The Educational Farm at Joppa Hill (174 Joppa Hill Road in Bedford; theeducationalfarm.org, 472-4724) will hold its second annual Burning of the Greens on Saturday, Jan. 15, from 5 to 8 p.m. Bring your Christmas tree for the Bedford Fire Deparment-tended bonfire and enjoy s’mores, hot cocoa and (weather permitting) ice skating at the farm rink.
You can also visit the farm any day from dawn to dusk (find information about hiking trails on the website). The rink is open when the weather is cold enough and skating costs $5 per skater. Looking for some fresh eats? The farm stand is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays.
Fire and ice
All ages can find fun this weekend at LaBelle Lights, the light display on exhibit at the winery’s Derry location (14 Route 111) through February. The display is open Thursdays through Fridays; on Friday, Jan. 14, and Saturday, Jan. 15, LaBelle is celebrating a Fire & Ice Weekend with performances, bonfires, fire and ice-themed eats at the market and themed cocktails at the restaurant Americus. Tickets for the light display cost $15 for ages 13 and up, $10 for 65+, $8 for ages 4 to 12; kids 3 and under get in free, according to labellewinery.com. Find our story about the LaBelle Lights display in the Dec. 30 issue of the Hippo; the e-edition is available at hippopress.com.
Family race
• As the name indicates, you’ll want to layer appropriately for the Freeze Your Buns 5K race series, which kicked off on Jan. 2 and has its second race Sunday, Jan. 16, at 9 a.m. on the road between the Conway Arena and the Nashua YMCA in Nashua. Show up early to register on site; the cost is $20 for the remaining races ($12 for ages 17 and under). See the course map at gatecity.org/freeze-buns-5k-series. The remaining races will take place Jan. 30, Feb. 13 and Feb. 27.
• Or spend Sunday morning tackling the 3-mile HPM Insurance Snowflake Shuffle in Bedford. The race starts at 9:30 p.m. at 25 Constitution Dr. and follows a course along Route 101 to Pilgrim Drive, Meetinghouse Road and Liberty Hill Road before circling back to Route 101, according to the course map at millenniumrunning.com/snowflake. Registration costs $35 for 21+, $30 for youth and is open through Saturday, Jan. 15, at 9 a.m. (there is no race-day registration), the website said.
Outdoor adventure
• Squam Lakes Natural Science Center (23 Science Center Road in Holderness; nhnature.org, 968-7194) has programs for adventurers this Saturday, Jan. 15. A Mt. Fayal Winter Hike will begin at 9:30 a.m. Geared at ages 12 and up, the guided hike will include a search for signs of animals and winter tree identification, with snowshoes available if needed, the website said. The cost is $11 per person
At 1 p.m., catch the guided tour of the live animal exhibit trail, an event open to ages 6 and up. Learn about how the animals adapt to winter. The cost is $11 per person. For either program, registration is required by noon on the previous day.
• Kids looking for more exploration in their outdoor experiences may want to check out programs at Beaver Brook Association (117 Ridge Road in Hollis; beaverbrook.org, 465-7787). Starting Wednesday, Jan. 19, kids in grades 4 through 8 can take part in the afterschool hiking club from 3:45 to 5:15 p.m. The 2-mile hike will feature trail exploration, education about hiking, trail games and survival basics, according to the website. The seven-week series runs through March 9 and costs $105. Beaver Brook also kicks off a homeschool : outdoor adventures program for ages 9 through 13 on Jan. 19. That seven-week session runs from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays and costs $210. Kids will learn to identify animal tracks and signs, build forts and fires, snowshoe, play games and do woodworking along with sledding or hiking, the website said.
Save the date
The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St. in Dover; childrens-museum.org, 742-2002) will hold its Dinosaur Valentine’s Day Party on Sunday, Feb. 13, from 1 to 3 p.m. Tickets cost $16 per person (kids under 1 year old are free). The day will feature special Valentine’s and dinosaur crafts, dinosaur stories, a meeting with a costumed dinosaur and a sweet treat, according to the website. Space is limited and masks are required for all over 24 months old, the website said.
Winter is upon us and it may seem there is little for a gardener to do. No weeding, nothing to plant, no flowers to pick. But last year’s garden may still have some remnants that, with a little imagination, can create something pleasing to the eye. I went out to my garden in early winter to see what dry flowers were still standing after my garden clean-up and saw plenty to work with. I picked a lot and set it all aside for making winter wreaths and arrangements.
I like wreaths, and in the past I have made them to decorate an outdoor space such as a blank wall or door. Instead of using a wire wreath form, as many people do with evergreen wreaths, I used grapevines to make the basic form for my wreath. You can, too.
Wreath form made with grape vines. Courtesy photo.
Go to a wooded area and look for vines climbing a tree. Grape vines are common in hardwood forests, but often strangle trees, so removing some grapevine is actually a good thing to do. Cut a 15-foot length of grapevine that is about as thick around as your ring finger. It is important to use living, not dead, vines; they are a greenish white inside and flexible. Dead vines are brittle, brown, and not suitable.
Begin by forming a vine circle 14 to 16 inches in diameter by overlapping (or twisting) one half of the vine over the other half — the same way you would start to tie your shoelaces. Then grasp one of the loose ends and weave it around the vine circle in loops, over and under, pulling it tight as you go. Then take the other end of the vine and weave it around the circle.
The great thing about this grapevine wreath is that you can just slide stems of dry flowers in between the vines and natural tension will hold them in place. In fact, I had to use a screwdriver to lift the vines at times in order to slide the stems in place. But I also use thin florist wire to tie together more delicate things like grasses and add them to the wreath.
Here are some of the plants I used in my winter wreath. Sedum “Autumn Joy” is a deep brown and stands up well in the winter garden. Fountain grass “Morning Light” provides a light brown, fluffy material, as the seed heads are still present. Mine got knocked over by ice earlier in the winter, and then after the ice melted, it stood back up again!
Dry plants cut for use in wreath. Courtesy photo.
What else? Various hydrangeas have flower panicles that are dry and delicate but still attached at this time of year. I used some flowers from one called “Quick Fire.” I like it for wreaths because the panicles are not huge, the way many of the PeeGee hydrangeas are, or Annabelle. If your panicles are too big, you can prune parts off to make them more suitable for a wreath.
I wanted some greenery in the wreath and could have pruned off some twigs from either white pine or hemlock but had some Christmas fern right near the house and used that instead. I’m not sure how long it will hold up in a wreath, but it looks good now. Hemlocks tend to drop needles fairly quickly, but anything used as a Christmas tree would be fine — Balsam fir or blue spruce, or example. Or snip some stems off your Christmas tree when you take it down.
For color I went to my brook and gathered some winterberry growing alongside it. This shrub has bright red berries in winter, and although it prefers a moist location, it will grow in ordinary garden soil, too. In summer it is pretty ordinary looking, but is fabulous when covered with red berries in winter. You need both male and female plants to get berries. One male is fine for five females.
The last addition to my winter wreath were some stems of teasel, a biennial weed hated by Midwestern corn farmers. It gets in their machinery and gums up the works — and it grows 6 feet tall. The flowers and seed heads are 2-inch cylinders that are very prickly. The stems have thorns, but these can be rubbed off while wearing gloves, making them easier to work with.
Because teasel is a biennial, it is easy to control: I pull most of the first-year plants when they are small. I leave just a few to grow and produce flowers. Six plants or so are nice. They stand up all winter and contrast well with the snow.
If you are not interested in making a wreath, or don’t have the time, pick some stems of anything interesting still standing in the garden, and put them in a dry vase. I leave some flowers with seed heads for the goldfinches and juncos to munch. Things like black-eyed susans and purple coneflower are nice for them. I always leave some snakeroot, too, as it is a tall plant that stands above the snow.
Lastly, if you are looking for dried flowers to decorate with, don’t forget the weeds. Walk through an un-mowed field and you will see plenty of dry flowers standing proud in the snow. Or take a walk along a country road and look for shrubby things with interesting branches or seed pods. With a little imagination, they can be used to create beauty.
Featured photo:Winter wreath with a dusting of snow. Courtesy photo.
Snowshoe trail series will go on with or without snow
Winter events that rely on snow can be hard to count on in southern New Hampshire, but, as the name aptly states, the Snow or No We Go Trail Series is going to happen whether there’s a foot of snow or none at all.
“Snow or no, Covid or no, we go,” said Tom Walton, who created the event last year.
He said that, with the exception of thunder and lightning or a state of emergency, the trail series will happen — the only change would be the footwear.
“People can count on the race and on the date — last year we ran in snowshoes, microspikes and just trail shoes,” said Walton, who is the wellness coach for Northeast Delta Dental, which is sponsoring the series.
Walton started the event to replace the now defunct Granite State Snowshoe Series.
“It was quite popular and fun, [but] it was entirely contingent on snow,” he said. “When the winters started getting kind of messed up, with unreliable snow, the race director of that series gave up, so I thought, I’m going to get this going again, but with a little twist — no matter what is under our foot, we’re going to run.”
This year’s series has six races, double the number of races it had in its inaugural year. They’ll be held on Saturdays starting Jan. 15 and ending March 5. Four of the races will be held at Canterbury Shaker Village and two will be held at Prospect Acres.
“I have a real affinity for Canterbury Shaker Village,” Walton said. “It’s really gorgeous and [has] lots of acreage. I have tried to convince them that they’re a recreational paradise in all seasons.”
The other location at Prospect Acres in Franklin was offered up by Steve Nelson, who owns the 55-acre property and uses it for obstacle course training. Nelson participated in the snowshoe series last year, along with some of his obstacle course teammates, and Nelson said they loved it. When he found out Walton was putting the series on again this year, he suggested using his space too.
“I figured, why not add to the mix?” Nelson said.
Both locations have 2-mile loop trails, and participants have the option to do one or two loops, and all ages and abilities are welcome.
“If you can walk, come,” Nelson said. “It’s just about being outside, being safe, teamwork — everybody’s out there encouraging each other.”
If there’s enough snow on the ground, snowshoes are highly encouraged (though you have to bring your own). Otherwise, microspikes and regular trail shoes are allowed.
“Microspikes are going to be the easiest [to race in], but ultimately we hope to be on snowshoes,” Nelson said. “But at least [we’ve] opened it up so we don’t have to cancel the series.”
Nelson said he had to do one race in microspikes last year because it was sheer ice.
Because of the variables in weather and equipment, these races aren’t about winning. They’re mostly about having a fairly sure thing to look forward to.
“I like to have an environment of joy and keep it kind of light and make people feel important,” Walton said. “Keeping a light heart about it makes it fun.”
Snow or No We Go
Where: Canterbury Shaker Village (1 Shaker Road, Canterbury) and Prospect Acres (4 Beaumier Drive, Franklin) Schedule Jan. 15: Canterbury Shaker Village Jan. 29: Canterbury Shaker Village Feb. 5: Canterbury Shaker Village Feb. 12: Prospect Acres (Registration is full) Feb. 19: Canterbury Shaker Village March 5: Prospect Acres All races start at 10 a.m. Cost: Registration for each race is $20. Participants need to pre-register and sign a waiver at runreg.com/nh-snow-or-no-we-go-series. More info: Email Tom Walton ([email protected]) or Steven Nelson ([email protected])
• Snow tubing opens Thursday, Jan. 6, at McIntyre Ski Area (50 Chalet Court, Manchester), from 4 to 6 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. on its “Bonneville Thrill Hill.” Special rates are $23 and can be purchased at McIntyre’s Guest Services (tubing tickets are available for purchase 30 minutes prior to each session). You can also dress in your favorite neon-colored clothing for a special ’80s-themed race on Saturday, Jan. 8, from 5 to 7 p.m., which is open to all ages and abilities. Registration is $20 (includes your lift ticket) and $15 for season passholders. Visit mcintyreskiarea.com or call 622-6159.
Stories and shows
• Join the Bookery (844 Elm St., Manchester) for a Saturday storytime and snowflake craft event on Saturday, Jan. 8, at 11:30 a.m., featuring a reading of Trouble with Trolls by Jan Brett. Admission is free and all ages are welcome. Visit bookerymht.com or call 836-6600.
• Tickets are on sale now to the Palace Youth Theatre’s production of Matilda Jr., which runs from Wednesday, Jan. 12, through Thursday, Jan. 20. The show is performed by student actors in grades 2 through 12. Visit palacetheatre.org or call the box office at 668-5588 to buy tickets.
State of the art
• New Hampshire residents receive free admission to the Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St., Manchester) on Saturday, Jan. 8, when the galleries will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., including an exhibit from local children’s book author and illustrator Tomie dePaola that runs until Feb. 13. As of Thursday, Jan. 6, Covid vaccination cards are required for all visitors ages 5 and up. Masks are also required for those ages 2 and up. Visit currier.org or call 669-6144.
• The Studio 550 Art Center (550 Elm St., Manchester) will hold a family clay sculpting workshop on Friday, Jan. 7, at 4:15 p.m. that’s available to all ages and skill levels. Choose between one of three projects: pinch pot animals, a slab mug or bubble jars, animals or fairy houses. Most projects are widely customizable, and the instructor is also available to help. The cost is $25 for the one-hour session. Visit 550arts.com or call 232-5597.
Cold-blooded friends
• Join New Hampshire Audubon for cold creatures and hot cocoa, a special event happening on Saturday, Jan. 8, from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Massabesic Audubon Center (26 Audubon Way, Auburn). Attendees will meet some of the center’s animal ambassadors and learn all about the survival strategies of snakes, turtles, frogs and other cold-blooded animals during New Hampshire’s harsh winter conditions. Hot cocoa will be provided. The cost ranges from $12 for Audubon members to $15 for non-members and masks are required. Visit nhaudubon.org or call 668-2045.
Out of this world
• The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (2 Institute Drive, Concord) is holding its next Super Stellar Friday event online via Zoom on Friday, Jan. 7, at 7 p.m. Presenter and museum education director Mirka Zapletal will explore the climates of the Moon and Mars, as well as the conditions that astronauts have to contend with as they journey away from Earth. Admission is free but registration is required. While its Super Stellar Fridays are virtual, the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center is open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Now through Feb. 23, applications are being accepted for the museum’s annual Alex Higgins Memorial Space Camp Scholarship. Visit starhop.com or call 271-7827.
One recent morning I decided it was time to finish reading a small book of essays I had started long before and savored but had (inexplicably) put off finishing. World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks and Other Astonishments is a delight, from start to finish. Its author has a name that could wrap around my own more than once: Aimee Nezhukumatathil.
I think of the author as Aimee, and I know she would not mind. She is young, full of life, with a “joie de vivre” that lights up every room she enters, I should think. But what encouraged me to share her book with you was the last essay, “Firefly (Redux): Photinus pyralis.”
In her essay about fireflies she recounts her experience teaching a poetry class at an elementary school in a suburban town where fireflies are common. When she mentioned fireflies, most of her students thought she was making them up. Of 22 students in her class, 17 had never seen a firefly. Instead of spending early summer evenings outdoors catching fireflies and putting them in jars to bring indoors, they were texting friends or playing video games.
That same morning I read a review in the New York Times of a biography of E.O. Wilson, a hero of mine and a biologist who is now 92 — but still active and observant [editor’s note: Wilson died Dec. 26, 2021]. He began his scientific life studying small creatures ignored by most of us: ants. At age of 13 he found a species of red fire ant from Argentina that had never been reported in the United States. He went on to study at Harvard and write more than 30 books and 500 scientific articles.
So what do these two wonderful people have to do with you or me? They have great curiosity about the natural world. And we do, too. We are gardeners and as such spend time pondering why any given plant bloomed magnificently last year but meagerly this year. We offer our palette of plants more water, or less. We add fertilizer, or we don’t. Would an early June “haircut” delay blossoming and encourage a less lanky plant? Good gardeners pay attention to the details of life.
I believe that we all have a responsibility to share our passion with our children and our grandchildren. Or the boy across the street who stops, while walking his dog, and asks us questions about our garden. Most scientists and citizen scientists had someone in their early life who encouraged them to ask questions and showed them something special that amazed them.
When I was in the third or fourth grade my family took a week’s vacation together in Maine. We stayed at Goose Cove Lodge on Deer Isle, a delightful rustic place run by a retired biology professor, Dr. Ralph Waldron. Dr. Waldron offered guided walks along tidal pools and in meadows of wildflowers off the beaten track. My parents, my sister Ruth Anne and I always went on these walks. Dr. Waldron not only let me see new things; he encouraged me to take samples and bring them back to the lodge to study.
And so I began my career as a citizen scientist. He taught me how to preserve flowers and leaves by pressing them in a simple press to make herbarium mounts. He taught me not only the common names of plants but their Latin names. He encouraged me to see similarities and differences in plants. He let me preserve small sea creatures in glass jars with formaldehyde as a preservative so that I could take them home, along with my flowers. I began to appreciate the vast diversity of the natural world, and its beauty.
My grampy, John Lenat, was an early proponent of organic gardening and taught me much. Courtesy photo.
We returned to Goose Cove Lodge every summer for a few years, and I deepened my interest for the natural world each time we went. In college I majored in biology, in part because of Dr. Waldron’s influence.
Sometimes it seems that the news about the natural world is always depressing: global warming, I read this morning, is causing rising temperatures in ponds, causing more poisonous blue green algae to flourish. Elsewhere today I read that a living species somewhere becomes extinct every day. And so on. What can you and I do about it?
We can garden. And we can introduce the life outdoors to a young person. An 8-year old, perhaps. If we take joy in what we do and share our excitement with a young person, they too may become an E.O. Wilson, or an Aimee Nezhukumatathil.
We don’t need to be scientists to encourage young people to love and respect our natural world. My gardening grandfather, John Lenat (1888-1967), probably never finished high school. He came to the United States as a young man from Germany. He loved to garden, invited me to spend time with him each summer, and I absorbed a lot from his way of doing things. He let me putter in the garden and do things to help, but only as much as I wanted. He never asked me to weed, and let me take worms from his compost pile to catch fish.
As a New Year’s resolution this year, I hope you will think about connecting a young person with the outdoors. With our gardens, or the bugs and toads that live there. Maybe together we can all make a difference. Just maybe, if we each make an effort to live sustainably, we can save the world.
Featured photo:World of Wonders is a delight to read. Courtesy photo.
How to stay safe and warm while exploring NH’s winter wonderland
By Dan Szczesny
At just over 2,300 feet, Belknap Mountain in Gilford is a hill compared to its cousins up north in the White Mountains. But every mountain in New Hampshire presents hikers with unique challenges, especially in the winter.
Add a little hiker into the mix — in this case 2-year-old Oren Driscoll — and tiny Belknap Mountain can suddenly seem as large as Mount Everest.
Young Oren had just finished exploring the active Fire Tower at the summit and he and his mom, Epsom writer and veteran hiker Allison Driscoll, were relaxing with lunch near the base of the tower. Like many of the fire towers in New Hampshire, the open grating and steep stairs can be tricky to even the most weathered explorer.
Not to Oren, though, according to the older Driscoll.
“He’s not a daredevil kind of hiker,” Driscoll said. “So he was pretty proud of himself.”
A few minutes later, a much older kid showed up at the summit but was too afraid to go up the tower. This was a big moment for Oren, and for his mom.
“It was interesting to watch a 2-year-old make that climb when a 10-year-old couldn’t,” Driscoll said. “That was a little bit of an a-ha moment for me, when we started to think that we were on the right track.”
Driscoll is the administrator of the popular Trail to Summit website (trailtosummit.com), a resource for trip reports, recipes, gear reviews and stories about inspirational female hikers. But even for a long-time experienced hiker like Driscoll, the hiking world changed when kids entered the equation. Add the treacheries of winter into the hike planning, and everyone suddenly becomes a beginner.
“It becomes about different expectations,” Driscoll said.
Writer and adventure hiker Allison Driscoll poses with her two children, 9-month-old Lyra and 2-year-old Oren, during a 2021 winter hike in Northwood Meadows State Park. Courtesy photo.
With the fall shoulder season firmly in the rear-view mirror and a pandemic still making normal winter indoor activities a challenge, more and more new hikers and families are looking to the enormous number of parks, mountains and trails in New Hampshire to get outside. But winter hiking requires a bit more patience, planning and, in some cases, skill.
“When you’re new to the hiking world, especially in the winter, people don’t know the difference between mountains and not mountains,” said Mike Cherim, owner of Redline Guiding (redlineguiding.com). “Your first step is to know what you’re doing so you can maximize your winter hiking experience.”
Cherim’s company, located in Intervale, specializes in matching hiking guides and routes with hikers, whether that be experienced pros looking to climb technical routes up icy mountains or a family of beginners learning how to snowshoe for the first time.
“There’s an expression we use,” Cherim said. “Mountains spare most fools.”
The key word there, of course, is “most.”
I set out to discover the process of turning a brand-new hiker (or a new family of hikers) into a confident and safe New Hampshire winter explorer. It all comes down to the acronym GPS: gear, preparation and selection.
Having the proper gear
Winter hiking, whether on a big exposed mountain or a close-to-home rail trail, is about two things: staying warm and regulating your body temperature. That goes for hikers of all ages, even kids. So the first step is to learn about layering.
“Winter hiking generates an enormous amount of body heat,” said Bartlett-based gear guru Philip Werner. “When perspiration dries, it’s transformed into vapor and pulls the heat out of your body.”
Layering allows you to regulate your perspiration and body temperature by literally taking off and putting on different layers of clothing throughout your hike. The key is regulation, Werner said.
The hiking expert and adventure writer is the owner of Section Hiker (sectionhiker.com), a hiking company that focuses on gear, ultralight backpacking and White Mountain treks.
“It’s counter-intuitive, but when you’re perspiring, take off your outer clothes,” he said. “You’ll actually be warmer.”
The best way to regulate your body temperature through layering is to practice off-hike first — maybe try out your layers in your backyard shoveling snow, for example. There are some general rules of thumb: base layer, fleece layer and heavy layer. The heavy layer (ski jacket, down etc.) is best for standing still, above tree line, or in heavy winds or a storm. For below the waist, a base layer and either fleece or shell pants or ski pants to mostly be enough. Again, in general, you don’t remove pants layers like you would torso layers.
Once you’ve got your layering strategy down, then it’s time to think about your feet.
“In general, if it’s your first time in winter, you’re going to want some sort of traction,” said Ken MacGray, a hiking writer and editor of the AMC Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide. “Yaktrax might be good for the driveway, but you’ll want to think about microspikes or even crampons — something with beefier teeth — if you’re climbing.”
As the writer of New Hampshire’s 52 With a View: A Hiker’s Guide, MacGray has plenty of experience walking families through the lower mountains that are part of that list.
“Southern New Hampshire has its share of really difficult trails,” he said. “For winter hiking, if the cold bothers you, you just won’t want to be doing this.”
Finding ways to not just deal with but thrive in the cold is an important first step to enjoying winter hiking. In the case of new or first-time families, a layering strategy may even take a back seat to straight up keeping tightly bundled.
“My daughter is strapped onto my back,” said Allison Driscoll, referring to her other child, nearly 2-year-old Lyra. “She’s stationary when we’re out there so we need to make sure she’s very insulated.”
Some other gear tips suggested by the experts include figuring out exactly what type of winter activity you or your family want to experience. Gear for a winter hike is different from gear for a cross-country ski, or for snowshoeing. Even the terrain you’ll be hiking on can lead to different gear decisions. And that leads to the next step of GPS: preparation.
Being properly prepared
Preparation is Mike Cherim’s business. Literally.
For the past five years Cherim and the dozen active guides on his roster have been not only guiding but training and teaching as well.
Redline Guiding owner Mike Cherim checks the security of the knot on a climber’s harness during a photoshoot at the top of Jockey Cap, a granite outcrop in the Saco River Valley in Fryeburg, Maine. Photo courtesy Corey McMullen of Corey David Photography and the Mt. Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce.
“We’re willing to take anybody and teach them the ropes and get them to where they want to be,” Cherim said. “A guide can bring so much to the table, not just facts, but putting things into perspective, giving some history, that sort of thing.”
Cherim was 4 years old when he hiked Mount Washington for the first time with his hiking-loving parents, and the hiking bug has been with him ever since.
But even if you’re not preparing for a huge, technical climb, or are not ready for a guide yet, a little bit of advance research into your routes and abilities can go a long way.
All the experts we talked to for this story recommended any beginning winter hiker take a walk through the many outdoor gear stores in the area (think acronyms, EMS, REI, IME) and talk to the store clerks, many of whom have winter hiking experience.
Werner suggested getting some practice with new, expensive gear by renting it first.
“Go to a place that rents gear and has groomed winter trails,” he said. “That’s a good way to experience snow for the first time. Or how about tubing or sledding as a first encounter ― there’s lots of overlap with hiking there.”
One particular group of first-time hikers ― kids ― may be challenging to hike with, Driscoll said. She hiked a lot, even when pregnant, but with her kids some of that preparation is mental.
“Being outdoors is so important for brain development and regulating emotions for kids,” she said. “Preparation sometimes consists of adapting to a new mindset.”
Finally, for a large swath of potential first-time hikers in southern New Hampshire, a great first snow hike could be on a rail trail (nhrtc.org). The state has close to 400 miles of rail trails to offer hikers, said Paula Bedard of the New Hampshire Rail Trails Coalition.
The nonprofit organization is designed to support and promote the dozens of rail trail organizations, friends groups and user groups throughout the state.
“What we’re trying to do is provide a forum where all groups can get together to share success stories and strategies,” she said.
With about 50 different rail trails throughout the state, the coalition plays a big role in the final key to hiking: selection.
Selecting the proper hike
Rail trails are virtually everywhere in New Hampshire. Most have easy access and parking and are generally flat and well-graded. Several, like the Goffstown, Derry and Piscataquog rail trails, offer miles of wide open scenic trail use right in the backyard of some of the most populated sections of the state.
“Every time I pull into my street, I can see people using the trail,” said Paula Bedard, who lives in Goffstown. “There’s been a huge uptick in usage [since the pandemic began] and it’s just continuing to grow. People are discovering rail trails they would not have otherwise.”
MacGray agreed that finding local trails nearby is a great first step toward tackling the higher hills. Rail trails aren’t included in the Southern New Hampshire Trail Guide, but plenty of smaller options are.
“There’s huge advantages to winter hiking,” he said. “No bugs, no moisture in the air, so better views and rocks covered up to make climbing easier.”
How to plan that first hike? For a first-timer in good shape, on a flat surface — say a rail trail — in normal winter conditions (not a blizzard), pick a trail that is 2 to 4 miles out and back. If you’re going up a mountain loop, or above tree line, stick to 1 to 3 miles. As for temperatures, for a first-timer with the right gear there’s really no limit; 0 is the same as 30. More importantly, you want to look at wind chill, storms, etc. It can be 20 degrees but the wind chill can make it feel like -20. That’s the important factor.
Family-friendly state parks in the southern part of the state to select for your first winter hike include Bear Brook, Pawtuckaway and Pisgah, MacGray said.
“There’s plenty of challenging, remote trails there for sure,” he said. “But many trails there are old roads so they are wide and generally not steep.”
Werner added one more reason to select winter hiking ― the wild life.
“There’s animal tracks, songbirds are out and there’s plenty of apps you can download and then just hold up to help you identify,” he said.
Driscoll agreed and recalled the first time on a winter hike that her son was visited by a gray jay, a large songbird that has a habit of feeding right out of hikers’ hands.
As for selecting new hikes, Driscoll said she and her son are now pursuing the state fire tower list, a collection of short hikes to active lookouts around the state.
“Lists add incentive for kids,” she said. “We just want to make sure it’s fun.”
Get outside and hike!
We asked the experts to recommend some fast, easy and family-friendly hikes in southern New Hampshire. They came up with a diverse and sometimes off-the-beaten-path list. Remember, even on a flat, easy trail, winter hiking can present challenges. Make sure you bring the proper gear for the weather and mind leave-no-trace etiquette on all trails and parks.
Paula Bedard
nhrtc.org
Goffstown Rail Trail, Goffstown: This 5.5-mile quiet, flat former rail bed runs through Pinardville, Grasmere and Goffstown Village. Voted one of the top 10 rail trails in New Hampshire by the Rails to Trails Conservancy, the trail’s hardpack surface is perfect for cross-country skiing or snowshoeing in the winter. The trail’s southern end connects up with Manchester Piscataquog Rail Trail and will take you right into the city.
Features: The Goffstown Rail Trail primarily follows the Piscataquog River and features excellent views of Glen and Namaske lakes. The trail is also a popular geocache area, with several caches hidden along its route. The trail is maintained by the Friends of the Goffstown Rail Trail, so signage and kiosks can be found all along the way.
If you go: The trail more or less follows Mast Road and South Mast Road for most of the route, and dedicated parking for the trail can be found at a couple spots along the way, including off Danis Park Road and Moose Club Park Road. If coming from Manchester, you can also park down by West Side Arena off Electric Street at the Piscatoquog Boat Ramp, and cross the bridge to the southern start of the trail.
Allison Driscoll
trailstosummit.com
Marjory Swope Park trails, Concord: Marjory Swope Park is a fairly new hidden gem in east Concord, entrusted to the city in 2012 by John Swope, who named it after his wife. The primary trail is the Blue Loop, a 1.4-mile trail that circles the park. The Yellow Trail bisects the Blue Loop and goes up and over the top of Jerry Hill.
Features: The park features the remains of an old fire tower at the height of land in the park on Jerry Hill. The primary feature of the park, however, is Gilfillan Rock (featured in the “NH Rocks That Rock” field guide), a large rock ledge inscribed with dozens of names of hikers and students of nearby St. Paul’s School dating back 125 years.
If you go: Primary access to the Blue Loop and a small parking area can be found on Long Pond Road just north of Route 202.
Mike Cherim
redlineguiding.com
Mount Kearsarge, Wilmot from the north, Warner from the south: One of the jewels of the state park system, Mount Kearsarge can be reached from either Rollins State Park to the south or Winslow State Park to the north. This nearly 3,000-foot mountain may be located south of the White Mountains, but its bare summit and trail mileage can make it as difficult a hike as some of its northern cousins. It all depends on the weather.
Features: The main feature that makes Mount Kearsarge such a popular destination is its bare summit and tremendous 360-degree views from the top. There’s also an active fire tower up there. But the state parks at the southern and northern base of the mountain are lovely destinations in and of themselves for beginning winter adventurers looking to try snowshoeing or cross-country skiing for the first time.
If you go: From the north, Winslow State Park can be reached at 475 Kearsarge Mountain Road, Wilmot. Rollins State Park can be reached at 1066 Kearsarge Mountain Road, Warner. In both cases, during the winter, a road walk is required to reach the main park areas, but those are great places to break out the snowshoes and skis. We recommend checking ahead and keeping an eye on the weather.
Ken MacGray
kenmacgray.org
Nottingcook Forest, Bow: Nottingcook Forest is a large forest easement held by Bow Open Space that offers a series of criss-crossing and unique trails through the streams and runoffs surrounding Great Meadow Pond. In general the trails here are easy and perfect for winter outings.
Features: In addition to terrific views from the summit of Great Hill, the forest area features a number of interesting destinations, including Buffalo Rock, Six Acre Swamp, Duckbill Ledge and Steer Brook Gorge. Any of those destinations is no more than a 1- to 2-mile round-trip hike.
If you go: There are three primary trailhead/parking areas for Nottingcook Forest: South Bow Road, Crescent Drive and Woodhill Hooksett Road across from Hornbeam Swamp. Check the forest map beforehand to see which entrance gets you closest to the feature you’d like to visit.
In this recent photo from a hike up Mount Moriah, hiking writer and gear expert Philip Werner wears a fleece hat and pullover zip, double layered insulated gloves, softshell pants, high gaiters and a nylon windshirt. Courtesy photo.
Philip Werner
sectionhiker.com
Hedgehog Mountain, Albany: This small mountain (2,532 feet) is nonetheless a challenging winter hike. Once you’re comfortable with your winter gear and are ready to tackle a more significant hike, try the only mountain on our list in the White Mountains. This nearly 5-mile loop will test you!
Features: Hedgehog commands better views than many much higher mountains, including a stupendous view of nearby Mount Passaconaway. From the mountain’s east ledges you’ll find some of the best views of the Sandwich Range Wilderness to be had. Remember, this is not a flat hike. But it’s a great way to put all your winter training on flat trails to good use.
If you go: The trailhead and parking area are on Kancamagus Highway. The parking area is on the south side of the road, 21 miles east of Interstate 93 at Exit 32 in Lincoln and 14.2 miles west of Route 16 in Conway. It is signed for Downes Brook, UNH and Mt. Potash trails.
Featured photo: Hiking writer and gear expert Philip Werner stops for a break near Mount Garfield during a recent winter hike. Among his gear choices for this hike are softshell pants, single layer insulated gloves, a thin wool base layer shirt, high gaiters. Photo courtesy of LaBelle Winery.
