Excerpt from Appalachia, Summer/Fall 2008
I started hiking regularly in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in spring 1997, at the age of 60. I was working in Boston at the time, but had a second home in Thornton, New Hampshire, almost within the boundary of the White Mountain National Forest. Many of my hiking companions were peakbaggers, and I was in a hurry to complete the basic lists (of mountains over 4,000 feet high, for example). So for a few years, I hiked seriously, with well-defined goals.
Within a few years, my life changed in two major ways. I had met most of my mountain goals, and I had retired from my job. That meant that I had a lot more time for hiking than just the weekends, and also that I could do whatever I wanted, rather than focus on the peaks I “needed.” At that stage, three of my friends and neighbors introduced me to the joys of exploring old logging roads, with the aim of exploration, rather than of accomplishing anything specific.
The first of these friends was Kathy Didier, a long-time Appalachian Mountain Club trip leader (in the Boston Chapter and the Major Excursions committee). One winter weekend, I was leading a pair of easy snowshoe trips with her. For the Saturday trip, she selected a pond, reached by a trail (following a long abandoned logging road) well known to locals but, because it crosses private land, not to be publicly described. Suffice it to say that I was delighted. On many hikes to 4,000-footer summits, one begins by going through open hardwoods before climbing to the mixed, then coniferous, regions. Here we spent the entire day in the hardwoods, and in winter, open hardwoods have their own brand of magic. They are very different from the snow-laden conifers of the classic winter wonderland of the Whites, but I have come to love the sight of the mantel of snow beneath the tall, bare trees. On a sunny day, you also get the contrast of the black shadows on the white snow, all in all, a wonderful sight. Add to that the brook that accompanied us most of the way, and you have a great trip.
On Sunday, we had a shorter trip, and one that can be named, going up Dickey Notch. This is another flat trail, formerly a logging road. It is not considered worthy of inclusion in White Mountain Guide (Appalachian Mountain Club, 2007), but is described in loving detail by Stephen Smith in his excellent book Snowshoe Hikes in the White Mountains (Bondcliff Books, 2000). In addition to the walk through the open hardwoods, we had three interconnected beaver ponds, each at a higher level than the previous one, each with its lodge rising above the frozen pond.
Mohamed Ellozy is the Accidents editor of Appalachia.
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