One way to celebrate – part I

/ Ellen Kolb / 3 Comments

Do you have something to celebrate, but you’re not sure how? Walking works for me.

My original plan for this year was to celebrate my birthday with a flourish. I’d backpack on my favorite New Hampshire rail trails, maybe over five days or so, for a number of miles equal to my age.

Ultimately, the plan was modified in every respect except the number of miles I wanted to walk. Dayhiking instead of backpacking; eight days, not five; August, not the actual month of my birthday. I included roads and park paths as well as rail trails. I skipped around New Hampshire, and even crossed into Maine for a bit.

Mission accomplished. I’ll help myself to cake at the earliest opportunity.

Let me share some highlights. Maybe you’ll get ideas for your own celebrations. I’ll split this into three posts, so if you like this one, you can look forward to two more shortly. If you don’t like this one, you can tune in later to see if I’ve upped my game.

Franconia Notch State Park

I’ve driven on I-93 through the notch more times than I can count. Knowing that Franconia Notch State Park has a paved recreational trail 9 miles long, I thought it was about time for me to enjoy the area at walking speed.

"The Basin", a small chute of water into a pool lined with smooth granite rock
The Basin in Franconia Notch State Park, NH. Dry summer, low water – and still a pleasant place to visit. Ellen Kolb photo.

The rec trail was a treat, once I came to terms with the cyclists sharing the path. There were more than a few e-bike renters who weren’t quite at home with their vehicles on the downhills. We gave each other space and cheerful greetings. I was there midweek, and I expect the experience might have been more hectic on a weekend.

I started at the Flume visitor center at the south end of the notch, and worked my way north. I stopped at the pretty Basin for a few minutes, and gave serious thought to joining a few people wading in the shallow Pemigewasset River just upstream. Warm day, cool water…but I kept going, knowing that up at Profile Plaza I’d find a place to enjoy my lunch with views of the surrounding mountains. The walk back to where I was parked was downhill, and I made sure to listen for speedy cyclists coming up behind me.

The Franconia Notch recreational trail and the cliffs of Cannon Mountain. Ellen Kolb photo.

Towards the southern end of the rec trail, I was on the Appalachian trail for about 30 feet. Maybe 20. We briefly shared a bridge, you see. AT hikers go through Franconia Notch the hard way. It wasn’t the last time I’d cross the AT on this trip.

I packed too much sweet stuff in my lunch bag. The rec trail goes through Lafayette Campground, where I found a nice little store stocked with Goldfish crackers. Pardon my crumbs.

If you head to the Notch and want to get oriented, the Flume visitor center at the south end of the park is the place to go. I used the nice clean bathroom there, knowing that facilities in the coming days were likely to be a bit more rustic.

Coming up in part II of the trip journal: two days and half of my miles were on the Presidential Rail Trail, which extends from Whitefield to Gorham. The first day was cloudy, the second brilliantly sunny, and each was splendid. Part III will cover the serene walk along Hogan Road, a unique section of the Cross New Hampshire Adventure Trail.

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Sunny day, with ladyslippers

/ Ellen Kolb

This spring’s weather in southern New Hampshire has been somewhat uneven, which means “normal,” which means rainy days and 80-degree days and near-freezing nights. (Not all at once.) Most weekends this season have had inclement weather of one sort or another.

When the forecast last weekend mentioned a sunny Sunday, I knew what I’d be doing after church. Off with the dress shoes, on with the hiking gear. I headed just over the county line for eight good miles on the Rockingham Recreational Trail.

One thing I like about this trail linking Manchester and the Seacoast region is the choice of trailhead parking areas. This time I parked in East Candia, where the trail crosses Depot Road. (Here’s a tip: anytime you see a Depot Road in a New Hampshire town, keep your eyes open for a rail trail.) There’s a parking area there that’s unpaved but well-maintained, with room for a dozen cars or so.

Another thing I like is the trail’s shade. Mixed hardwoods have leafed out, and along with hemlocks and pines they create a kind of canopy along the trail.

I headed east for a few miles and stopped for a snack at a trailside picnic table by Onway Lake. Not too far away was the day’s prime photo op: ladyslippers in profusion! These were a deeper pink shade than the ones I’ve seen closer to home. Always beautiful, whatever the color. Within a couple of weeks they’ll disappear, to return next spring or perhaps the spring after that. I happened to catch them at the perfect time. No picking them or digging them up! They’re highly site-dependent and don’t take kindly to changes of venue.

a clump of pink ladyslipper flowers growing along a hiking trail
Pink ladyslippers, making their brief appearance. Ellen Kolb photo.

I retraced my steps to my car, dropped off my fleece pullover, and then headed west. That section of trail had a different look from the section I’d been on earlier: wider, a bit smoother, more residential buildings nearby. I like the modest rock cut in that western section, blasted into shape when the old rail line was laid. Such cuts testify to the effort it took to lay rails in the aptly-named Granite State.

Everyone I encountered on the trail was in good spirits, and why not? It was a rare sunny weekend day, and a holiday weekend to boot. I greeted a few runners and walkers, who were far outnumbered by cheerful courteous cyclists. I like a good hearty “passing left!” when I’m approached from behind by someone on wheels.

A few notes on the Rockingham Recreational Trail section I visited, centered in East Candia: as I mentioned, the parking area on Depot Road is unpaved but in good shape. No toilet facilities are available. Carry snacks and water; the closest place along the trail with coffee and fast food is further east in a commercial area of Raymond. The trail is unpaved, and it’s full of the stones and roots typical of this area. If your mobility is impaired to any degree, you might enjoy the relatively smooth and wide two-mile section of trail extending west from Depot Road. No ATVs or class III e-bikes are allowed.

When you’re ready to explore this or any other trail in New Hampshire, remember to defend yourself against ticks and mosquitoes. I use permethrin on my hiking clothes and DEET on exposed skin. Lyme disease and its nasty cousins are illnesses I want to avoid.

There are two Rockingham Rec Trails in New Hampshire, which can be confusing. It’s a heritage from the route names in railroad days. For this walk, I was on what’s called the Portsmouth branch, which goes between Manchester and Newfields but not quite all the way to Portsmouth. There’s a separate Fremont branch that extends from Windham Junction to Epping, where it meets the Portsmouth branch. If you decide to explore the Fremont branch, be aware that you’ll sharing the path with ATVs between Windham and Fremont.

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Be surprised!

/ Ellen Kolb

Every so often, a neighbor will invite me to talk about local trails. Once I start on that topic, I don’t know when to quit. When we move from talk to walk, I keep going: here’s this feature, there’s that feature. Sometimes nature itself has to shut me up with the surprises it keeps in store.

This week, I went with a community TV videographer to Horse Hill Nature Preserve. I suggested that we meet at a pond on the property, so that some springtime video footage would provide a good backdrop to the feature she was producing.

That was a silly thought. As was right and proper, I provided the backdrop while the pond provided the feature presentation.

(The finished video, “Trailblazers,” is available for viewing on the Merrimack TV site and app. Great work by my town’s community television crew, as usual!)

A ribbon snake in vegetation at the edge of a pond
Ribbon snake. All photos in post by Ellen Kolb.

As the videographer started to set up her camera’s tripod near the pond’s edge, a ribbon snake came out of its hidey-hole practically at our feet to see what was going on. We stopped what we were doing and watched the slim creature for awhile, as it watched us. It didn’t seem impressed. After a quiet couple of minutes, it disappeared into some thick grass. As the little snake departed, I noticed a little tuft of bluets nearby, the first of the season’s wildflowers.

Small blue flowers growing as ground cover in the spring season
Bluets

I knelt at the water’s edge to see if I could catch sight of some frogs or dragonflies. Clumsy as I am, I startled away a couple of frogs who jumped into the water when they saw me coming. But hey! A few feet away, my companion spied a frog who stayed put, practically posing for a photo.

The heron rookery was full of action. (This post includes a photo of the same rookery taken in another season when I had a better camera with me.) If the babies have hatched, they were laying low the morning we were there. The adults in the nests were croaking at the noisy geese in the pond. At one point, two herons took off to chase away a hawk that was performing a leisurely flyover to see what tasty morsels might be tucked away in the nests. That hawk had nerve, but not nerve enough to stick around when a pair of birds with six-foot wingspans came after it.

A family of great blue herons sit in a large nest in a heron rookery
Horse Hill’s herons in a warmer season.
A frog rests on a tree stump partially immersed in a pond
A frog, determined to be in the picture.

We came looking for a backdrop for an interview. Instead, the pond spoke for itself. All we had to do was stand still and let ourselves be surprised.

Light rain began to fall as we finished up. Nothing stormy. It was a grace note to the jazzy little riff nature had just played for us.

Late-winter ice on NRRT

/ Ellen Kolb

Daylight Saving Time has just kicked in, and messy trails came along with it. On the Nashua River Rail Trail on a sunny day over the weekend, I found lots of bumpy ice. I came prepared with cleats on my shoes and no need to hurry. Along the way, I found a good sturdy stick with which to flick aside some of the tree litter left after recent windy days.

view from a rail trail of a frozen brook with many bare trees in view
View from the Nashua River Rail Trail of Unkety (Unquetymasset) Brook wetland, which won’t remain iced-over for long.

I started my walk at the northern end of the trail in New Hampshire, where the paved Gilson Road parking lot was nice and clear, thanks to Nashua Public Works. The trail itself would have been too icy for me without traction aids. I did see one walker who seemed to be doing fine in plain sneakers, sure-footed as a mountain goat.

Near the farm in Dunstable across the state line, I saw a couple of children apparently on their way to tend some chickens. I suspect these are the same kids who set up a lemonade stand along the trail in warmer weather. They’re the ones who taught me to keep a dollar in my pocket whenever I’m on NRRT.

The marshy area along Unkety Brook – or Unquetynasset, as the trailside sign would have it – was all but silent, with not so much as a stray goose in sight. Usually it’s a fine spot for birdwatching. I keep hoping that some enterprising osprey will build a new nest in one of the nearby snags. One such nest in that area lasted over a decade, surviving storm Irene in 2011 before being abandoned.

No bicyclists today. Conditions weren’t right for anything on wheels. That’ll change soon enough. Today, the trail was for walkers like me. Get yourself a pair of cleats and brave the ice before mud season begins.

If you enjoy reading these posts about southern New Hampshire trails, I hope you’ll consider supporting the blog. Thank you!

photo of cleats, worn over hiking shoes to improve traction, and a stick used while hiking
Equipment for a walk on an icy rail trail: inexpensive cleats that fit over my shoes, and a stick for pushing tree litter aside.

On finding a little less open land

/ Ellen Kolb

I’ve tried over the years to develop a habit of gratitude while I’m hiking. Gratitude for what? There’s obvious beauty, of course – the sights that stop me in my tracks and take my breath away. Then there are subtler things I’d miss if I weren’t paying attention: spring wildflowers carpeting the ground, or an owl surveying me from a tree branch.

I got a reminder recently of another blessing that I too often take for granted when I’m walking around New Hampshire. Not a thing, but people. They’re the landowners who allow hikers to cross their property. Open land becomes more scarce with each passing year. I recently discovered that a little sliver of it on which I’ve depended is now posted.

A New England river in winter, with ice at the edges and rushing water in the middle.
Before reaching the “no trespassing” signs, I walked along the Souhegan River for awhile. Ellen Kolb photo.

Putting up a “no trespassing” sign is every landowner’s right. Finding one along a familiar path makes me sad, though.

Now, I need to change the route of my two-and-a-half mile walk into town from a quiet low-traffic route to a busy road with blind curves and no sidewalks. That’s a problem, but I’ll cope. What bothers me more is that I don’t know why the landowner chose to post the land. Was it because someone crossing the property abused the privilege?

No one owes me an explanation, of course. But I’m sorry I never thanked the landowner while the little strip of land was open.

So I have a resolution to add to my New Year’s list: thank the landowners who let me pass through. They’re a vanishing breed.

While I’m counting my blessings, I’m thanking my readers! I’ve been blogging at Granite State Walker for 18 years, and this blog earned more views in 2024 than ever before. Most visitors got here simply by doing a web search for southern New Hampshire trails, and I hope they’ve been rewarded with lots of good hikes.

The most popular search term this year was “Kearsarge,” and why not? A visit to Winslow or Rollins State Park featuring a hike up Mount Kearsarge makes for a great day.

If you enjoy Granite State Walker, you can help me get to the next trailhead by supporting the blog. Thank you!

Hike Safe, starting with a First Day Hike

/ Ellen Kolb

Two New Hampshire traditions dovetail nicely this time of year. New Hampshire’s Division of Parks and Recreation is once again sponsoring First Day Hikes on New Year’s Day 2025 at several state parks, and Hike Safe cards for 2025 are now available for purchase on the New Hampshire Fish and Game website. I recommend both.

First Day Hikes

2025’s First Day Hikes are being offered at seven state parks. These are self-guided events, although park staff will be participating in some locations. Events range from cross-country skiing at Milan Hill State Park to a shoreline walk at Odiorne Point in Rye. Advance registration is required. You’ll find more information at the State Parks website. At this writing, two out of the seven events are already full, with no more registrations available, so act fast if you’d like to spend a few hours on New Year’s Day at Odiorne Point, Milan Hill, Mount Monadnock, Pisgah State Park, or White Lake State Park.

At a First Day Hike a few years back, I scored a fleece scarf that I’ve sported nearly every New Year’s Day since. I like starting the year with a flourish.

close-up of a New Hampshire State Parks "First Day Hike" logo on dark green fleece scarf

Hike Safe Card

New Hampshire Fish and Game sells the Hike Safe card, which is actually an online registration, rather than a card to be carried. Every purchase – $25 for an individual or $35 for a family – supports search and rescue efforts that could be required for anyone participating in an outdoor sport or activity in New Hampshire. In most circumstances, people who obtain the cards are not liable to repay rescue costs if they need to be rescued, although that won’t apply in cases of reckless behavior. Read more about the Hike Safe card at the Fish and Game website.

If you purchase one on the F&G website for 2025 before January 1, be sure you click the button for the correct year. You don’t want to pay for 2024 by accident. No refunds.

When it comes to outdoor recreation in New Hampshire, many recreationists pay their way, so to speak, via licenses or vehicle registrations. Hunters, anglers, boaters, snowmobilers, and OHRV operators contribute to trail maintenance and rescue costs that way. Hikers like me don’t need a license, but we can do our bit by getting that Hike Safe card every year.