concentric ripples gave it away. It’s good to see the wetlands looking like wetlands again, as gentle spring rains heal the effects of last year’s serious drought. Last September I had no more chance of seeing a beaver at trailside than of seeing a pod of whales.

IMG__201704117__034839 — A little history to go with my stop along the trail.

The river that gave the trail its name is not visible from the trail, except for a lovely mile-long stretch in Pepperell and Groton. Every time I see it, I think of the guidebook I received when I moved to New Hampshire more than thirty years ago, which had this to say about the Nashua River in Pepperell, where there’s a dam:

…but for the dirty water this would be a fine smoothwater trip. From [Groton] to East Pepperell, the river is not attractive, as the increase in water level has flooded swampland and killed the trees. [AMC River Guide Volume 2, Appalachian Mountain Club, 1978]

By 2002, the Guide’s third edition told a different story.

The Nashua River has enjoyed a major restoration in the last 25 years. The industrial pollution is gone now. Birds, wildlife, and fish are returning, and paddling the Nashua River is now an enjoyable experience.

Also enjoyable: walking and biking on the NRRT.

swan along NRRT — Nashua River, Pepperell, Massachusetts. Ellen Kolb photo.

Close to Home: Wildcat Conservation Area, Merrimack NH

April 23, 2017February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

Wildcat Falls Apr 2017 — _{Wildcat Falls on the Souhegan River}

The Souhegan River runs through my New Hampshire town and through the Wildcat Conservation Area. WCA’s most striking feature is Wildcat Falls, and it’s the reason there’s a canoe take-out upstream where the river crosses Turkey Hill Road. Way too much granite and way too many fallen trees make the falls a spot that’s pretty to look at but lousy to navigate. The falls don’t come from a single height, but rather from irregularly terraced granite shelves and boulders left in the river when the last glaciers retreated.

There are a couple of miles of trails winding through the conservation area and the adjoining state property. All I was interested in today was a direct path to the falls. The walk to the falls from the Currier Road parking lot goes through a sandy, pine-y area that reminds me of where I grew up in flat southern Florida, where rivers looked like canals and where waterfalls were pure fiction.

Update, 2025: Parking for WCA is now available in Watson Park on US 3 in the center of Merrimack. A trail about a half-mile long follows the Souhegan River upstream from Watson Park, eventually crossing under the Everett Turnpike and emerging in WCA. If the parking area off Currier Road is full, park at Watson, not on the residential streets near WCA.

woods at Wildcat Falls — From the parking lot for Wildcat Conservation Area in Merrimack NH, it’s a short walk through sandy woods to get to the Souhegan River and Wildcat Falls.

Bridge-builder Helen Closson, RIP

January 25, 2017February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb / 1 Comment

This morning’s newspaper carries news of the death of Helen Closson of Manchester, New Hampshire at the age of 94. The headline describes her as “a force for good.” The long list of her civic activities bears this out. As a Granite State walker, I will always think of her as the woman who brought us the Hands Across the Merrimack pedestrian bridge over the Merrimack River in Manchester.

Hands Across the Merrimack (and Manchester) — The Hands Across the Merrimack bridge. Ellen Kolb photo.

The Pisacataquog Trail of which the bridge is a part links Manchester to Goffstown, providing recreational opportunities for everyone in Greater Manchester.

Turning an abandoned rail trestle into a pedestrian walkway is a team effort, and my gratitude for the bridge ought to be extended to many people. Mrs. Closson, though, was the team leader who saw the project through to the end.

I appreciate the gift.

First day hike 2017: Wellington State Park, Bristol NH

January 2, 2017February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

New Hampshire enjoyed benign weather on New Year’s Day, perfect for a First Day Hike. I headed to Bristol, home of Wellington State Park and the Elwell Trail. No snowshoes needed; the trail was well-packed. Gravity got the best of me a few times despite the YakTrax on my boots, but I fell gently thanks to the snow cover. About sixteen of us were led up the trail by a guide from the Newfound Lake Region Association.

NewfoundLake, NH — Newfound Lake in Bristol, NH, seen from Little Sugarloaf. Ellen Kolb photos.

Our destination was Little Sugarloaf, a modest peak about a mile and a half from the Wellington parking lot. There were plenty of hikers on the hiking trails and snowmobilers on the snowmobile trails, with cooperation and good cheer all around.

The payoff view: Newfound Lake on a clear and sunny day, with ideal sights and sounds. We watched a pair of bald eagles fly around the islands below us. The snowy peaks of Franconia Notch about 40 miles away were visible. I knew there were snowmobiles all over the lower trails, but I could barely hear them from Little Sugarloaf’s summit.

A few of my more ambitious companions decided to hike on to Sugarloaf, a few hundred feet higher. I might check that out some autumn day.

Find maps of the area at newfoundlake.org.

Everett Dam on a cloudy day, Weare NH

November 30, 2016February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb / 4 Comments

There’s usually a fine view of Mount Kearsarge from the Everett Dam by Clough State Park in Weare. Not on this cold and foggy day, though. I walked across the dam toward the trail on the other side and felt like I was disappearing into a cloud.

There’s a extensive trail system nearby for ATVs and hikers, but there were no machines in sight or sound today. Clough State Park is closed for the season, so there was no summertime laughter to be heard from the beach. I walked in pleasing silence and solitude.