Most of southern New Hampshire endured a severe ice storm as 2008 came to an end, and I’m sure I’ll be seeing the aftermath for months to come. I was heartened by what I saw in the hard-hit town of Temple on New Year’s Day. Broken branches lined the roadsides, but no roads were blocked by fallen trees. I saw half a dozen utility trucks making their way through town, their crews set on restoring service to neighborhoods that have gone without for some days now.

The trails around here, unlike the roads, are still a mess. I needed today’s outing to restore my optimism for the pace of recovery from the ice storm. Monadnock State Park is still closed. The Friends of the Wapack have posted a message on the group’s web site warning against hiking the trail for the time being, since the tree damage has rendered the trail “very hard” to follow. My favorite cross-country ski area was shut down by the storm, and the owners are doing heroic work to arrange for the extensive logging and cleanup necessary to restore at least a few kilometers to skiable (and hikable) condition.

Today proved that things are looking up, after a messy weather event that’s going to be remembered for years to come.