Moose Mountain Reservation 5/24/11

"Wildflowers, Mud, Ruts and Ticks" (pictures)
(Moose Mountains Facebook Group)

Difficulty: Easy

Directions: From downtown Farmington, NH take Rt. 153 North into Middleton about 5 miles. Continue onto King's Highway for .9 miles. Turn right at the police station onto Ridge Road. At 1.6 miles turn left onto New Portsmouth Road. Bear left onto New Portsmouth Road Exd. The trail head and kiosk will be seen ahead. You can park at the kiosk or continue 400 feet on an unmaintained road to an upper parking area just past the river.

Report: Recently completing our Land Steward training with the SPNHF I thought we would check on the Moose Mountains Reservation property when Scott got home from work Tuesday. A quick 15 minute drive and we pulled into the parking lot. Someone had put the gate back in place but is still in need of a lock. Wildflowers were out in full force as we walked the road. Black flies were a little bothersome but not all that bad. As we walked the road signs of ATV use was evident worse than when we were here exactly a month ago. Muddy ruts were numerous. As we reached the Cemetery section that passes through private property we noticed the cable had been re-attached and locked across the bridge. Again ATV users had dug up the road along the cemetery and up the field entering the Burrows Farm area.

Once up at the Burrows Farm fields of wild strawberry and grasses were torn up by mud tire tread. It was rather upsetting to see so much disregard to this scenic, historic area. We walked up to what we determined to be the home site and found a boulder with a plaque on it. The apple trees were in bloom and it was such a nice spot. Someone had done target practice on the farm site itself filling some old tin pales up with bullet holes. The over shots had nicked the pine tree that marks one of the corners to the Burrows 1800's cemetery. This got me on a vendetta to do everything in my power to stop the illegal use of this property. To add to all this dismay ticks were racing up our clothing and backs quicker than anything I've ever seen!

Past the field we made our way through muddy ruts and up the RV trail. I rolled a large rock into the large pool of water here for easier crossing and to discourage ATV use across it. We continued to the junction below Phoebes Nable Mt. From here we headed back down the main trail where we erected an old gate across the road that had been thrown in the woods. More ticks and black flies we headed back out and to the truck. We have a lot of work on our hands here. Once we can stop the ATV use on this reservation, trails need to be repaired, foot bridges built, blazing needed and culverts cleaned out! All told Scott had 12 ticks on him in just an hour of hiking and I had 6 on me. YUCK!

SPNHF Moose Mountains Land Steward

MMR Trailhead Sign

(Moose Mountains Facebook Group)
Scott and I just finished taking a two day SPNHF core training coarse to be land stewards of the very large Moose Mountains Reservation in Middleton and Brookfield, NH! Comprising of 2,325 acres and three mountain ranges Moose Mountains Reservation is one of the largest non-developed forests in Southern New Hampshire! It is a crucial tract of land, harboring important headwaters of the Salmon Falls River.  For directions to MMR see my trip report HERE.

Phoebes Nable Spur Trail

The forests and hills contain a host of native wildlife such as black bear, moose and a heron rookery. Hiking, bird watching, hunting, snowmobiling and other low impact outdoor recreation can be enjoyed on the property. With more than 8 miles of woods roads and foot paths, several ponds and marshes, open summit peaks and ledges, early 1800's cemeteries an farmland there is plenty to explore! The Forest Society will work to retain public use for recreation and to protect the properties water shed and natural resources including sustainable forestry or harvesting.

Since the term harvesting and the sheer thought or even sight of logging makes you quiver, as it did us. It is important to understand what SUSTAINABLE Forestry is! It is defined as such: "The stewardship and use of forests and forest lands in a way, and at a rate, that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and their potential to fulfill, now and in the future, relevant ecological, economic and social functions, at local, national, and global levels, and that does not cause damage to other ecosystems." Thus our States economic value in it's vast and lush forests are an important piece of our way of life, as is the pride we have of our natural and untouched woods, mountains and ponds. These aspects are all kept in balance for the future generations to benefit and enjoy from! You can learn more by joining the Forest Society on a tour of an active timber harvest. Meet logging contractors and Consulting Foresters; learn about sustainable forest management in relation to improving timber quality, wildlife habitat, and recreation; and get the latest news about logging practices, equipment, wood products, and the timber markets where products are shipped and sold. Check there field trip page for these tours.

Phoebes Nable Summit

Where do we come into play? It is our job as volunteer land stewards to be the caretakers and ambassadors of this forest. Our responsibilities are numerous from picking up trash, monitoring property lines, marking/building/maintaining hiking trails, watching for illegal uses, assisting in sustainable tree harvesting and speaking to land abuttors. Trails on this property are in need of signs and marking and that will be our main focus over the next two years as we explore the vast forest ourselves, learning the features and finding the best suitable paths to those features. We look forward to be able to care for such a large tract of land so close to home! While sustainable tree harvesting is an important part of these forests for our economy and the future, it is our primary goal to retain and improve the recreational, scenic and natural benefits of this Reservation. These aspects of SPNHF land are all weighed in harmony as necessary parts on a balanced scale.

New Portsmouth Road Trail

Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests "envisions a living landscape where managed woodlands, farms and wild lands are woven into the fabric of community life. We envision people caring for lands that sustain dynamic communities with clean water and air, forest and agricultural products, habitat for native plants and animals, scenic beauty, good jobs, and recreational opportunities."

Check the SPNHF Blog for a post on the 2011 Land Steward Class!

William H. Champlin Jr. Forest Preserve 3/20/11

"A Late Day Jaunt" (pictures)

Plans for hiking on Saturday ensued during the week as always and the weather was looking pretty good. Laurie and Russ were hitting Mt. Carrigain with some friends and invited us along. Not really up for a long 4000 footer hike, especially on snow shoes we passed up o it. (Too bad too, they turned out to have a great day and got to see a Black Hawk Helicopter hover over Signal Ridge!!) I went to bed Friday night not knowing what we would be hiking in the morning but confident it would be a nice day. Well the morning proved to be cold and it was blowing a mix of snow and rain on us. YUCK! We moped around a bit, just enough to not want to hike anymore! I had a house rental that needed to be cleaned anyway so we decided to get all our work done and try for Sunday. Well Sunday morning was again cold...clear, but cold. And we just were NOT in the mood! So, after some walking around in Lowe's I headed off to get the rest of my work done.

The end of winter was turning out to be a bummer-of-a-weekend! I finished my work late in the day and called Scott. At the end of our conversation Scott mentioned we should meet in Gonic for a short walk. Funny, I was thinking this earlier! So we planned on meeting instead at the SPNHF William H. Champlin Forest Preserve across from the Sky Haven Airport in Rochester. I arrived in the parking lot ahead of Scott and decided to pick up some of the trash. I did this in the summer and was glad to see it hadn't gotten too bad since. Aside from a large suitcase sitting out in the field....are freakin' kidding me!? Scott pulled up and we headed down the trail at 6:20pm, the sun beginning to touch the tree line. Through the wet field, I stopped to take some pics of the Milk Thistle Pods.

The logging roads to the lower marsh were intermittent with snow and standing water. We went as quickly as we could without getting wet! At the pine grove just before the marsh I noticed a dozen or more bullet shell casings in the snow with the letter 'F' marking. We arrived at the marsh at 6:38pm just as the sun was setting. Perfect! A few pictures, most of which didn't come out all that great and it was back to the vehicles before it got dark! We got back to the field, picked up a stinky "doggy bag" and plastic bottle and headed out just as it was getting dark at 7pm. A nice brisk walk to end the weekend! And the best part, "hiking" equals Chinese Food and a Coke N' Rum! :) HAPPY SPRING!!

Cooper Cedar Woods & Coldrain Pond 10/14/10

"A Pond Hopping and Bush Whacking Thursday Afternoon"

"Cooper Cedar Woods" (pictures)
This small parcel of woods is right off Rt. 11 in New Durham, just South of the Johnson's Restaurant 4-way. It is owned by the SPNHF. The trail is roughly a 1/2 mile loop through the woods, over a small hill and along the property line. Total time it took me to complete the loop: 20 minutes. Trail is easy to followed and marked in various sections. Two spots to note: If going counter clockwise (the direction I did) on the far end of the hill there are "private property" signs. The trail bears left down the hill. And at one point after this the trail forks. You can go straight, or follow the left side which just brings you 30 ft. or so to the property line (marked with red "triple" blazes on the trees) then loops back up to the main trail.

"Coldrain Pond" (pictures)
This walk begins on Brackett Road in New Durham. I'll have to look into it but, it is owned by the NH Fish and Game, but there are also SPNHF signs, so possibly they have an easement or abutment to the property? You follow a logging road (keeping straight), I do not know where the other roads lead...yet! The road ends and on the left a path leads to the river bank. The banking is lined with dozens of canoe's. I bushwacked around the pond to a nice vantage point for a panoramic picture. Time to the pond shore: 7 minutes, 1/4 mile. I met a fisherman on my way out who said he's not seen anyone down here for months. He said this pond is excellent trout fishing. He was very nice, even pointed me to another area (Jones Pond) that he said I would like!

"Ponds in the area" (pictures)

Before and after my visits to the above areas, I checked out some local ponds to catch the foliage before the rain and wind storm coming for Friday wiped the color out. There were beautiful reflections at Reservoir Road Pond in Farmington.

Wonderful color and a nice view of Mt. Blue Job at Oxbow Pond off Meaderboro Road in Farmington. I even spotted someone on the Baldy Knob! I bushwacked around the pond shore which is all up for sale. I really hope it's not developed, it's a beautiful spot and great Blue Job vantage point.

And finally more wonderful color and reflections at Club Pond off Bay Road in New Durham