Little Harbor Loop Trail - A Collaborative Effort in Portsmouth

The Little Harbor Loop Trail, a new 1.5 mile walking loop in Portsmouth, NH, was constructed last weekend by local volunteers. This trail connects three parcels of land which are open to the public: the Forest Society’s Creek Farm Reservation, the state’s Wentworth-Coolidge Historic Site, and conservation land owned by the City of Portsmouth. More than 30 volunteers, including a scout troop, members of the Friends of Creek Farm and Portsmouth Conservation Commission, and several Forest Society land stewards gathered Saturday morning to clear the route and install guiding signage. It was a spirited workday, and a satisfying one as participants got to enjoy the results of their efforts immediately. Several walkers along Little Harbor Road also detoured to explore the new trail just as the work group was finishing up... ahead of the impending snow, luckily! The Little Harbor Loop trail is a terrific example of collaboration between individuals, governmental organizations and non-profits, and the new route through open forest and along scenic Sagamore Creek will be a wonderful addition to recreational opportunities already available for Portsmouth residents. A hiking map of the new trail is available on the Creek Farm page of the Forest Society's Online Guide to Our Lands.

Scouts taking a quick break

Part of the trail clearing crew last Saturday

Moose Mountains is Cooking!

Recent snow and fall colors at Moose Mountains (photo: J.Morris)

Land Stewards Jason Morris and Scott Lavoice have been super active at Moose Mountains Reservation in Middleton ever since they decided to take the steward training last May. They've jumped into things with what I like to think of as "wild abandon," marking and clearing out all the neglected trails, making and installing signage, and creating cool trail maps for hikers that they leave at the kiosk. And the really great thing is that as they work, they're always exploring too... turning over leaves to look at delicate little spiders, discovering glades of beautiful wildflowers, or having run-ins with the local wildlife. Jason, who has been blogging about hiking in NH for years, has also started a blog and a facebook page just for Moose Mountains, where he posts his amazing photographs and describes their adventures in stewarding. Check out the blog here, and there's also a link on the sidebar of this blog too.

Scott installing snow markers for their routed signs (photo: J.Morris)

A recent wild encounter! (photo: J. Morris)

Recently the Forest Society led a hike on Moose Mountains to raise funds and awareness about our efforts to add additional conservation lands to this already 2,300 acre block. Mike Speltz, SPNHF Land Protection Specialist, led the trek up the steep slopes of several mountains to an unusual pitch pine natural community with over two dozen people in tow. Jason and Scott were extremely helpful to Mike on that day with such a large crowd, and Jason also wrote up a neat description of the day in the MM blog. Be sure to check that out when you get a chance! Originally I was apprehensive about assigning such a huge reservation to any particular steward, but now I'm just hoping that Moose Mountains is large enough to keep Jason and Scott interested for years to come!

Moose Mtns hike on Oct 22nd (photo: J.Morris)