Greening up on the Nashua River Rail Trail

May 4, 2014February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

I see no columbines yet on the Nashua River Rail Trail in Dunstable, Massachusetts, just over the New Hampshire border. I knew today was kind of early in the season, but I was eager for the year’s first visit to this old friend of a trail. I spotted a columbine along the way in this stretch about three years ago. The following year, a second plant sprang up a few feet away. Since then, I haven’t been able to spot them – pulled up? died? I don’t know, but I look for them anyway.

Tiny violets - harbingers of wildflower season — Tiny violets – harbingers of wildflower season

Blossoms were few this weekend – a dandelion, and a few of the tiny violets that I refuse to call weeds. The deciduous trees along the trail are just beginning to leaf out, and little pines are taking root in the shadow of big ones. The skunk cabbages down in the wetlands are the brightest green in sight. Spring cleanup has already been done by some wonderful volunteers who have moved the winter’s deadfall off the pavement.

columbine (800x600) — Columbine: what I’m waiting for.

Most flowers are still a few weeks off, and I’m impatient for them. Still, I liked what I saw today – if not for its own sake, then for what it means for the coming season. Clumps of green grasses and ground cover are poking up through the dead leaves along the edge of the trail. The farm in Dunstable has sheets of white row-cover already out on one field, so something’s been planted – will it be pumpkins or butternut squash this year? The soda vending machine that one whimsical family sets up annually in their back yard adjacent to the trail is back, and the price per soda is unchanged at $1.

No plane from Skydive Pepperell. I’m not sure if that was due to the weather or the calendar. From late spring through fall, I’m accustomed to the every-20-minutes rhythm of the prop plane as it takes off from its airstrip near the trail, makes lazy circles up to what I’m told is 13,000 feet to let out the skydivers, then descends and returns.

From a good NRRT neighbor: the soda stand

Weekend traffic was far below summer levels. There were very few cyclists riding as though on a mission, zooming past everyone. This was a family day, featuring kids on training wheels or on very shiny bikes that were probably under the Christmas tree. One high-spirited six-year-old had a BMX-style helmet that probably cost more than his bike.

No helmet or bike for me this weekend, just sneakers and a hankering for wildflowers. They’re not out yet, but I’ll see them soon.

Un-whining in Mine Falls Park

February 25, 2014February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb / 1 Comment

I haven’t been out for a hike in weeks. Whine.

January and February have been filled with long hours of work and stress and lousy weather. Whine.

My clothes are too snug, I’m out of breath after three flights of stairs, and I hate icy roads. Whine, whine, whine.

When the weather was inviting the other day (and please, no scolding me for being unprepared for all conditions), I forced myself to shake off my winter torpor for little while. I headed to Mine Falls Park in Nashua for a loop around the cove near the Millyard.

The cove at Mine Falls Park, awaiting the springtime return of the swans. Nashua Millyard in background.

Hard to believe what a difference that made. After a couple of miles, my jeans were still snug and I still had a pile of work waiting for me. But gradually, as I walked along the canal path in crunchy snow, the whines went away. Fresh air and near-silence worked wonders.

I’ll still need a push to get out the door this season, but Mine Falls Park will remind me that the effort pays off.

Hollis, NH: Buffalo, Tough Cookie & Beaver Brook

February 2, 2014February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

Buffalo and Tough Cookie cover — cover of B&TC’s book

I got to shake hands today with a pair of hikers I’ve been wanting to meet. Dan Szczesny and his hiking partner Janelle are better known in the blogosphere as Buffalo and Tough Cookie. They were at the Hollis, New Hampshire library today with a slide show about their book, The Adventures of Buffalo and Tough Cookie, recounting their year-long quest of New Hampshire’s “52 with a View.”

And just what might 52-with-a-view mean? I had never heard of such a list before discovering Dan’s blog. The only New Hampshire hiking list I had heard of was the 48 4000-footers. 52-with-a-view is a creation of the Over The Hill Hikers of Sandwich, New Hampshire who compiled a list of fifty-two peaks under 4000′, each featuring good views.

The audience in Hollis today consisted of an energetic group of kids who knew more about basketball than hiking. Dan didn’t worry about getting through the whole slide show as planned, cheerfully adapting his presentation to the everyone’s questions and comments. If he and Tough Cookie come through your area for a book signing or slide show, make a point of stopping by. You’ll enjoy the conversation and the wonderful photography.

Following the slide show, I took a short drive to a trailhead on Rt. 130 for Beaver Brook and spent an hour in the woods. It was a day for YakTrax on my boots, with thin snow cover melted-and-refrozen in many spots. I saw one couple on cross-country skis having a rough time of it. The temperature in the upper thirties felt positively balmy after the bitterly-cold month just ended.

There’s logging going on in Beaver Brook this winter, although no equipment was in use today. I appreciated the quiet. There are orange arrows spray-painted into the snow as traffic-control marks for the trucks, and signs affixed to some trees with an explanation to passersby of how forest management – which includes careful logging – has been part of Beaver Brook Association ever since it was established.

A New Year’s Day visit to Mount Monadnock

January 1, 2014February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

I decided to bring in 2014 by heading to Jaffrey, New Hampshire and Mount Monadnock for a First Day Hike sponsored by the good folks at Monadnock State Park. Two routes were offered. I chose a nature hike along the low and flat Parker Trail, accompanied by guides from the park and from the Forest Society.

Yours truly celebrating New Year's Day on Mt. Monadnock — Celebrating New Year’s Day on Mt. Monadnock

I left my snowshoes in the car and strapped traction aids to my boots when I saw how icy the trails were. The temperature was about 15º, and I can tell you now what happens when you carry granola bars in your backpack on a 15º day: the bars freeze solid. (Next time, I’ll carry them in an inside coat pocket.) Lots of sunshine, though.

We were led by Meredith and Brenda of the park staff, along with a specialist in land conservation from the Forest Society. I soaked as much as I could as they talked about forest management, wildlife habitat, and the history of the mountain. We walked at a very leisurely pace along the quiet Parker Trail. Half the fun was watching the kids in our group. A few of them appeared to be veterans of the trails. Others were wide-eyed and full of questions, walking a little unsteadily as they adjusted to having microspikes on their boots.

When I arrived at the headquarters entrance, the main parking lot was full and I had to proceed to the overflow lot. When I met Sue, the new park director, I asked her about that. “Oh, yes. We’re open year-round. Even on days like this, we get between 200 and 400 visitors.”

This is the third year that First Day Hikes have been held at New Hampshire state parks. I’ll look forward to future events.

A path to take another day: Lost Farm trail.

Winter games are here: snowshoes!

December 11, 2013February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb / 2 Comments

Mine Falls Park after first snowfall, December 2013

In mid-December, there’s finally been a snowfall in southern New Hampshire just heavy enough to put a base on the trails. It’s late fall, and winter is impatient to elbow its way in. This morning I spent an hour at Mine Falls Park in Nashua enjoying the crunch of snow beneath my sneaker-clad feet. The canal is almost-but-not-quite frozen over, and the muskrats have taken refuge wherever muskrats like to go.

Sometimes the season’s first snow pounds us. The Halloween Eve snowstorm in 2011 dumped a foot of heavy wet snow, uprooted countless oaks & maples, and left me without electricity for four days. Other years are more like this one, with a couple of tentative snowfalls, just to get us ready for the inevitable big ones.

I can pull my snowshoes out of their little nook in the basement and put them closer to the door. I can look forward to hiking on those brilliant cloudless days that follow snowstorms. My favorite cross-country ski area has announced that it’ll be open for business this weekend, which means that their snowshoe trails are ready to go as well. A prime memory for me is a midweek trip there a few years ago, the day or two after a storm. There were a few skiers around, but I was the only snowshoer in sight, and I had all that wonderful powder to myself on the woods trails. Solitude, beauty, sunshine, and unbroken powder: does it get any better in the winter?

When the Olympics are broadcast shortly, I will ooh and ahh over the alpine skiers. I’ll cheer for the cross-country skiers, who are better-conditioned than most of us could ever hope to be. I’ll watch the snowboarding, which for my money is the most fun event to watch at the Olympics. But eventually, I’ll tire of being a spectator. The snowshoes will be right by the basement door, waiting for me.

Purgatory Falls, Lyndeborough/Mont Vernon, NH

November 13, 2013February 24, 2026 / Ellen Kolb

water cascading over granite ledge — Purgatory Falls (Ellen Kolb photo)

I recently made it to one of my area’s more popular trails for the first time in ages. It’s another one of the southern New Hampshire treasures easy to take for granted.

When a late start forced a friend and me to change our plan to hike upstate last week, she suggested lower Purgatory Falls as a nearby hike that we could enjoy with her dogs. Sounded good to me. We started at the lower end of Purgatory Brook, at the trailhead on Purgatory Road in near the Milford/Lyndeborough town line a short distance north of North River Road. We had very little company, but my friend assured me that it can get crowded on weekends and in warmer weather.

I’m not used to hiking with dogs, and my friend brought her black Lab and her Shar-Pei. Both dogs were familiar with the trail and could hardly wait to jump out of the car at the trailhead. We decided to use leashes at first, until we were sure no other dogs were around. The Shar-Pei walked me – I can’t pretend I was controlling the dog! He was a calm and poky thing compared to his fellow pup, though. Maggie the Lab ran ahead of us, around us, into the brook and back again. A good time was had by all.

We took an hour to get to the upper Falls via a gentle uphill trail, but that was with plenty of doggie diversions. The walk back to the car was quicker, with the dogs a little less rambunctious.

I have relatives living in the village near upper Falls, and they once took me on a walk (a Thanksgiving day, as I recall) to see that spot. The walk from the village along unpaved Upham Road took us past the Purgatory Falls Fish and Game Club, at which point the road became a clear trail. It’s pleasant any time of year, I’m sure, although I’d pack the usual bug repellent in spring or summer.

Information about the northern end of the trail (upper falls) is on the Mont Vernon town web site.