Some years back, the decline of New Hampshire’s North Country paper industry left up in the air the future use of over 100,000 acres in Coos County. Conservationists got busy in an effort to protect the land for recreation and forest management. A serious team effort resulted in the Connecticut Lakes Headwaters Working Forest in 2003. Time to celebrate the first decade!
Head to Lake Francis State Park in Pittsburg (get on U.S. 3 and just keep heading north) on October 5th for the big event. The Department of Resources and Economic Development – and has there ever been a worse acronym than DRED? – is hosting lunch and a few speakers at 11:30 a.m. At 1:30, the real fun begins. Attendees can choose from six tours, each in a different part of the CLHWF, lasting until 4:30. For more information, or to RSVP, email Eric Feldbaum at eric.feldbaum@dred.state.nh.us. With your RSVP, be sure to specify your choice of tours.
Want to hear about the Cohos Trail, and walk on a short segment? Yes, I know I write about the CT a lot. You can find out why if you join Lainie Castine after lunch on the 5th.
Maybe you like fire towers instead. If so, head to Mount Magalloway. Forty-five vigorous minutes on the trail will reward you with views that will knock your socks off.
Have you ever been to Boundary Pond? Here’s your chance to see it, if you’re ready for a drive; the boundary in question is with Canada. Other afternoon options include kayaking, a timber harvest forestry tour, and a local-history lesson. I wish I could head north for the event, although I’d have a hard time choosing just one afternoon activity. I encourage you to make the trip, if you are anywhere near northern New Hampshire. Again, let me mention that address for RSVPs, so the organizers know how many people to expect: eric.feldbaum@dred.state.nh.us
Yes, I love the Connecticut Lakes. My photography doesn’t do the place justice. I hope you can take your own photos there someday.
First Connecticut Lake and Mount Magalloway, from Prospect Mountain. Photo by Lainie Castine.
River Road covered bridge, on the way to Lake Francis SP. Ellen Kolb photo.
Update, 2026: If the goffstowntrails.com website isn’t available, look for information on the Uncanoonucs and other Goffstown, New Hampshire trails at goffstownlibrary.com.
The twin Uncanoonuc hills in Goffstown, New Hampshire are my landmarks for knowing I’m nearly home whenever I come back from even a short trip out of my area. North Uncanoonuc looks forested and fresh, while South has 14 antennae and cell towers on its summit, making it look a bit like a geographic porcupine. I can’t complain too much about the towers, since I like having cell service & similar conveniences. Any map I consult calls these the Uncanoonuc Mountains, but when you read that, bear in mind that these “mountains” top out around 1300′.
North Uncanoonuc is always pleasant, with good views, no power lines, & no towers. Today, though, I wanted to check out the trails on the South mountain. Goffstown has produced a terrific map available on the town library’s website showing the trails that snake over & around both peaks. Mountain Road between the hills has several parking areas for hikers, and the entrance to the Reservoir road off Mountain Road now has a parking area with a map kiosk.
South Uncanoonuc Mountain with all its communications towers, seen from nearby North Uncanoonuc. Ellen Kolb photo.
I started up South Uncanoonuc from the kiosk for a short late-afternoon hike, carrying the map I had downloaded & printed. Conditions are typical for November. South’s trails are covered with slippery oak leaves, and a few of the boggy spots already have a thin skin of ice. Major trail intersections have either snowmobile signs or trail markers. Most minor trails as shown on the map are easy to spot, though they’re unsigned. A power line cut across the slope includes a well-defined trail, which today saw bike traffic along with a few hikers. It was a great day to enjoy the view of the city of Manchester from South’s summit ledges. I could almost forget that a cell tower was right behind me.
If I had had more time, I could have continued down the other side of South Uncanoonuc on either of two trails that end at Uncanoonuc Lake. A full morning or afternoon could easily be given to wandering these trails and visiting both summits. Bring water & snacks – the closest store & restrooms are on Mast Road, a couple of miles north of the trail kiosk on Mountain Road. There’s a paved road from South’s summit to Back Mountain Road, and if you want a good workout without going into the woods, you can drive to the summit (no good parking at the base)and walk down to the base & back. But why would I want to avoid the woods on a day like this?
It took a whole lot of people, headed by Manchester resident Helen Closson, to make a pedestrian bridge out of the abandoned rail bridge across the Merrimack River in Manchester, New Hampshire. Closson called the project “Hands Across the Merrimack” while it was underway, and whatever name the pedestrian bridge may be given officially, that’s the name I’ll remember.
I’ve been on the bridge before, just for the fun of crossing over the Merrimack on foot. Today, after some business in town, I took advantage of the sunny afternoon to walk the rail trail clear across Manchester’s West Side. This is Manchester we’re talking about, so “clear across” means about two miles.
Starting from the baseball stadium where the Fisher Cats play on the river’s east side, a paved walkway runs parallel to the Merrimack and shortly comes to a fork. Going right would have brought me under the rail trail and onto some private property. Going left brought me around a sweeping curve to the approach of the Hands Across the Merrimack bridge.
I was a bit startled to find a sculpture of a steer just short of the bridge. The plaque mounted nearby noted that the statue was a tribute to workers & entrepreneurs like the ones from the former JacPac meat processing plant located nearby, now the site of a hospital expansion.
Vandalism has become an issue along the trail, judging from some news reports I’ve read. It looked good today, though. I’m sure that’s an ongoing effort by people who care. The trail is paved its entire length, and the pavement’s in good shape.
The bridge is at the southeast end of a trail that parallels the Piscataquog River. For now, the northwest end of the trail is near what I call the Kelley Street bridge (Nazaire Biron Bridge on my map) that links the West Side with the Pinardville neighborhood. There’s a very hazardous crosswalk on Main Street, but the few other road crossings are in quiet neighborhoods. The trail, like the rail line before it, goes on a bridge over Second Street, avoiding a road that’s just as busy as Main Street.
The Piscataquog River snuck up on me. I cleared Main Street & followed the trail behind a house where there was a cheerfully noisy party going on. As the music from the party faded behind me, I became conscious of the river’s sound, and soon the river was in view. A few weeks ago, we had heavy rains, and this river was particularly pesky for the people living along it. Today, though, it was a tame & pretty thing. Several dirt trails ran steeply from the trail down to the river. I stayed on the pavement, worried that I’d twist an ankle trying to negotiate the slope in my sneakers.
Eventually, I came to some ball fields, where a softball game was just wrapping up. Soon I was in sight of the ugly red bulk of West Side Arena. The building’s homely appearance belies its worth as an athletic facility for what seems like every kid on the West Side. Soon I passed under the Kelley Street Bridge and reached what is now the end of the trail.
Once upon a time, this rail line crossed the Piscataquog near Kelley Street, and then paralleled the river (on its north side now) through Goffstown & into New Boston. Patches of the line have been developed into trails. I’ve been on one segment in New Boston near where the middle & south branches of the Piscataquog converge — a beautiful spot. In Goffstown, determined residents have turned part of the old railbed into a trail, and they continue to try to finish the link between New Boston & Manchester.
[Update, 2015: that link, a bridge over the Piscataquog River, was completed in 2015. Trail users can go from Manchester’s baseball stadium all the way to Goffstown center.]
For now, though, all I saw after crossing under Kelley Street was a fenced-off trestle hung with “Keep Off” signs. I suspect that tight municipal budgets and concerns about liability will keep that trestle from ever being turned into a pedestrian bridge. Of course, that’s what I used to think about the bridge across the Merrimack. [Update: five years after I wrote this, the Piscataquog River trestle was indeed rebuilt, thanks in part to the generosity of the Singer family.]
This is not a path I would take after dark. I have no problem visiting on a weekend afternoon in broad daylight.
I wanted to remind my teenage son that Veteran’s Day is more than just a day off from school, especially since his older brother is in Iraq with the US Army. We headed out to Cathedral of the Pines in Rindge, which has special ceremonies every November 11.
The Cathedral’s web site calls the property a historical and natural site that is an open-air nondenominational sanctuary. Educational programs and public events promote peace and interfaith understanding while honoring the people who have served in our nation’s military. Symbols of the various branches of the military are displayed on the grounds, and there’s a special memorial to women in the armed services. The Altar of the Nation dedicated to our nation’s war dead is made from stones gathered from every state in the Union.
Mount Monadnock was in view, lending an air of permanence and serenity to everything around us. I found the Cathedral to be a fitting place to honor veterans from every era. This trip was a long drive for a short walk, and the effort was worth it.
The Cathedral of the Pines is located off Cathedral Road in Rindge, New Hampshire. Address: 10 Hale Hill Road.
Eighth in a series of posts journaling a 2009 hike on the northern section of the Cohos Trail.
Update, 2026: Old Home Day is still an annual tradition in Pittsburg.
Old Home Day in Pittsburg, New Hampshire had nothing to do with the Cohos Trail, except that it took place in a trail town. The festival’s date, right in the middle of my trip, made the celebration too tempting to pass up. This was great fun.
I’m very happy I accepted my hosts’ invitation to join them for the festivities, even though it extended my stay at the Bungalow. Their generosity of spirit has gone far beyond what I had any reason to expect.
My host got a call just a few days ago, requesting that he march with the North Country Community Band in the OHD parade. Thus I learned that he plays cornet – and not badly, either. He said he didn’t play often nowadays. But there he was in the parade, with about 20 other musicians. It takes people from 4 or 5 towns to make up this little band.
Floats abounded, many of them pulled by tractors. There was that Pittsburg High School baseball team, waving to the crowd & tossing candy to the kids. Sign on their float: “We told you we’d be back.” Loved it. There were one or two politically-themed floats; let’s just say this isn’t Obama country. Beecher Falls & Colebrook sent fire trucks to augment Pittsburg’s little contingent. They were all noisy & flashy, as fire trucks in a parade should be.
I think the entire town (population 800) came out, along with plenty of folks from neighboring towns. Pittsburg’s 4th of July festivities were rained out, I heard, and everyone seemed determined to make up for that.
After the parade, the town green was filled with tents & booths & food & games. I had a pulled-pork meal at one of the tents, and every bite was a tribute to God’s providence (so THAT’S what pigs are for!) — even the cole slaw, of which I’m not usually a fan. I had to check out the book sale table. It had maybe 50 books, most of them romances. Nope. I had better luck at the bake sale table, where I found brownies nearly as good as my son’s, and his are awesome.
I walked to the south end of Main Street to photograph the last of the town’s 3 covered bridges. I stopped to look at the cabin on Main Street in town where I plan to stay Tuesday night, and I met the proprietors. Amazing day, and a fascinating look at a town very different from my own. I’d never have had this without the Cohos Trail.
Except for my breakfast & my water bottle, I’ve packed everything to move on to Deer Mountain State Park in the morning. Tomorrow will be the last day with a full pack. I’ll leave the park on Tuesday, with a shuttle ride to the village. On Wednesday, I’ll mail home my tent & pad. Goodbye, dead weight.
Now, it’s back to the village for fireworks at Murphy Dam to cap off the day.
Sixth in a series of posts journaling my hike on the northern section of the Cohos Trail in 2009.
No travel scheduled today, also called a zero day by people who do more hiking than I do. I’m comfortably holed up in my little lodging on a hot summer day, listening to the Red Sox game on the radio. My remaining blisters are freshly padded & bandaged. I’ve had time today to look at the field guide on the table in here, trying to identify some of the birds I’ve seen this week. I had a wonderful nap this afternoon, though it cost me a few innings of the game. I’m sorting and re-packing all my things. A lazy day, though not a wasted one.
The remainder of my trip is firming up. Tomorrow, we have our kayak trip. Saturday is Old Home Day down in the village. I’ll catch a ride down there. Weather should be pushing 90 degrees, with no rain forecast for the weekend. The next day, I’ll hike to Deer Mountain SP, where I’ll stay for two nights. I’ll hike to the Canadian border & Fourth Connecticut Lake one of those days. Next Tuesday, there will be a press conference just over the border to celebrate the linking of the CT with the trail network of Sentiers Frontaliers (SF), a hiking group from Quebec’s Eastern Townships. I’ve arranged a ride to Pittsburg village afterward, where I have a place reserved for Tuesday night. Wednesday, if the weather’s good, I’ll get back to Sportsman’s Lodge (now closed) in one long haul, walking on Rt. 145 & Creampoke Road instead of the CT. Less favorable conditions will result in a break at Rudy’s. Either way, I’ll be finished ahead of my original schedule.
While I’m in the village, I’ll mail home my tent & sleeping pad & whatever else I don’t need to carry once I’m done camping. A light pack will help me get to Sportsman’s in one day, as will sticking to town roads (longer route but smoother path). Light load + good weather = excessive optimism.
This is all sounding manageable. Setting my own pace (slow) and schedule (flexible) has worked.
Granite State Walker 