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?
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| 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 :)
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| Land Steward Sue Lichty (L) and volunteer Jim Beard make spuds |
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| SPNHF staff Allan Krygeris stands by while potatoes roast |
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| Wendy and Bella |
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