From Monadnock: my favorite bad photo

November 6, 2016February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb / 1 Comment

When my daughter gave me a digital camera a few years ago and consigned my little plastic 35mm Polaroid to the junk drawer, I soon discovered my favorite aspect of digital cameras: the delete button. No more paying to develop film with 24 exposures but only one picture worth keeping.

Even the bad pictures can bring back good memories, though. This is one of my favorites, taken at Bald Rock on Mount Monadnock.

boulder with inscription on a forested mountainside — _{Bald Rock, Monadnock State Park, NH. Photo by Ellen Kolb.}

Overexposed, lousy lighting, hard to see the intriguing and unexplained inscription on the rock: I didn’t get much right with this shot, except capture a special spot on what is so far the best day I’ve ever spent on Monadnock.

This was the day I realized that I could go to the mountain and not feel like a failure for skipping the summit. I sat by this rock and ate my lunch in regal solitude. I felt absolutely no need to join the crowd I saw on the peak above me. With a breeze and a view and a PB&J, I had everything I needed.

Trips to Monadnock don’t always work out that way for me. Last time I went, I kept moving up the Pumpelly trail despite a sore knee. The pain finally got so bad I had to turn around, hobbling slowly downhill, not getting to my car until well after sundown. On another day, a beautiful December afternoon, I dawdled on the summit and figured I’d make up some time on the descent. Bad move. I lost my footing, fell down hard, and slid on my back headfirst, certain that I was going to crack my skull on a rock. Instead, my backpack took the hit, which was more luck than I deserved.

I’ve had good days to offset those misadventures. The day at Bald Rock beats them all.

Finding New Hampshire Fire Towers

November 3, 2016February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

About ten years ago, I came across A Field Guide to New Hampshire Firetowers, a labor-of-love booklet by Iris W. Baird and Chris Haartz. It’s a gem of local history, and I used to take it with me whenever I headed out for a tower hike. (I just learned that Baird passed away earlier this year; may she rest in peace.) They worked to collect information on every New Hampshire fire tower and former fire tower site – more than ninety locations!

A newer resource that I’ve discovered is a must for all tower hunters: the NH Fire Towers Facebook group.

IMG_20150912_105821 — View from the tower site on Mt. Kearsarge, Warner NH. Photos by Ellen Kolb.

6. Fire Tower — The Pitcher Mountain tower, Stoddard, NH, is a short and easy hike from the parking area on NH Route 123.

DSCF8392 — View from the decommissioned tower at Stratham Park, looking towards Portsmouth and the NH coast.

DSCF8284 — Loveliest fire tower to be found anywhere, in my opinion. Weeks State Park, Lancaster NH.

magalloway-tower — Northernmost active tower in New Hampshire, on Mt. Magalloway in Pittsburg, not far from the Canadian border. The view on a clear day extends beyond New Hampshire to Maine, Vermont, and Quebec.

Glimpses of fall, eastern New Hampshire

October 21, 2016February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

It’s fall, the prime time for Granite State walkers of all ages. Crisp air and fewer bugs make every trail more inviting. And then there’s fall foliage, which I thought would be a disappointment after our region’s drought. How wrong I was.

I have a map of New Hampshire that I’ve marked with sites of historical markers, Forest Society reservations, and state parks. It’s a great guide for daytrips. Last weekend, I consulted the map and headed east to scout some trailheads for future exploration. I meandered all over the place, just for fun. Here are a few of my discoveries.

Effingham

The drive to the Green Mountain trailhead at the end of High Watch Road was the stuff of travelogues. There’s a point on NH route 16 northbound from Rochester where I got to a rise in the road, and suddenly mountains were in view, swathed in colors.

autumn foliage, distant mountain, blue sky — View to the north from High Watch Road. I’m pretty sure that’s Mount Chocorua in the distance on the left. A hike for another day, perhaps. Photos by Ellen Kolb.

Once on the trail, I nearly threw away my watch. There was a fire tower up there, after all, and what views it promised! But this was a scouting trip, and I had a schedule to keep, so I contented myself with a short walk in the woods and a silent promise to come back someday.

New Durham

State Route 11 connects Rochester and Alton, with New Durham along the way. A 55-mph speed limit makes scanning for trailheads a bit tricky. I plugged the coordinates for Cooper Cedar Woods into my phone’s GPS and hoped for the best. It worked, which is always a pleasant surprise to someone who surrounds herself with low-grade electronics.

boardwalk trail covered with fallen autumn leaves — In Cooper Cedar Woods, New Durham, NH.

The wooded tract features a simple loop trail less than a mile long, and I had it all to myself. The fragrance in the air was amazing. It was some indescribable combination of trees and their fallen leaves, unique to that particular location. I could hear Route 11’s auto traffic nearby, and yet it seemed to be a world away.

Rochester

Early in my road-trip day, I was one of the walkers bringing up the rear at the Foley Run in Rochester, a joyous 5k event in memory of photojournalist James Foley. Main Street’s trees were at their showiest, right on schedule for the visiting racers.

After a quick post-race snack of bagels and fruit, I drove south of town to a quiet parking area tucked across the road from the town’s airport. Here was the Champlin Forest, another Forest Society property, with about two miles of trails meandering through it.

I came home with many notes that will help me plan future trips, including return visits to these three places.

October color on Pack Monadnock

October 10, 2016February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

Columbus Day weekend is wrapping up for the leaf-peepers. Autumn colors are still muted in my area, except for a few specimen trees flashing scarlet. I figured the Monadnocks would be a little showier today. I stole a couple of hours from my schedule and headed to Miller State Park in time for a walk up the auto road before it opened to cars for the day. I actually spent time alone on the summit of Pack Monadnock! That’s a rare treat.

dscf1503-resized — From the Pack Monadnock summit: Mt. Monadnock, about twelve miles away. Photos by Ellen Kolb.

img__201610284__100312 — My guess is that the P on this granite marker along the auto road is for Peterborough, one of three towns that can lay claim to part of Pack Monadnock.

north-pack-from-pack-monadnock — There’s plenty of colorful foliage over on North Pack Monadnock.

boston-skyline-cropped — When I took my kids to Pack Monadnock when they were little, the first thing they wanted to check from the summit was whether it was “a Boston day,” clear enough to see Beantown’s skyline. This was a Boston day.

Back to Madame Sherri’s place, Chesterfield NH

September 18, 2016February 24, 2026 / 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 rare visit to the Madame Sherri forest in Chesterfield. Only my distance from the area keeps me from more frequent visits.

Ruins of a stone building in a forest — The castle staircase: a signature spot in Madame Sherri Forest. Photos by Ellen Kolb.

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.

pond with sunlight gleaming on it — 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, but once in Chesterfield, I decided to enjoy the Madame Sherri forest and not rush it. More trail time, less car time.

National Park Service celebrates 100th anniversary

August 25, 2016February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

I’m told that today is the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service. Huzzah! I treasure my trips to the gems of the park system. This is my little thank-you note to the NPS team.

Maine coast from a hill with autumn color — _{Acadia National Park, Maine. All photos by Ellen Kolb.}

I love Acadia National Park in Maine, and I love it even more in the off-season. Best trip there I ever had was on a blustery, showery October weekend when I had the carriage trails practically to myself.

wide unpaved trail lined with large stones — _{Acadia’s carriage trails get heavy use in the summertime, but October finds them quiet and inviting.}

When I visited Yellowstone National Park, bison greeted me as soon as I crossed into the park on Route 20. My one trip was during a week before Memorial Day – a shoulder season, post-winter and pre-summer, with no traffic jams. A week is too short a visit; there’s so much to see, and choices must be made. I felt the same way after seeing Yosemite.

Gorge cut by the Yellowstone River — Geysers are all well and good, but be sure to get away from Old Faithful to find the Yellowstone River.

bison calf walking with adult bison — A springtime visit means seeing the bison calves – from a distance. I was safely in a car when taking this photo.

Grand Geyser erupting, Yellowstone National Park — Grand Geyser is more impressive than Old Faithful and draws smaller crowds. I loved it.

It wouldn’t have occurred to me to visit Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming if I hadn’t gone to Yellowstone. On a map, Grand Teton looks like an afterthought compared to its imposing neighbor to the north. It’s a marvel in its own right.