A Little Housekeeping on Silver Mountain

Sometimes when you make a mess, you've got to clean it up.  Last summer we made a bunch of big brush piles on the summit of Silver Mountain on SPNHF's Ashuelot River Headwaters Forest in Lempster. The objective was to clear the 360-degree views from the summit, which were beginning to grown in, and we did an excellent job of that.  The brush piles, however, were kind of unsightly on the top of the mountain... not to mention providing a big temptation for a certain type of person who likes to light things on fire.  Before any pyromaniacs got to our brush piles in the dry heat of summer (when fire can really spread) we decided to get to them ourselves.

Last Friday a small crew of staff, along with some of the land stewards who helped make the brush pile mess in the summer, climbed up Silver Mountain with a lighter, some accelerant, and a few edible items to roast over the coals.  It was slow going on the ascent, as no one had been up since winter storm "Nemo" a few weeks ago... kind of like walking up a giant hill made of sand.  Did I mention we only had one pair of snowshoes between us?

Staff Forester Gabe Roxby got stuck with the sled

We made it to the top without incident, and spent a beautiful day shuttling and burning brush.  There was actually some work involved, as many of our brush piles were buried under a healthy covering of crusty snow, but we did have time to roast a few hot dogs and a half dozen gigantic potatoes for lunch.  Since it was land steward Sue Lichty's birthday, we also sang her Happy Birthday from the top of the mountain!  It doesn't get much better than that :)

Land Steward Sue Lichty (L) and volunteer Jim Beard make spuds

SPNHF staff Allan Krygeris stands by while potatoes roast

Wendy and Bella

Winter Hiking Extravaganza!

 Some of these have been a long time in reporting- I apologize for the long hiatus- but I want to highlight some hikes that land stewards have helped lead so far this year.  We have been encouraging land stewards to lead walks, hikes or workdays on their reservations in recent years- this is a great way for you all to share your knowledge of a property with others, and help familiarize people in your communities with the Forest Society at the same time.  If you're interested but don't know where to begin, keep your eyes peeled for the "Leading a Guided Walk" workshops that SPNHF has been leading each summer in conjunction with UNH Cooperative Extension.  That will give you all the nuts and bolts you need to get going!

(L to R): Leslie Stevens, Joe Conklin, and Jaimie Hoey before their hike at Creek Farm/Little Harbor Loop Trail (photo: L. Stevens)

Great turn out in Portsmouth on Jan 1st! (Photo: L. Stevens)

On the very first day of the year, five stewards helped co-lead hikes on two reservations as part of the "First Day Hikes" program run by the NH State Parks.  John and Lise Bigl helped lead a hike on the Monadnock Reservation, and Jaimie Hoey, Leslie Stevens, and Joe Conklin helped lead a hike on the Little Harbor Loop Trail which crosses our Creek Farm Reservation in Portsmouth.  The day was a gorgeous one, both in the Monadnock Region and the Seacoast, and turnout was terrific!  Kudos to these stewards for helping with this effort to get people outdoors, starting the new year off on a good foot.

First Day Hike on Mount Monadnock (photo: J.Bigl)

Mount Monadnock hike (photo: J. Bigl)

Moose Mountains snowshoe hike (photo: J. Morris)

In early February, land steward Hal Busch led a snowshoe hike on the Weeks Forest in Gilford.  There wasn't much snow at all, so snowshoes did not end up being necessary, but from Hal's report everyone had an excellent time nevertheless.  A few weeks later, stewards Jason Morris and Scott Lavoice led an intrepid group on an all-day snowshoe hike on Moose Mountains Reservation in Brookfield and Middleton.  This was after our latest big snowstorm, so snowshoes were required for this one!  The group got to see some amazing vistas from the top of Phoebe's Nable Mountain and Beauty Ledge, and enjoyed great conversation on their full day excursion.

Moose Mountains snowshoe hike party (photo: J. Morris)

 Finally, land steward Kamal Nath led a small group up to our newly cleared Hanson Top Trail on the High Watch Reservation in Effingham immediately following "Winter Storm Nemo."  The group had to break trail in almost 2 feet of snow, so it was an extremely tiring day, but this group had a special purpose.  Kamal was leading a professinal eco-photographer up to Hanson Top to get some shots of himself and three other "models" (i.e. friends) for an upcoming edition of Forest Notes!  Below are a couple of Kamal's shots from the day - stay tuned for some others in the summer edition of Forest Notes.

The view from Hanson Top, High Watch Reservation (photo: K. Nath)

Tired but happy snowshoe models (photo: K. Nath)